Sandile Ngidi was born in Vryheid – the KwaZulu-Natal "battlefields" in 1969. He grew up at Amahlongwa on the south coast of Durban and matriculated at Mariannhill High School. He is a freelance journalist, dramatist, brand communication specialist and literary critic. Sandile wrote the concept paper towards the inception of South Africa's Poet Laureate prize on behalf of the Write Associates and the Department of Arts and Culture. An avid advocate of literary translations, in 2006 he translated the classic Zulu novel by Sibusiso Nyembezi, Inkinsela yaseMgungundlovu (The Rich Man of Pietermaritzburg) from Zulu to English. He writes in Zulu and English. Sandile Ngidi previously edited Realtime youth magazine and Baobab literary journal. Friends of the Tender Board is his debut poetry collection. He is currently studying for an MA in Creative Writing at Rhodes University in South Africa, courtesy of the Mellon Foundation Scholarship.