At the moment, Sue Nyathi has the world spinning in the palm of her hand. Across the world the supernovela ‘The Polygamist’ adapted from her novel of the same name has taken the world by storm. The main character Jonasi Gomora has become synonymous with the worst kind of man you can find on the earth. But Nyathi did not start of as a successful writer much less working in TV. Nyathi’s first career was in finance and investment, she published her debut novel ‘The Polygamist’ after much rejection from traditional publishers. It’s almost hard to believe that the woman who created such enduring characters and a tale which has weaved itself into our daily lives almost did not have her story told.

Sukoluhle “Sue” Nyathi was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and earned her degrees in finance and investment from the National University of Science and Technology (NUST). After the country’s economic crumble, Nyathi relocated to Johannesburg where she began to build a life. She began writing as young as 10 years old and had initially set out to study journalism for tertiary education. 

Nyathi’s first novel, the now lauded ‘The Polygamist’, centres on a man named Jonasi Gomora and the many women in his life. He is married to Joyce and the two appear to have an admirable union from the outside. Jonasi also juggles other women such as Essie, the ambitious Matipa and beautiful siren Lindani. It was released in 2012. 

Her second novel is the powerful ‘The Gold Diggers’ which was published in 2018. The narrative follows the lives of Zimbabwean immigrants who take off from Bulawayo and make the perilous journey to South Africa to make a better life for themselves. ‘The Gold Diggers’ was well received both by the readers and critics and was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award and also the Barry Ronge Fiction Award.

In 2020 her third book ‘A Family Affair’ was published. Her latest novel in an epic story that spans decades. ‘An Angel’s Demise’ is novel which centres on Angel who is born on a farm in Somabhula in 1977. The farm is under the heavy hand of Paul Willaims. Angel’s parents take off to be part of the liberation war leaving her in the protection of her grandmothers who have worked at the farm for decades. The novel then traces Angel’s extraordinary journey across many years. 

She has extended her talent into many other arenas. She has worked as an essayist, contributing pieces to books such as the infamous, ‘Black Tax’. Nyathi also worked as a columnist for the Sunday Mail on a column titled ‘Steaming Off.’ She has also edited the non-fiction book ‘When Secrets Become Stories’ which is a book about the stories of woman who endured sexual violence and abuse from youth to adulthood. For television she was invited to write for the e.tv drama Matatiele (nominated for Best TV Drama at the SAFTAs). For her incredible work, she was shortlisted for the prestigious Morland Writing Scholarship in 2021, won the 2023 Humanities and Social Science Award for Best Fiction and the SA Literary Award for her forth novel ‘An Angel’s Demise.’

Twelve years after her first book was released, Nyathi had the chance to have her story reach arguably her greatest audience yet; a Netflix series which has become almost a cultural phenomenon. ‘The Polygamist’ is a twenty-two-episode supernovela which premiered on the 12^th of June. The show entered the top 10 of most viewed within twenty-four hours of its release and recorded 19.1 million hours viewed in its first week on air. 

Sue Nyathi has shows how far one’s imagination can take them, she is found not only success but acclaim from the many things she dreamt up. She claimed that back in 2005 she once received a two-page rejection letter from a publisher which almost made her stop writing completely; imagine if she had decided to stop her journey there? Nyathi is a person not only Zimbabwean can take pride in but anyone who commits to their path to fulfil their work on this planet.