Siphiwo Mahala was born in Grahamstown, Eastern Cape province of South Africa. His short stories appear in numerous literary journals and magazines locally and internationally. He is the recipient of the 2006 Ernst van Heerden Creative Writing Award for his debut novel, When a Man Cries. Mahala translated his debut novel into his native Xhosa language as Yakhal’ Indoda. His short story collection, African Delights, was selected by Africa Book Club as one of the best books of 2011. Internationally acclaimed South African author and academic, Njabulo S. Ndebele, says about African Delights, “It will outlive many of the social, political, and economic dramas of the time. The power of African Delights lies precisely there.”