His novels have been translated into 21 languages, the translation of Ways of Dying into Turkish being the latest. On 8 June 2012, Mda was awarded an honorary doctorate of the University of Cape Town for his contributions to world literature. Mda is a founding member and currently (as of 2011) serves on the advisory board of African Writers Trust, 'a non-profit entity which seeks to coordinate and bring together African writers in the Diaspora and writers on the continent to promote sharing of skills and other resources, and to foster knowledge and learning between the two groups.'

As of July 2021, he is a Lecturer in Advanced Academic Programs at Johns Hopkins University. He has been a visiting professor at Yale and the University of Vermont. Most recently, he went to the United States, where he became a professor in the English Department at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. In addition to writing novels and plays, he taught English and creative writing in South Africa and the United Kingdom. When he started publishing, he adopted the pen name of Zakes Mda. He completed his PhD at the University of Cape Town, South Africa, in 1989. He completed a MFA (Theater) and a MA (Mass Communication and Media) in 1984 at Ohio University, United States. He pursued his BFA (Visual Arts and Literature) at the International Academy of Arts and Literature, Zurich, Switzerland, in 1976. and completed the Cambridge Overseas Certificate at Peka High School, Lesotho, in 1969. Zanemvula Mda was born in Herschel, South Africa, in 1948. He is currently a Patron of the Etisalat Prize for Literature. He has won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays. Zakes Mda ( / ˈ z ɛ ɪ k s/ / m ˈ d ɑː/), legally Zanemvula Kizito Gatyeni Mda (born 1948) is a South African novelist, poet and playwright and he is the son of politician A.

Ways of dying by zakes mda