The Hidden Lives of Writers

S02 E01 Amy Heydenrych

Amy Heydenrych has had extraordinary success in getting her books in front of major international agents. She grabbed the attention of these agents and converted their interest into significant publication deals. Amy is the author of Shame On You and The Pact, and the co-author of Chasing Marian. She has…

18 Sep 59 min

S01 E11 Jonny Steinberg

We close out Season 1 on a high note with this fascinating interview with multi-award-winning author Jonny Steinberg, who was gracious enough to fit us in during his whistle-stop book tour of South Africa. Jonny joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about his greatly acclaimed portrayal of the…

7 Aug 1 hr 06 min

S01 E10 Joanne Joseph

Today we welcome media personality, writer, and scholar Joanne Joseph into the studio. Joanne takes Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel through the process of having a book adapted for the audio format. She describes how she got her start in media by auditioning for YFM as an 18-year-old and then…

31 Jul 1 hr 13 min

S01 E09 Fred Khumalo

Brad Pitt is in the studio! Prolific and award-winning writer Fred Khumalo talks to Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel about how he inhabited the first-person consciousness of a female protagonist in Bitches' Brew. He has the ladies hanging on his every word as he describes how the historical inspirations for…

24 Jul 1 hr 12 min

S01E08 James Hendry

The massively popular author of 'A Year in the Wild' and most recently 'Return to the Wild' James Hendry joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to explain why the first suggestion that pops up when you Google his name happens to be, "is James Hendry married?". James takes us through…

17 Jul 1 hr 12 min

S01E07 Zukiswa Wanner

2020 Goethe Medalist and 2023 Einstein Forum Fellow, Zukiswa Wanner, joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about her roles as a writer, publisher, curator, and speaker. Zukiswa describes how she often walks around with an idea in her mind for a long time before finally sitting down and…

10 Jul 1 hr 09 min

S01E06 Yewande Omotoso

Award-winning author, Yewande Omotoso, joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how she has recently got back into writing now that her twins are two-and-a-half years old. She talks about guarding her precious Fridays because that is the time she has to devote to writing. Yewande wonders whether…

3 Jul 1 hr 15 min

S01E05 Pamela Power

Pamela Power is a television scriptwriter and script editor currently working on several South African TV shows. She is the author or co-author of four well-received novels and the sober-curious memoir My Year of Not Getting Sh*tfaced. Pam joins fellow authors Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how…

26 Jun 1 hr 11 min

S01E04 Gus Silber

South Africa's favourite non-fiction writer Gus Silber joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about his distinguished career as a journalist, columnist, reviewer, screenwriter, and speechwriter. Gus takes us all the way back to his earliest days as a reporter for a local newspaper in Krugersdorp and talks about…

19 Jun 1 hr 28 min

S01E03 Niq Mhlongo

Multi-award-winning and much-translated writer Niq Mhlongo is in the studio to talk about his long and varied career. He describes how he got his start as a writer by flunking out of law school and how his early novels foreshadowed the Fees Must Fall movement. Niq tells us what to…

12 Jun 1 hr 07 min

S01E02 Sue Nyathi

Acclaimed and award-winning author Sue Nyathi joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how life has gone since she left the corporate world to become a full-time writer. Spoiler alert – it's gone really well! Sue breaks down how she got started as a writer, going back to…

5 Jun 1 hr 12 min

S01E01 Angela Makholwa

Fiona and Gail are joined by the brilliant and hilarious Angela Makholwa, author of Critical, But Stable, The Blessed Girl, Black Widow Society, and more. Angela tells us about her close encounters with serial killer Moses Sithole and how she needed a break from the darkness after Red Ink came…

29 May 1 hr 19 min

Welcome to the Hidden Lives of Writers

Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel are working writers - and their favourite people are writers. Join them as they dive deep into HOW and WHY successful writers write.

30 Jan 1 min