Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu Explained

Birth Place:	Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Nationality:	Zimbabwean
Education:	Girls' College
Alma Mater:	Emerson College Emerson College; Ohio University; Stanford University
Occupation:	Novelist and filmmaker
Notable Works:	The Theory of Flight (2018); The History of Man (2022); The Quality of Mercy (2023)
Awards:	Sunday Times Fiction Prize Windham–Campbell Prize

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu (born 1977) is a Zimbabwean novelist and filmmaker.^[1]

Background

Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu was born and partly grew up in the city of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. A few months after she was born, her family moved to Sweden as political refugees, and this is where Ndlovu spent the formative years of her life. The family then moved to the United States, and returned to Zimbabwe after 1980 when the country had attained its independence.

Ndlovu attended Girls' College in Bulawayo and thereafter went to the United States to pursue her university studies in Boston, Massachusetts (at Emerson College); Athens, Ohio (at Ohio University) and Palo Alto, California (at Stanford University).^[2] She spent 18 years in the United States, before deciding to move back to Africa, where she lived between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Writing career

Ndlovu's fiction has gained critical acclaim since her appearance on the literary scene in 2018. Her debut novel, The Theory of Flight (2018),^[3] was followed in 2020 by The History of Man. The two books have won praise, been included on the shortlists of awards, and earned their author places at prestigious fellowships around the world.^{[4] [5]} The third title in her "City of Kings" trilogy is The Quality of Mercy (2023).^[6]

Besides her creative writing, Ndlovu is a trained literary scholar.^{[7] [8]} She is also a filmmaker, and her films have premiered at the Zanzibar International Film Festival among others.^{[9] [10]}

Awards and honours

• Miles Morland Writing Scholarship (2018)^[11]
• Sunday Times Fiction Prize (2019) for The Theory of Flight^[12]
• Windham–Campbell Prize (2022), category of fiction^[13]

Publications

• Book: The Theory of Flight . 2018 . Penguin Random House . South Africa . 978-1-4152-1011-6 . en.
• Book: The History of Man . 2022 . Catalyst Press . 978-1-946395-56-6 . en.
• Book: The Quality of Mercy . 2023 . Catalyst Press . en.

Notes and References

1. Web site: 2021-01-13. Q&A with Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. 2021-11-01. CatalystPress. en-US.
2. Web site: Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu Modern Thought & Literature. 2021-11-01. mtl.stanford.edu. en.
3. Web site: In Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu's debut novel there is no distinction between the real and the magical, writes Kate Sidley. 2021-11-01. Sunday Times Books LIVE . en.
4. Web site: Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu in conversation with Drew Shaw in her hometown of Bulawayo, April 2021. 2021-11-01. Centre for English Excellence - Bulawayo. en.
5. Web site: 2021-02-02. Author Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu is a force of nature in literary world. Diane. De Beer. 2021-11-01. De Beer Necessities. en.
6. Web site: Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Open Country Magazine. 14 March 2024.
7. Web site: 2021-01-13. On Discovering Zimbabwean Literature as a Zimbabwean Writer. Siphiwe Gloria . Ndlovu. 2021-11-01. Literary Hub. en-US.
8. Web site: 'Fiction can save us from ourselves' - Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu. Carla. Lever. Nal'ibali. 23 November 2020. 2021-11-01. TimesLIVE. en-ZA.
9. Web site: Tête-à-Tête with Siphiwe Ndlovu moderated by Marlene Schneider #ABF 2019. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211101/dsoBOCzQoAM. live. 2021-11-01. en. 2021-11-01.
10. Web site: Murmures Africultures : Dhow Awards du Zanzibar International Film Festival. July 2003. 2021-11-01. Africultures. fr-FR.
11. Web site: Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu - The Miles Morland Foundation. 27 February 2019 . 2021-11-01. en-GB.
12. Web site: 2019-09-06 . [The JRB Daily] Terry Kurgan and Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu win the 2019 Sunday Times Literary Awards ]. 2022-04-07 . The Johannesburg Review of Books . en-US.
13. Web site: 2022-03-29 . 3 African Authors Awarded the $165,000 Windham-Campbell Prizes: Tsitsi Dangarembga, Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu and Emmanuel Iduma. Chukwuebuka . Ibeh. 2022-04-07 . . en-US.