Renowned artist and writer Ndabenhle William Zulu won the 2023 University of Johannesburg (UJ) Main Prize for Creative Writing in isiZulu for his work Emzileni KaShaka. Born at Nsengeni in the Vryheid district in rural KwaZulu-Natal, he moved to Emondlo Township, where he still lives. He has exhibited internationally and held his first solo exhibition in 1995 at the African Art Centre in Durban, South Africa. He has art collections displayed at the Durban Art Gallery (South Africa), the Constitutional Court of South Africa in Johannesburg and at MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) in the USA. His autobiography, Spring Will Come, was shortlisted for the Alan Paton Award in 2008, and the self-translated IsiZulu adaptation, Liyoze Line Nangakithi, won the PANSALB Multilingualism Award in 2011. Zulu has also written another book, Umlingo Wezindaba: isiZulu edition of Our Story Magic.