Welcome to the Hidden Lives of Writers

Diane Awerbuck is the award-winning author of multiple novels and short story collections. Her latest book is Inside Your Body There Are Flowers published by Karavan Press. Diane joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about being published at a young age and what a young writer brings to…

Ron Irwin is the acclaimed author of Flat Water Tuesday and My Side of the Ocean, which was recently published by Pan Macmillan. He is a senior lecturer in Media Studies at UCT and teaches in the UCT Creative Writing Masters programme. Ron joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to…

Shafinaaz Hassim is an author, activist, and sociologist. She has written extensively about GBV, human trafficking, and women's issues. Her latest novel, Darlings of Durban, has everyone talking. Shafinaaz joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she built her literary career from the ground up and developed…

Sven Axelrad is a Durban-based writer whose debut novel Buried Treasure took the South African literary world by storm in 2023. Sven joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he balances his day job as an accountant with the demands of his lively literary imagination. He talks…

In their first-ever remote interview, Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel are joined by the charming and delightful Qarnita Loxton. As well as being an award-winning novelist, Qarnita is a regular listener to the podcast, so it was great to have her on this side of the microphone. Qarnita is the…