Beyond the Words in Shorts Stories

In an article published in New Frame (10 November 2021), Nthikeng Mohlele describes novelist, short story writer and festival curator Niq Mhlongo as a multi-hyphenate who has made significant headway in writing the brutality, hopes and cynicism of the post-apartheid state. In Hauntings, editor Niq Mhlongo gathers together a thrilling array of writers who tell surprising and unnerving tales in this collection. Author and sociologist Shafinaaz Hassim talks to some of the contributing writers whose stories answer the question: what does being haunted and hauntings mean in our southern African world, in the past, the present and the future? Joanne Hichen’s writings are said to bring the cruel and tragic to our attention and underscore life’s absurd and fragile nature. Lynn Joffe is the CEO of a multilingual storytelling agency creating and producing branded content and behaviour change campaigns in 11 mother tongue languages. Her debut novel, The Gospel According to Wanda B, became an instant hit. Lindiwe Nkutha’s stories and poems have appeared in several journals and anthologies. Although trained as an accountant and working as one, she keeps kindled inside her heart the fire to tell stories as often as she can manage it. Multi-award winning actor Mncedisi Shabangu trained at the Market Theatre Laboratory in Johannesburg and the Royal National Theatre Studio specialised in Shakespeare and unpunctuated text and storytelling. He makes his debut as a published short story writer in Hauntings.