An Anthology The Undershade

Masimbonge Lwandile Ngidi is a poet, screenwriter, and short story writer drawn to stories that slip through the cracks. Her writing is fully shaped by a refusal to look away from identity, desire and the textures of a life lived at the intersection of multiple worlds —mainly the black and queer community, and cuts into the overlooked, unspoken, and misunderstood finding a language for experiences that have long existed without it.

As a young writer, she believes the most powerful stories are buried underneath the box everyone else stands in. Her motto is simple and stubborn: keep thinking and writing past the obvious. To find her next story, she goes back to what made her– the bass-heavy ritual of Gqom music, Keorapetse Kgositsile’s defiant lyricism, Warsan Shire’s unflinching intimacy, Lang Leav’s quiet heartbreak, the philosophical wandering of Paulo Coelho, and the devotional hunger of Rumi.

Currently, Masimbonge is building a body of work that says: your story exists, it matters, and it was always worth telling.

Savannah is a multidisciplinary storyteller drawn to the blurred lines between poetry, surrealism, and emotional truth. Her writing explores the quiet weight of what goes unsaid; the inner lives of characters who feel deeply but express it in ways that defy language. Her work is often built from fragments—memory, metaphor, longing—woven into forms that challenge traditional narrative. She explores themes like identity, disconnection, neurodivergence, and the mythic layers hidden in everyday moments. Her motto is: 'storytelling can release what we carry'.

Based in Ballito, Savannah is inspired by visual art, experimental film, and the quiet rituals of ordinary life. Emotion is something that can take on unexpected shapes—and through each piece Savannah makes room for those shapes to emerge.

At heart, Savannah chases a voice that feels fluid, honest, and a little strange—something that sits just beyond the edge of reason, where vulnerability can breathe.

For Noeleen, writing is more than expression, it's a powerful act of self-reclamation and truth-telling. She believes that the written word is where hidden stories rise, where voices long buried can be heard, and where authenticity lives boldly. Her narratives often center on African identities, emotional resilience, and the beauty in everyday complexity. With a growing body of work that speaks to both heart and heritage, Noeleen is a fresh voice to watch in the literary and screenwriting world.

Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, she is currently studying at AFDA where she continues to refine her craft and creative vision. Her motto is give yourself permission to grow beyond comfort. Start what you finish, respect your craft, and let your work be clean, bold, and true.

To be a writer is to be plagued with knowing.

Each artist begins with life-seeing, people-watching, and deep-thinking. Once you have pen to paper—fingers to keys—you have the undoing of your curse. You translate your findings into feelings unspoken, infesting others and pervading lives, enriching them—ruining them. A writers directive is to open minds to what you or the other may see, feel, and know—across leagues and lifetimes.

Raised on this philosophy, Hannah's writing focuses on the present social sickness, and acts as a well-placed word between scalpel and suture. When feeling less tortured, Hannah is keen to write mysterious fantasy, stormy romance or comical realism. Reading has been a life-shaping facet of her childhood, and thus writing followed in her adolescence as the most obvious career choice.

Outside of writing, Hannah collects old jewelry and revisits old favourites like Back to the Future and The Princess Bride. She is based in Durban, KZN, with her family and perfect ocean view sunsets.