Niq Mhlongo (born 10 June 1973) is a South African journalist, editor, writer and educator.

Early life and education

Mhlongo was born in Midway-Chiawelo,

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

, 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 Limpopo is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while th ...

, the province his mother came from, to finish high school. Initially failing his matriculation exam in October 1990, Mhlongo completed his matric at Malenga High School in 1991. He studied African literature and political studies at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...

, gaining a BA in 1996. In 1997, he enrolled to study law there, transferring to the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

the following year. In 2000, he discontinued university study to write his first novel, ''Dog Eat Dog''.

Writing

Mhlongo was described by Rachel Donadio in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as "one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa's post-apartheid literary scene". Mhlongo has presented his work at the

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...

Workshop and the

Zanzibar International Film Festival The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania and one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization esta ...

, and was a 2008

International Writing Program The International Writing Program (IWP) is a writing residency for international artists in Iowa City, Iowa. Since 2014, the program offers online courses to many writers and poets around the world. Since its inception in 1967, the IWP has hosted o ...

fellow at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

. 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.

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) * ''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'' * 2021 National Institute for Humanities and Social science Awards (HSS Awards), Best Fiction Edited Volume for ''Joburg Noir'' * 2022 HSS Awards, Best Fiction Edited Volume for Hauntings

References

1973 births Living people People from Soweto South African journalists South African male novelists International Writing Program alumni {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub