Sindiwe Magona

On 27 August 1943, the South African writer Sindiwe Magona was born. She grew up in Gugulethu, a Cape Town township, and worked as a domestic worker while completing her secondary education by correspondence. Magona later graduated from the University of South Africa and earned her Master of Science degree in Organisational Social Work from Columbia University. She writes autobiographies, novels, short stories and poems.

Magona published her first autobiography, To My Children's Children, in 1990. In 1998, she published Mother to Mother, a fictionalized account of the Amy Biehl killing, which she adapted into a play. Her novel Beauty's Gift was shortlisted for the 2009 Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book, Africa Region.

Magona's other works include Please, take Photographs! and Awam Ngqo! a collection of short stories. She has also written numerous children's books, including The Best Meal Ever and Life is a hard but beautiful thing. Noteworthy is Sigalelekile, the first series for children in isiXhosa.  

(Source: Wikipedia, accessed on 24 August 2026)

Selected publications