Time of the Writer 2026: Lifetime Achievement Honour for Literary Giant
The 29th edition of the renowned Time of the Writer festival – staged by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN) Centre for Creative Arts – presented a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award to Professor Njabulo Ndebele for his extraordinary and enduring contribution to South African literature and intellectual life.
“Professor Ndebele, one of the country’s most influential literary figures, is an author, scholar and public intellectual whose work has shaped not only how South African stories are told but also how they are understood,” said Ms Shafinaaz Hassim, the curator of the 2026 Time of the Writer festival.
“From his seminal collection of essays, which called for a turn toward the ordinary in South African narrative, to his acclaimed novel The Cry of Winnie Mandela, his writing has consistently challenged dominant modes of representation while opening new imaginative and ethical possibilities.”
Ndebele’s influence has extended far and wide. As an academic leader and cultural thinker, he has played a pivotal role in nurturing generations of writers, scholars, and readers, helping to build a literary culture grounded in critical reflection, historical awareness and creative courage.
Said Dr Ismail Mahomed, Director of the Centre for Creative Arts: “The Lifetime Achievement Award acknowledges both the depth of Professor Ndebele’s literary achievements and the breadth of his impact on South Africa’s cultural and intellectual landscape. It honours a body of work marked by intellectual clarity, narrative innovation and a sustained commitment to exploring the complexities of human experience in a society shaped by profound change.”
Speaking on behalf of the Centre for Creative Arts, Mahomed noted that honouring Ndebele affirmed the festival’s ongoing commitment to recognising voices that have not only defined South African literature but expanded its horizons for future generations.
Ndebele is an esteemed South African academic, novelist, and public intellectual whose life mirrors the nation’s journey from apartheid to democracy. The son of a teacher, Ndebele was educated in Eswatini enabling him to escape the constraints of ‘Bantu Education’ before graduating from the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland (UBLS) in 1973. A pivotal figure in the Black Consciousness Movement, Ndebele’s early intellectual growth was shaped by figures such as Steve Biko and the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO).
His literary career was cemented with the publication of Fools and Other Stories (1983), which won the Noma Award for its nuanced exploration of township life. Ndebele’s influential essay collection, Rediscovery of the Ordinary (1991), challenged the conventions of protest literature, advocating for a focus on the complexities of the human experience.
Ndebele’s academic leadership has been prolific. He served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of the North (now the University of Limpopo) and later the University of Cape Town (2000-2008). He has held prestigious roles as Chairman of the South African Vice-Chancellors’ Association and President of the Association of African Universities. Currently the Chancellor of the University of Johannesburg, Ndebele continues to shape South African civil society as Chairman of the Nelson Mandela Foundation and the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.
Through his writing and institutional leadership, he remains a dedicated advocate for the ‘normative base’ of the Black experience and the vital importance of ethical governance in post-apartheid South Africa. He lives in the Western Cape.
Words: NdabaOnline
Photograph: Supplied
