Smanga Archie Mbongwa is a young South African writer, filmmaker and entrepreneur. He was born and raised in the small town of Ladysmith, KZN to a low income family. He lost his mother at the age of seven and had to be raised by his grandmother who also passed 6 years later. He started writing as a way to escape and to express himself. “Writing to me is theraputic. I could be going through the worse time in my life but once I start spending time with my characters, my mood changes for the better.”

He started writing in middle school but got to publish his first short story The Love Destiny in grade 10. He has written, short stories, Screenplays and poems. His first published book was Where Apples Fall Far From Trees, a poetry collection. “If I was to advise other writers I would say, don’t hesitate. Don’t dumb it down. Write what you want and love. When you write from the heart, surely someone will read from the heart”.