Fred Khumalo

Fred Khumalo (born 4 August 1966) is a South African journalist and author. His books encompass various genres, including novels, non-fiction, memoir and short stories. Among awards he has received are the European Union Literary Award, the Alan Paton Award and the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award. His writing has appeared in various publications, including the Sunday Times, Toronto Star, New African, The Sowetan and Isolezwe. In 2008, he hosted Encounters, a public-debate television programme, on SABC 2.

Biography
Born in Chesterville, Durban, Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal), Khumalo grew up in Mpumalanga Township. While still at high school he decided to become a writer, and went on to graduate from Durban's Technikon Natal (now the Durban University of Technology) after studying journalism, then earning an MA degree in creative writing from the University of the Witwatersrand with distinction. He is the recipient of a Nieman Fellowship from Harvard University, as well as fellowships from the Johannesburg Institute for Advanced Study, the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study, and the Academy for the Arts of the World in Cologne, Germany.

Writing
As a journalist and columnist, Khumalo has written for publications in South Africa, Canada, and the United Kingdom, including for City Press, Sunday World, the Sunday Times, The Sowetan, UmAfrika, Isolezwe, This Day, Toronto Star, New African, and the Mail & Guardian. His short stories have appeared in such magazines and literary journals as Drum, Tribute, Pace, Staffrider, and The Johannesburg Review of Books.

His first novel, Bitches' Brew (its title referencing the similarly titled album by Miles Davis), was published to acclaim, winning Khumalo the European Union Literary Award in 2006. Reviewer Victor Dlamini wrote in the Sunday Times: "Fred Khumalo bares his own soul by revealing his own love for the beautiful art of jazz. It is his ability to narrate the story of a love that promised so much and how it was strangled by the hard hand of history, that makes Khumalo's novel stand out. He does not flinch from taking the reader beyond the glamour and shine of the life a successful bootlegger and budding musician. ...Khumalo has captured something of the infectious hedonism of the late 60's and early 70's."

His 2011 memoir, Touch My Blood: The Early Years, was adapted by James Ngcobo into a stage production that opened at the Grahamstown National Arts Festival. A stage adaptation of his 2017 historical novel Dancing the Death Drill premiered in the UK at the Nuffield Theatre, Southampton, in 2018.

Khumalo has twice been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize, and among his other awards are the 2019 Humanities and Social Sciences Awards for Dancing the Death Drill, and the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award for his 2019 collection Talk of the Town, for which the citation noted: "When a great storyteller and great plots intersect, that leads to magnanimous stories and incredible characters. In his debut short stories collection, the author weaves a number of themes that explicate contemporary topics in South African life. These are moving stories that will drive the reader to extremes of gaiety, disbelief and disgust. The author refuses to be time-bound and his stories look before and beyond apartheid South Africa. When you read them you are bound to pose questions whether you search for an identity or you question the foibles of society. Through these stories, the author examines a society that tries to define itself in exile and at home."

Selected recognition and awards

 * 1991: Runner-up for Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award runner-up
 * 1996: Runner-up for Bertrams V.O Literature of Africa Award
 * 2006: European Union Literary Award (for Bitches' Brew)
 * 2007: Alan Paton Award (for Touch My Blood)
 * 2015: Shortlisted for Commonwealth Short Story Prize (for "Legs of Thunder")
 * 2017: Multilingualism Award (for #ZuptasMustFall)
 * 2018: Shortlisted for Commonwealth Short Story Prize (for "Talk of the Town")
 * 2019: Humanities and Social Sciences Awards (for Dancing the Death Drill)
 * 2019: Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award (for Talk of the Town: Short stories)

Selected shorter writings

 * "On Writing", African Writing Online, December/January 2008.
 * "I am not an African, no, I am 100% Zulu", The Sowetan, 2 September 2016.
 * "Historical fiction is back – with fire in its belly", 10 May 2018.
 * "Books and belonging—Fred Khumalo reflects on how James Hadley Chase and Alan Paton changed his life", The Johannesburg Review of Books, 1 October 2018.
 * "Talk of the Town", adda, 5 October 2018.
 * "The dominant narrative locks black people out of our figurative mansion", Sowetan Live, 18 October 2019.