Magogodi oaMphela Makhene

2022 Alumna

Cottage: Cedar

BIO: Magogodi is the author of Innards, which The New York Times calls, “a gut punch of a collection...that astonishes.” Pulitzer prize winning novelists call Magogodi, “One of our generation’s most original voices.” She’s known for helping folks Get Gutsy InnardsTM—both on the page and on the stage. 

Whether it’s at multi-billion dollar brands like Mastercard or university campuses like Georgetown University, Magogodi teaches changemakers how to tap the power of their own story to lead tough conversations with love, transform painful life lessons into purposeful grist—with a side effect of BS-proof wellness—and how to put the action in impactful brand activism. 

She’s led workshops from New Zealand to Ireland—sharing the stage (and dance moves!) with Nobel laureates like Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel and fellow writers like Arundhati Roy, Nikki Giovanni, Krista Tippett and Joy Harjo. An Iowa Writers’ Workshop alum, Magogodi is a Caine Africa Prize, Hedgebrook, MacDowell and Rona Jaffe Award honoree. Learn more about her writing and speaking adventures at magogodi.com.