Niq Mhlongo
Niq Mhlongo (born 10 June 1973) is a South African journalist, editor, writer and educator.
Niq Mhlongo | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 June 1973 Midway-Chiawelo, Soweto, South Africa |
| Education | Malenga High School; University of the Witwatersrand; University of Cape Town |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, editor, writer and educator |
Early life and education
Mhlongo was born in Midway-Chiawelo, Soweto, the seventh of nine children, and raised in Soweto. His father, who died when Mhlongo was a teenager, worked as a post-office sweeper. Mhlongo was sent to Limpopo Province, the province his mother came from, to finish high school. Initially failing his matriculation exam in October 1990,[1] Mhlongo completed his matric at Malenga High School in 1991.
He studied African literature and political studies at the University of the Witwatersrand, gaining a BA in 1996. In 1997, he enrolled to study law there, transferring to the University of Cape Town the following year. In 2000, he discontinued university study to write his first novel, Dog Eat Dog.[2]
Writing
Mhlongo was described by Rachel Donadio in The New York Times as "one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa's post-apartheid literary scene".[1]
Mhlongo has presented his work at the Caine Prize Workshop and the Zanzibar International Film Festival, and was a 2008 International Writing Program fellow at the University of Iowa.[3] His work has been translated into Spanish, German, French, Dutch, and Italian.
Mhlongo's writing has a post-apartheid backdrop. He is influenced by his hometown of Soweto; he pens his novels in Soweto, about Soweto and in Soweto dialect. His book Way Back Home was launched in Soweto. Xenophobia is another theme explored in Mhlongo's work.[4]
Publications
- Dog Eat Dog (Kwela, 2004)
- After Tears (Kwela, 2007)
- Way Back Home (Kwela, 2013)
- Affluenza (Kwela, 2016)
- Soweto (Under The Apricot Tree, 2018)
- Black Tax (Jonathan Ball, 2019)
- Paradise in Gaza (Kwela, 2020)
- Joburg Noir (Jacana, 2020)
- Hauntings (Jacana, 2021)[5]
- For You, I'd Steal a Goat (Kwela, 2022)
Awards
- 2006 Mar der Letras Intenecionale, (Spanish Literary Award) for Dog Eat Dog
- 2019 Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award for Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree
- 2019 Media24 Books Literary Prize: Herman Charles Bosman Prize for Soweto, Under the Apricot Tree[6]
- 2021 National Institute for Humanities and Social science Awards (HSS Awards), Best Fiction Edited Volume for Joburg Noir[7]
- 2022 HSS Awards, Best Fiction Edited Volume for Hauntings
References
- Donadio, Rachel (3 December 2006). "Post-Apartheid Fiction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
- Mhlongo, Niq (15 November 2004). "My Voice: Distributing the word to the kwaito generation". LitNet Young Voices.
- Niq Mhlongo - 2008 Resident, University of Iowa. He has also been an artist in residency with different institutions including, The Sylt Foundation in Germany in 2005,Akademie der Kunst De Welt Cologne in Germany, Literarisches Colloquium Berlin, Mellon Foundation Artist residency University of Pretoria, Mellon Foundation Artist-in-Residency University of KwaZulu-Natal. He is currently living in Berlin as a 2020 DAAD Artist in residence.
- "Home and away", Archive, Books & Oration, CHRONIC, 1 June 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- Rosenthal, Jane (6 January 2022). "REVIEW - Hauntings edited by Niq Mhlongo - 'A wonderfully satisfying read'". News24. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- "Winners of 2019 Media24 Books Literary Prizes announced". TimesLIVE. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- Malec, Jennifer (1 April 2021). "[The JRB Daily] 2021 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards winners announced—including The JRB's Makhosazana Xaba and Niq Mhlongo". johannesburgreviewofbooks.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021.