Mulamuleli Tshitangano from Mutshenzheni village is a young writer with ambitious aspirations. She had the honour of representing South Africa at the Mulher Forte African Literature Awards, held in Maun, Botswana, on 31 March.
Despite being only 20 years old, she has achieved recognition in the literary realm, having received two provincial accolades for her written work. Even though she did not win an award in the final, she is thrilled that her work has been acknowledged not just in SA but also across the globe.
"As someone who never once dreamed of becoming an author, I feel deeply honoured. I would like to have my books in bookstores nationwide. I have already started through Amazon and Takealot," she said.
Mulamuleli began writing during her primary school years, and she was inspired by the renowned writer Thomas Hardy. Her journey, however, was not as straightforward as one might imagine. She says she has had to deal with quite a few bogus individuals who pretended to be publishers but were not.
Mulamuleli has penned two books thus far, namely I shall find the light, a poetry book published in 2021, consisting of 90 poems, and Beauty with Scars, which was published last year. Beauty with Scars focuses on empowering women, addressing gender-based violence, and exploring the upbringing of women.
A third-year student at the Tshwane University of Technology and pursuing a diploma in language practice, the young author was selected as a semi-finalist at the Mulher Forte African Literature Awards for Beauty with Scars last year. She has won provincial awards as the best writer in Limpopo at the MAMA 2021/2022 awards and won the African Honouree Global Writers' Award in 2022. The book was also approved by the by Gauteng Department of Education last week.