Kurt Ellis is the author of By Any Means, one of the books on the longlist for the Etisalat Prize for literature. He lives and works in South Africa. A proud father to a baby boy, he has always loved coming up with stories, right from when he was a kid. In this interview with Ikechukwu Nwaogu, he sheds light on his life, the critically acclaimed novel, and a few other bits and pieces.

Enjoy…

Tell us about growing up and brief background + education?

I grew up in Durban, in the communities of Newlands East and Sydenham. In these…

Zukiswa Wanner is the K. Sello Duiker Award winning author of London Cape Town Joburg, The Madams, and a number of other fiction and non-fiction titles. In this chat with Mainland Book Café, she sheds light on her writing and sundry issues.

First of all, congratulations on winning the K Sello Duiker Award, and we wish you many more laurels. You have two careers, journalism and writing, Being a journalist vs being a writer, which pays more?

They are both demanding in their own different ways, if one is a good journalist, one should research one’s subjects thoroughly before embarking…

Irenosen Okojie is a writer, an art project manager, and columnist. Her bylines have appeared in the Observer and the Guardian. Her debut novel, Butterfly Fish, is a powerful, gripping tale that is interwoven between the present day and Benin Kingdom in the 19th century. The book is making waves all across the digital (and real) universe. She was an invited guest at the recently concluded Ake International Arts and Book Festival.

I caught up with her and below are excerpts from the exclusive chat we had.

Looking at her, all bubbly and smiling, one is immediately cured of the…