African Writers You Should Know: Niq Mhlongo

The books deal with issues facing the people there, issues such as unemployment, xenophobia, HIV/AIDS, corruption, and racism. His books have been well received and widely reviewed,  with his first book Dog Eat Dog being translated into Spanish and going on to win the Mar Des Lettras literary prize in that country.

He’s a highly entertaining participant at literary festivals around South Africa, the continent, and overseas. Mhlongo received a BA in African Literature from the University of Witwatersrand and went on to study law at the University of Cape Town. He never finished his course to become a lawyer and instead took time out to write his first book Dog Eat Dog, which was published by Kwela (as all of his books are) and the rest, as the say, is history. I interviewed him recently about his writing, his country and his current book tour.