Niq Mhlongo was born in 1973 in Soweto. He has a BA from the University of the Witwatersrand, with majors in African Literature and Political Studies. His first novel, Dog Eat Dog, was published by Kwela in 2004 and was translated into Spanish under the title Perro Come Perro in 2006. This Spanish edition was awarded the Mar des Lettras prize.
After Tears, his second novel, was released to critical acclaim in 2007. His work has subsequently been published in Italy, France and the US. The New York Times called him “. . . one of the most high-spirited and irreverent new voices of South Africa’s post-apartheid literary scene.”
His third novel, Way Back Home, will be published in 2013.