Zakes Mda, one of South Africa’s foremost authors (novelist, poet and playwright of more than 20 works), needs no introduction. He has won numerous literary awards in South Africa and the USA, including both the M-Net Award for English Fiction and the Sunday Times Fiction Award.

He has studied in Lesotho, South Africa and the USA and is a founding member of the African Writers Trust, an initiative that aims to bring together African writers. Zakes is currently Professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University’s Department of English.