Zakes Mda

Zakes Mda is the author of the novels The Zulus of New York, Ways of Dying and The Heart of Redness, among many others. Born in the Eastern Cape, he spent his early childhood in Soweto and finished his school education in Lesotho. He is a prolific author of novels, plays, poems and articles for academic journals and newspapers, whose writing has been translated into twenty languages. His creative work also includes painting, and theatre and film productions. Mda is a recipient of South Africa’s Order of Ikhamanga in Silver. In 2017, his novel Little Suns won the Barry Range Fiction Prize. He is based in Athens, Ohio, where he spends his time writing and painting.