JIAS has selected its first intake of 11 Writing Fellows for its initial writing term that will run from mid-February to mid-April 2016. Each Writing Fellow will have access to a live-in suite at the JIAS complex in Westdene, and share in the community life of the Institute. The first intake comprises a broad spectrum of national and international scholars, writers and artists, active across a range of disciplines. They are:

  • Esther Akinlabi, Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science at the University of Johannesburg
  • Sylvester C Chima, Associate Professor and Head of the Programme of Bio and Research Ethics and Medical Law at the University of KwaZulu-Natal
  • David Coplan, Professor and Chair of Social Anthropology at the University of the Witwatersrand
  • Fred Khumalo, journalist and author
  • Kim Gurney, artist, curator, researcher and writer
  • Desiree Lewis, lecturer in Women and Gender Studies at the University of the Western Cape
  • Harry Kalmer, author and playwright
  • Dr Michael Kasenbacher, researcher, speaker and author
  • Yewande Omotoso, author
  • David wa Maahlamela, poet and prose writer
  • Tabitha Mulyampiti, senior lecturer in women and gender studies at Makerere University