Koleka Putuma

Koleka Putuma is a multi-award-winning theatre practitioner, writer and poet. Her poetry tackles themes such as homophobia, womanhood, race and the dynamics of relationships, religion and politics. Her poetry is sharp and thought provoking, unique in its form, language and structure. Every line, a powerful statement of what she stands for.

Her debut collection of poems, Collective Amnesia, was published in April 2017. It was awarded the 2018 Glenna Luschei Prize for African Poetry, it was named 2017 book of the year by the City Press and one of the best books of 2017 by The Sunday Times and Quartz Africa. Collective Amnesia has been translated in 8 languages.

In April 2021, Manyano Media published her sophomore collection of poems, Hullo, Bu-Bye, Koko, Come In. In 2022, Putuma was awarded the Standard Bank Young Artist Award - a first time award for Poetry in South Africa. Koleka is a Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative finalist for theatre, a Forbes Africa 30 Under 30 Honoree, recipient of the Imbewu Trust Scribe Playwriting Award, Mbokodo Rising Light award, CASA playwriting award and the 2019 Distell Playwriting Award for her play No Easter Sunday for Queers.

She is the Founder and Director of Manyano Media, a multidisciplinary creative company that empowers and produces stories and works by black queer women.