Geoffrey Rex Alexander Middleton Hill is a journalist and author working in London, Nairobi and Johannesburg. When not on assignment, his home is in Warwickshire, England.

Biography

Hill spent his childhood in

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

Rhodesia Rhodesia (, ), officially from 1970 the Republic of Rhodesia, was an unrecognised state in Southern Africa from 1965 to 1979, equivalent in territory to modern Zimbabwe. Rhodesia was the ''de facto'' successor state to the British colony of S ...

, and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

.Guma, Lance (19 May 2005)
'Behind the Headlines' interviews Geoff Hill
, ''

SW Radio Africa SW Radio Africa was an independent Zimbabwe radio station that broadcast from London, England, from 19 December 2001 to 10 August 2014. Approach file:Gerry Jackson of SW Radio Africa Nov 2007.jpg, left, Gerry Jackson receiving a Media Excellen ...

'', Retrieved 23 November 2010 His father, Hugh Middleton Hill, was federal water engineer for

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate located in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasala ...

, during the

Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, also known as the Central African Federation or CAF, was a colonial federation that consisted of three southern African territories: the Self-governing colony, self-governing British colony of Southe ...

, and went on to establish water projects across

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number of ...

. Geoff went to a total of 12 schools before completing his education at

Northlands Boys' High School Northwood School is a high school in the coastal city of Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Northwood was founded after two schools, Beachwood High and Northlands High combined - forming Northwood School. Curriculum Each learner must stu ...

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

. His early writing for

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

journals and poetry magazines was encouraged by his mother, Zaeta (pronounced "zeeta"). After school, he studied

zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the Animal, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...

at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

. In 1982 he moved to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and worked on various newspapers including the ''

Townsville Bulletin The ''Townsville Bulletin'' is a daily newspaper published in Townsville, Queensland, Australia, formerly known as the ''Townsville Daily Bulletin''. It is the only daily paper that serves the northern Queensland region. The paper has a print ...

'' and ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

''. In 1992, with Nick Russell, he co-founded ''African Safari Magazine'' which ceased publication in 2000. He married Hope Kleoudis in Sydney in 1995 and they moved to Zimbabwe in 1997. From 2002 until 2010, Hill worked as East and Southern Africa bureau chief for ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

''.Hill, Geoff
What Happens After Mugabe?
(2005) () In 2009, Hill began serving on the panel of the

International Association of Genocide Scholars The International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) is an international non-partisan organization that seeks to further research and teaching about the nature, causes, and consequences of genocide, including the Armenian genocide, the Holoca ...

’ advisory council, the first African to do so.

Publications

Articles and op-eds

OP-ED: Where nobody speaks out, murder becomes the norm (2018, ''The Daily Maverick'')

Published works

* ''The Battle for Zimbabwe'' (Zebra Press, 2003) * ''What Happens After Mugabe?'' (2005) ()

Awards

* 2000: John Steinbeck Short Story Award

References

External links

''What Happens After Mugabe?''

''The Battle for Zimbabwe''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Geoff 1956 births Living people South African journalists Alumni of Northwood School, Durban