Zukiswa Wanner is a South African writer, editor, and publisher born in Zambia, raised in Zimbabwe and currently based in Kenya but who considers the whole African continent her home. Her debut novel, The Madams (2006), was shortlisted for the 2007 K.Sello Duiker Award in 2007. Her third novel Men of the South (2010) was shortlisted for the Commonwealth …
Recent Posts
UCT Great Text/Big Questions
I kicked off this year’s UCT’s Great Texts/Big Questions today with the topic, Creativity in The Face of Crisis. Check out the lecture I conducted below; Great Text/Big Questions – Lecture 1 with Zukiswa Wanner from Institute for Creative Arts on Vimeo.
June 15: At Mputhumi Ntabeni’s “The Wanderers” launch.
Cape Town’s finest Mphuthumi Ntabeni is a writer, columnist, playwright and short story writer whose debut novel The Broken River Tent was published by Jacana Media in 2019. His newest book The Wanderers published by Kwela will be presented on June 15 with the pianist Malcolm Jiyane and a reading by Zukiswa Wanner (that’s me) …
Read more →“June 15: At Mputhumi Ntabeni’s “The Wanderers” launch.”
June 16: The Black Pimpernel launches at Exclusive Books Rosebank
The Black Pimpernel will launch at the Exclusive Books Rosebank on June 16 at 4pm. My discussant will be Sello Hatang. It’s happening way before curfew so RSVP timeously as we will be observing Covid protocol. Friends from Joburg View (Tshwane), you are also welcome. All details are on the poster.
Read my essay in “Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa.”
Please Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa which contains my essay “Do I Make You Uncomfortable?” about writing in a white publishing industry. Surfacing traces a path within black South African feminist thought in 20 dazzling chapters. The collection shows how radical black South African women have been part of several traditions …
Read more →“Read my essay in “Surfacing: On being black and feminist in South Africa.””
June 12: Virtually Yours with Ondjaki
I continue “Virtually Yours” my partnership with Goethe Namibia, a series of online discussions with contemporary authors from Africa. “Virtually Yours” aims to create an online platform for avid readers, writers, academics, publishers, agents, and anyone else interested in literature by writers from Africa. The series of online discussions held once a month from October …
May 12: UCT’s Great Texts/Big Questions
I kick off this year’s UCT’s Great Texts/Big Questions today with the topic, Creativity in The Face of Crisis. Others to look forward to in the series are Yewande Omotoso , Athambile Masola , Lebo Mashile , Percy Mabandu and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. Join me if you can at 11am Ghana Time/ 12pm Cameroon Time/13hrs …
May 8: Virtually Yours with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
I continue my partnership with Goethe Namibia called Virtually Yours which is a series of online discussions – Virtual Gatherings – with contemporary authors from Africa. Virtually Yours aims to create an online platform for avid readers, writers, academics, publishers, agents, and anyone else interested in literature by writers from Africa. The series of online …
Read more →“May 8: Virtually Yours with Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor”
Men of the South on One Read App
One Read is a mobile application, brought to you by Nigeria’s Sterling Bank and Ouida Books, aimed at promoting writers, publishers and other players in the African book industry to create a community of readers. My third novel Men of the South, published by Kwela in 2010, is this month’s reading choice for the One Read …
New Book Alert: The Black Pimpernel |Nelson Mandela on the Run
My new book The Black Pimpernel |Nelson Mandela on the Run published by Pushkin Press is now available. If you are a family member or friend or God-what-what to an 8-12 year old who’s a discerning reader with impeccable literary tastes, pre-order a gift for them from my mother’s favourite writer. The book is in …
Read more →“New Book Alert: The Black Pimpernel |Nelson Mandela on the Run”
New Nairobi Library for Young Adults
Making Lemonade Out of Covid19: Last year Goethe-Institut Nairobi indicated that they wanted a Kenyan launch of Water Birds on the Lakeshore. Never one to do traditional book launches, I suggested that we do it by working with an organisation dealing with Young Adults (YAs). Enter Slum Child Foundation. I adapted the stories by Fatma …