The Hidden Lives of Writers

Busisekile Khumalo is the bestselling author of the Harvard Wife series of novels, as well as the standalone book, Nomaswazi, and a new series published by Jonathan Ball Publishers, including Rubies & Rain and Sunshine & Shadows. Busisekile joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she walked away from a career in law to pursue her passion for storytelling. She shares her insights i...

Zakes Mda is one of South Africa's best known and most awarded writers. He is a novelist, playwright, short story writer, and painter. A Professor Emeritus of English at Ohio University, Zakes now lives and works in Johannesburg. He joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how his earliest inspirations were Casper the Friendly Ghost and Xhosa mythology. He explains why he often uses th...

Nadia Davids is an award-winning playwright, novelist, and short story writer. She won the Caine Prize in 2024 for her short story 'Bridling'. Her latest novel CAPE FEVER has been released to great acclaim, published by Simon & Schuster. Nadia joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how postcolonial fiction does not have to be bleak or hopeless and why she chose the Gothic form for he...

Damon Galgut is one of South Africa's most distinguished writers. He won the Booker Prize in 2021 for The Promise, which was his third novel to be shortlisted for the award. Damon joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how writing seems to become more difficult as the years go by, and how strenuously he wrestles with a first draft. He tells us that plot has become increasingly less i...

Marguerite Poland is one of South Africa's most decorated authors, having won the Percy Fitzpatrick Award numerous times, as well as the Order of Ikamang for lifetime achievement. Her career spans many decades and includes books for children, works of non-fiction, and several critically acclaimed novels for adults. Marguerite joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about her earliest love f...

David Cornwell is the author of the critically acclaimed novel HELL OF A COUNTRY, which has been making waves since its release date. David joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the challenges of writing a fictional reimagining of real-life events and how he made his creative choices. We also discuss his first novel LIKE IT MATTERS and the literary antecedents behind it. For more de...

Karen Jennings is an internationally acclaimed author whose work has been rewarded with a Booker Prize longlisting. Karen joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how new ideas sometimes come to her in the form of a colour, and how she writes multiple drafts of the same manuscript in search of incremental improvement. She describes where she was and what she was doing when she found ou...

Jassy Mackenzie is a multi-award-nominated author who combines talent with hard work and an excellent head for business. Jassy joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she got her start writing gritty, Joburg-based crime, before being approached to write with James Patterson. She talks about the obligations of being a contracted ghostwriter and how she is already planning to ensure...

Mike Nicol is one of South Africa's leading crime writers. His Mace Bishop and Fish Pescado series have enthralled readers for years. Mike joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he once wallpapered a room in his house with rejection letters. He describes how he found his latest protagonist Zara Dewane lurking in an earlier novel and decided to give her a story of her own. Falls t...

Sally Andrew is a South African literary superstar. Her Tannie Maria books are loved by many thousands of readers and have been turned into a successful international TV series. Sally joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she plots her books under a huge and ancient tree, and how the voice of Tannie Maria arrived in her head fully formed. The fifth book in the Tannie Maria serie...

Botswana-based Lauri Kubuitsile is the multi-award-winning author of The Scattering and But Deliver Us From Evil, as well as many, many books for children, teens, and adults. Lauri joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about writing what she likes and not being afraid to stand up for herself both creatively and in negotiating contracts. For more details about the books, movies, series, an...

Anna Stroud is the award-winning author of WHO LOOKS INSIDE, an extraordinary debut novel that probes beneath the surface of small-town life. Anna joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how doing an MA in Creative Writing gave her permission to take her writing seriously, and why she composes her stories on a secondhand, offline laptop called 'Gandalf'. For more details about the boo...

Tom Eaton is a popular and widely read columnist. He has a long career as a novelist and writer of non-fiction. His latest book is a laugh-out-loud cosy mystery. AN ACT OF MURDER is out now from Penguin Random House. Tom joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how to write humour, and how his own acerbic wit has softened over the years. Tom explains why he believes that cosy mysteries...

Claire Robertson is a South African literary superstar and winner of multiple major awards. Claire is the author of numerous works of contemporary and historical fiction. Her most recent novel THE IMMORTALITES is out now from Penguin Random House. Claire joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how her work as a journalist led to novel-writing and how her use of language captures the r...

Zibu Sithole is the popular and multi-award-nominated author of the ZOLA trilogy of novels. The final novel in the trilogy LOVE, ZOLA is published by Pan Macmillan and is in bookstores right now. Zibu joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about why she feels it is her duty to write aspirational fiction for young black women, and why she dislikes the stereotype that women characters must s...

Tony Park is the bestselling author of multiple series and standalone novels set in southern Africa. DIE BY THE SWORD is out right now, published by Pan Macmillan. Tony joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the origin of his special relationship with the southern African bush. He discusses his interest in conservation, and gives great tips on how to keep track of a large cast of rec...

Onke Mazibuko is the award-winning author of the coming-of-age novel THE SECOND VERSE and the whistleblower thriller CANARY, both published by Penguin Random House. Onke joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about growing up in the early days of liberation in South Africa, and the influence of rap music in forming his creative self. For more details about the books, movies, series, and po...

Bonnie Espie is the author of this year's sleeper hit novel MAKING A KILLING, as well as several short stories. Bonnie joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about making her publishing dreams come true, and the role that writing workshops and support groups have played in her success. For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up he...

Marina Auer is the author of the thrilling and highly successful series of medical suspense novels, including DOUBLE EDGED, SINGLE MINDED, and most recently THREE ECHOES, which is now available from Kwela. Marina joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about drawing on real-life experiences for inspiration, and how to make writing a priority in the midst of a demanding professional and pers...

Alistair Mackay is the award-winning and critically acclaimed author of the dystopian novel IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY and the literary novel THE CHILD. His most recent release is a collection of short stories entitled THE LUCKY ONES. Alistair joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what it means to write queer fiction and what it was like to live and write in New York City. For m...

John Boyne is the internationally bestselling author of THE BOY IN THE STRIPED PYJAMAS as well as 18 books for adults. This includes the ELEMENTS quartet, the final novella of which - FIRE - has recently been released. John joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he will never stop being grateful for having such a huge, breakout novel so early in his career, and why he likes to en...

Takalani M is the author of the bestselling The Royal Mistress series, the After Dawn series, and the standalone novel A BURNING DESIRE. She has created a publishing and distribution powerhouse that dominates the romance sphere. Takalani joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she got her start in 2017 with a Facebook page and no followers. She tells us about writing 2,500 words a...

Paige Nick is the author of multiple novels and a collection of humorous columns. Her latest novel BOOK PEOPLE has already gone into reprint. Paige is also the founder of the Good Book Appreciation Society on Facebook. Paige joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how humour is the golden thread that links all her writing, and why she now creates the kind of books she loves to read. F...

Khaya Dlanga is an author, speaker, opinionista, and all-round South African celebrity. His latest collection of essays LIFE IS LIKE THAT SOMETIMES is available from Pan Macmillan right now. Khaya joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he is preparing for his upcoming talk on the main stage at TED Vancouver. He tells us how he breaks his writing down into achievable goals, and wh...

Joanne Fedler is the celebrated and beloved author of such bestsellers as Secret Mothers' Business, Unbecoming, Love in the Time of Contempt, and When Hungry, Eat. Fans are thrilled to have a new Joanne Fedler novel to enjoy - The Whale's Last Song. Joanne joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about the time she gave up writing and how she found her way back to it again. We talk journals,...