Sue Nyathi

"I knew a lot about European history, but I couldn’t tell you anything substantial about African history"

"my early reading was devoid of Black writers and African literature as a whole"

"Most of the books I read reinforce the way I think and view things"

"I enjoy writing all my characters, otherwise they would not make it into my books"

"Writing as a career is not financially lucrative for most writers"

"write for love before you consider writing for money"

"life has light moments and dark moments. It’s not just a canvas painted with one brush, and so I just wanted to bring all that together to show the different layers, the happy and sad moments"

"A lot of religious people are like that. They have zero empathy and a lot more judgement."

"You have people who are affluent and people who are poor. Who decides how the scales are weighed?"

"Wealth comes with its own problems and challenges"

"I like to show that as much as we like to divide ourselves with borders, we’re more related than we think"

"We never go deep into dealing with our wounds. We carry things forward, from one generation to the next"

"I think Africa has a wealth of talent which remains largely unknown, never mind celebrated"

"I am tired of this portrayal of African women as being timid, oppressed creatures"

"I believe books should transport you to places, whether real or imagined"

"I hate reading a book and not being able to locate myself."

"I’m intentional about provoking empathy and creating a conversation around those kind of topics"

"writing is a space where I can be bold and brazen, uncensored even"

"Life is about taking chances and believing in yourself"

"Yes, writing fiction is risky but then, as they say in finance, the higher the risk, the higher the return"

"A country needs to be judged by the living standards of its poorest people and not the few elite."

"I think there is a tendency of viewing happiness as a destination and that you can exist in that state forever, I dont buy that."

"For me, writing is like being an actress, in a way, because I get into the role, to make it believable. Otherwise you won’t be able to connect and relate to it"

"The genesis of current problems is rooted in the past"

"Learning from history allows us to not only learn about a country’s complexities and heritage but also solidifies our identity about ourselves as a people"