Sue Nyathi: A Family Affair

HUMA Book Lunch Series

Author: Sue Nyathi (South Africa) 

Introduction: Family is complicated… Meet the Mafus, a close-knit, traditional family with three daughters. As leaders of their church, The Kingdom of God, Pastor Abraham and his wife Phumla are guiding the community of Bulawayo in faith while trying to keep the different branches of their family intact. An independent and feisty Xoliswa returns home after a hiatus abroad, hoping for a fresh start and a chance to steer the family business. Rebellious Yandisa has met the love of her life and is finally getting her act together, while dutiful newlywed Zandile is slowly becoming disillusioned with her happily ever after. The Mafus always present a united front, but as their personal lives unravel, devastating secrets are revealed that threaten to tear their family apart. For how long will they be able to hide behind the façade of a picture-perfect family? See the book: A Family Affair (Pan Macmillan South Africa, 2020).

About the author: Sue Nyathi is a best-selling author of four novels highly praised by her readers. She is a strong literary force with a background in finance and investment. Her literary, visual and communication talents have shined since her childhood. Although intending to pursue journalism, she ironically studied towards a Masters degree in Finance and Investment at the National University of Science and Technology, Zimbabwe. Her career in this field spans over ten years and more than five years in economic development consultancy. Regardless, she continued writing creatively as an escape from the drudgery of economic discourse and financial markets. She was a freelance writer for the ‘Steaming Off’ column in the Sunday Mail, a local weekly in Harare. Many of her articles concerning love and relationships were popularly received by her audience, many of whom shared testimonies of their ordeals in response, which further inspired her authorship. She relocated to Johannesburg from Zimbabwe in 2008, the same time her characters in #TheGoldDiggers (Pan Macmillan, 2019) took their journey to South Africa. This move fundamentally supported her writing, as South Africa offered a more vibrant literary and publishing space.

Discussant: Lorraine Sithole 

Lorraine Sithole is the founder and Chairperson of the old Johannesburg-based bookclub, Bookworms BookClub. She is an executive member of the African Book Trust and the Vice-Chairperson of IBBY SA, the International Board on Books for Young People South Africa. For the past 15 years, she has been promoting reading as a hobby and contributed to two anthologies: Black Tax: Ubuntu or a Burden (Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2019) and When Secrets Become Stories, Women Speak Out (Jonathan Ball Publishers, 2021).