Shafinaaz Hassim is the curator of the Time of The Writer 2025 literary festival to be held in Durban, South Africa. She will work with assistant curator Thalente Ndlovu
Time of the Writer is a literary festival organised by the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Centre for Creative Arts, in Durban, South Africa. Usually held in March, it has featured some of the most iconic names in African and world writing since the first edition in 1996.
On November 19, the organisers announced the curator for 2025, the twenty-eighth edition, to be South African author, sociologist, and podcaster Shafinaaz Hassim. The statement they put out on social media reads;
We are thrilled to announce that Shafinaaz Hassim will be the curator for the 28th edition of the Time of The Writer Festival in 2025! 🙌🏾✨📖
Shafinaaz Hassim is a multi-award-winning author and sociologist based in Johannesburg. Her more than fifteen titles have received international and local acclaim. In 2014, she was listed by UNESCO as one of the top 39 writers in Africa under the age of 40. Her novels have been commended by the SALA and NIHSS awards and the UJ Prize for Creative Writing.
She is also the author of the four-book Nisa Qamar series for young adults, which has been shortlisted twice for the Minara Aziz Hassim Literary Awards and the prestigious Sanlam Prize for Youth Literature 2019.
Her novel Darlings of Durban received noteworthy accolades. Kimya Writes is her latest book.
Hassim presents a popular book review show called BookBytes, showcasing cutting-edge writing from local and international authors.
Shafinaaz Hassim will work with assistant curator Thalente Ndlovu a multi-talented artist and passionate advocate for the arts, currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She has made significant contributions in creative roles, including writer, actor, director, stage manager, and poet. Recently, Thalente expanded her expertise to include Production Management for the award-winning play Faces, which toured to Zimbabwe. An emerging arts manager at the Centre for Creative Arts, with over five years of experience tutoring Drama and Performance Studies, as well as English Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Thalente brings a wealth of knowledge and practical experience to both the academic and artistic spheres. Her dedication to her craft and her commitment to education position her as a dynamic force in the world of arts and academia.
Start budgeting ladies and gentlemen. It’s going to be an epic festival.
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