PEN it down | PEN dit neer: Deelnemers | Participants 2025

Athambile Masola is ʼn skrywer, navorser en bekroonde digter. Sy het haar PhD aan Rhodes Universiteit verwerf en is ʼn senior lektor by die Departement van Historiese Studies aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad. Haar debuutbundel, Ilifa (2021), wat sy in isiXhosa geskryf het, het die Geestes- en Sosiale Wetenskap-prys gewen. Sy het die geskiedenisboekreeks, Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us (2022) en Together Apart: The Story of Living in Apartheid (2025) saam met Dr Xolisa Guzula geskryf. In medewerking met Makhosazana Xaba stel sy Noni Jabavu se rubrieke uit 1977 saam in A Stranger at Home (2023). Sy is mederedakteur van Inyathi Ibuzwa Kwabaphambili: Theorising South African Women’s Intellectual Legacies (2025) saam met Babalwa Magoqwana en Siphokazi Magadla. Haar navorsing fokus op die literêre en intellektuele geskiedenis van swart vroue. Sy skryf ook opiniestukke en essays vir koerante en ander populêre media.  

Athambile Masola is a writer, researcher and an award-winning poet. She holds a PhD from Rhodes University and is a senior lecturer in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Cape Town. Her debut collection of poetry, Ilifa (2021) was written in isiXhosa and won the Humanities and Social Sciences Award in 2022. She is the co-author of the children’s history book series, Imbokodo: Women Who Shape Us (2022) and Together Apart: The Story of Living in Apartheid (2025) with Dr Xolisa Guzula. In collaboration with Makhosazana Xaba, she was involved in collating a collection of Noni Jabavu’s columns from 1977, A Stranger at Home (2023). She is the co-editor of Inyathi Ibuzwa Kwabaphambili: Theorising South African Women’s Intellectual Legacies (2025) together with Babalwa Magoqwana and Siphokazi Magadla. Her research focuses on the literary and intellectual histories of black women. She also writes op-eds and essays for popular media and newspapers. 

Jolyn Phillips is ʼn bekroonde Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer, akademikus en multidissiplinêre kunstenaar. Haar werk sluit letterkunde, musiek en teater in. Die stories wat sy vertel is diep gewortel in die lewenservaring en tekstuurryke taal van die vissersgemeenskap van Gansbaai in die Weskaap waar sy gebore en getoë is. Sy het ʼn PhD in Kreatiewe Skryfkuns verwerf en was ʼn navorsingslid by verskeie instansies. Dit het ʼn stewige teoretiese en analitiese grondslag vir haar kreatiewe praktyk gelê. 

Phillips het al verskeie pryse vir haar letterkundige bydraes ingepalm: die NIHSS Prys vir Beste Fiksie vir haar kortverhaalbundel, Tjieng Tjang Tjerries and Other Stories (2019); die UJ Prys vir Beste Debuut vir haar Afrikaanse digbundel Radbraak (2017), en die Eugène Marais Prys vir haar epiese gedig Bientang (2020). Sy ondersoek die temas van identiteit, taal en geborgenheid in haar kortverhale, gedigte en romans. As ʼn uitvoerende kunstenaar en musikant het sy ook oorspronklike musiek vrygestel en haar stories vir die teater verwerk. Dit bewys dat sy tuis is in verskeie kunsdissiplines en dit gemaklik kan kombineer. In 2025 is haar verwerking van Ronelda Kamfer se roman Kompoun (2021) tydens die Suidoosterfees op die planke gebring.

Jolyn Phillips is an award-winning South African author, academic and multidisciplinary artist whose work spans literature, music and theatre. She comes from the fishing community of Gansbaai in the Western Cape, and her storytelling deeply reflects her community’s lived experiences and linguistic textures. She has a PhD in Creative Writing and has held various research fellowships, which have equipped her with a strong theoretical and analytical foundation that informs her creative practice. 

Phillips has received many accolades for her literary contributions: the NIHSS Prize for Best Fiction for her collection of short stories, Tjieng Tjang Tjerries and Other Stories (2019); the UJ Prize for Best Debut for Radbraak (2017), a collection of Afrikaans poetry, and the Eugène Marais Prize for her epic poem, Bientang (2020). Her published works include short stories, poetry and novels that explore themes of identity, language and belonging. As a musician and performer, she has released original music and adapted her writing for theatrical performance, showcasing her ability to navigate and merge artistic disciplines. In 2025, she adapted Ronelda Kamfer’s novel Kompoun (2021) for the stage for the Suidoosterfees.

vangile gantsho is ʼn digter, heler, kunsopvoeder en medestigter van Impepho Press. Sy is tans die redakteur van die New Coin Poetry-joernaal en het twee digbundels gepubliseer: Red Cotton (2018) en Undressing in Front of the Window (2015). Sy het haar MA in Kreatiewe Skryfkuns aan Rhodes Universiteit behaal en aan verskillende tersiêre instellings in Suid-Afrika en die VSA klas gegee. Haar werk is in literêre publikasies regoor die wêreld gepubliseer: The Creative Arts: On Practice, Making and Meaning (2024), Wild Imperfections: An Anthology of Womanist Poems (2021), New Daughters of Africa (2019), The Atlanta Review (2018) en Illuminations (2017). 

Gantsho het haar werk al op drie kontinente opgevoer, en aanlyn en fisiese literêre geleenthede regoor die wêreld gereël of help reël. Inisiatiewe wat die sigbaarheid en heling van swart vroue aanmoedig lê haar na aan die hart. Voorbeelde hiervan is Ukuthula, wat geslagsgeweld deur die skryfkuns teëstaan, en Smallgirl Rising: Connecting the Divine Black Feminine, ʼn internasionale digkunsinisiatief om heling te bewerkstellig.

vangile gantsho is a poet, healer, teaching artist and co-founder of Impepho Press. She is the current editor of New Coin Poetry journal and the author of two poetry collections, Red Cotton (2018) and Undressing in Front of the Window (2015). She holds an MA in Creative Writing from Rhodes University and has taught at several tertiary institutions in South Africa and the USA. Her work has been published in various literary publications around the globe: The Creative Arts: On Practice, Making and Meaning (2024), Wild Imperfections: An Anthology of Womanist Poems (2021), New Daughters of Africa (2019), The Atlanta Review (2018) and Illuminations (2017).  

Gantsho has performed her work on three continents and curated and co-curated literary events across the globe, both in person and online. She is dedicated to initiatives that encourage black feminine visibility and healing, such as Ukuthula, a creative writing resistance to gender-based violence, and Smallgirl Rising: Connecting the Divine Black Feminine, an international poetry healing initiative.  

Erla-Mari Diedericks is ’n joernalis, rubriekskrywer en outeur. Sy het ʼn BA-graad in Drama behaal asook ’n honneursgraad in letterkunde (Afrikaans en Nederlands). Sy is ook ’n kranige vertaler en inhoudversorger. As joernalis het sy haar droom verwesenlik om vir byna elke publikasie in Suid-Afrika te skryf, waaronder Fairlady, Femina, You, Huisgenoot, Sarie, Rooi Rose, Idees, Tuis, Keur – en selfs Playboy. Sy het ook al vir Beeld, Die Burger, Rapport en Sunday Times geskryf.  

Diedericks se eerste boek, Sin, Sushi & Survival (memoire; 2011), was ʼn topverkoper en het kultusstatus onder vroue behaal. Ander boeke sluit in Still Standing (romanse; 2013), V-Verhale (erotika; 2012), Seks, Leuens en die Internet (memoire; 2019). Agter Grendels (2020), Salemstraat (2023) en Swyg (2024) is spanningsromans en Dominique (2021) en Die Bewonderaar (2022) is rillers wat op mekaar volg. Stoomromanzas sluit in Die Kontrak (2023), Die Lys (2024) en Die Reünie (verskyn in 2025). Die spanningsroman Bonsai-meisies verskyn ook later vanjaar. Tans skryf Diedericks rubrieke vir Netwerk24. Sy woon in Kaapstad saam met haar seun, twee katte en haar gewete.  

Erla-Mari Diedericks is a journalist, columnist and author. She has a BA in Drama and an honours degree in Literature (Afrikaans and Dutch). She is also a skilled translator and content editor. As a journalist she has written for nearly every publication in South Africa: Fairlady, Femina, You, Huisgenoot, Sarie, Rooi Rose, Idees, Tuis, Keur – and even Playboy. Sy has also written for Beeld, Die Burger, Rapport and Sunday Times. 

Diedericks’s first book, Sin, Sushi & Survival (memoir; 2011) was a bestseller and became a cult book among women. Other books are Still Standing (romance; 2013), V-Verhale (erotica; 2012) and Seks, Leuens en die Internet (memoir; 2019). Thrillers include Agter Grendels (2020), Salemstraat (2023), Swyg (2024), Dominique (2021) and its sequel, Die Bewonderaar (2022). Die Kontrak (2023), Die Lys (2024) en Die Reünie (out in 2025) are Stoom Romanzas. Bonsai-meisies, also a thriller, will be published in September 2025. At present, Diedericks is a columnist at Netwerk24. She lives in Cape Town with her son, two cats and her conscience.  

Frode Eie Larsen is ʼn Noorweegse skrywer van Larvik, sowat 140 km suid van Oslo. Hy het ʼn Baccalaureusgraad in Bemarking en maak in 2011 sy skrywersdebuut met die misdaadroman Hemmeligheten (Die Geheim). In 2019 skryf hy saam met die voormalige fietsrykampioen en Olimpiese bronsmedaljewenner, Dag Otto Lauritzen, die eerste boek in ʼn reeks vir kinders, getiteld Tåkedis (Die Mis). Frode het reeds 14 boeke vir kinders en agt misdaadromans vir volwassenes die lig laat sien. 

Frode Eie Larsen is a Norwegian author who lives in Larvik, about 140 km south of Oslo. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing and debuted as an author in 2011 with the crime novel Hemmeligheten (The Secret). In 2019, he collaborated with former professional cyclist and Olympic bronze medallist, Dag Otto Lauritzen, on the first book in a series for children, Tåkedis (The Mist). To date, Frode has written and published 14 books for children and eight crime novels for adults. 

Davina Kawuma van Uganda skryf gedigte, fiksie en kreatiewe niefiksie. Haar werk was op die kortlys vir die Writivism-, Short Story Day Africa-, Afritondo Short Story- en die Gerald Kraak-pryse. In 2022–2023 was sy een van die Kuonyesha Art Fund-vennote. Sy het ook op die besprekingspaneel gedien vir Contemporary Writing Trends in Uganda by die 2024 Kampala Writes LitFest. 

Kawuma is die skrywer van Rispekt a fool to avoid noyze: emboozi z’omu ttakisi z’e Kampala deur Katana Kainempisa, ʼn karakter wat sy geskep het. Kawuna het die stories oorspronklik op haar WhatsApp-status gedeel. Dit word in Uglish (ʼn Ugandese vorm van Engels wat deur Luganda en ander dialekte beïnvloed is) vertel en maak gebruik van ʼn mengsel van konvensionele en eksperimente formate soos ʼn prosagedig, voetnote, gereelde vrae (FAQ’s), ʼn Reddit-plasing en ʼn privaatheidsooreenkoms. Die bundel ondersoek die intimiteit en absurditeit van minibustaxi-pendel – bedags en snags – deur die groter Kampala metropolitaanse gebied. “ʼn Mens kan eintlik sê Katana is my alter ego – sy weerspieël dele van myself wat in stories uitgedruk word,” sê Kawuma.  

Davina Kawuma is a Ugandan writer of poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction. Her work has been shortlisted for the Writivism, Short Story Day Africa, the Afritondo Short Story and the Gerald Kraak prizes. She was a 2022–2023 Kuonyesha Art Fund Partner and was on the panel that discussed Contemporary Writing Trends in Uganda at the 2024 Kampala Writes LitFest. 

Kawuma is the author of Rispekt a fool to avoid noyze: emboozi z’omu ttakisi z’e Kampala by Katana Kainempisa, a character she created. The stories were originally shared as WhatsApp status updates. Narrated in Uglish (a Ugandan form of English influenced by Luganda and other local dialects), the collection explores the intimacies and absurdities of commuting by day and night across the greater Kampala metropolitan area in a minibus taxi. It uses a mixture of conventional and experimental formats: prose poetry, footnotes, FAQs, a Reddit post, a privacy agreement and more. “In many ways, you could say Katana is my alter ego – a reflection of parts of myself expressed through storytelling,” says Kawuma.