A young Durban author is set to take the world by storm with his writing skills.

Khulekani Magubane (22) from Estcourt in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, has written and published 17 books.

Magubane, a journalism graduate from the Durban University of Technology (DUT) is working on his 18th book, due to be published later this year.

The book, The McClew Brothers and the Dark Maiden, is, according to Magubane, a teen novel thriller.

“I write about whatever I see around me. There are very interesting stories and I enjoy interpreting them from my point of view. Issues I care about tend to make better stories. Through my books I simply aim to portray the world as I see it, or as I would like it to be,” said Magubane.

He started writing at the tender age of seven and saw his first work being published in 2004 when he was still at high school.

The expression Readers are Leaders was inspiration for Magubane whose love for literature by well-known South African authors spurred him to write.

Magubane believes that great things can be achieved from sharing ideas, “not necessarily trying to make resolutions but just hearing each other out”.

Magubane draws his inspiration from the works of Zakes Mda.

He is particularly fond of Mda’s novel, Black Diamond, which Magubane says “has relevance”, something he wants to achieve in his own writing.

Magubane also enjoys Wilbur Smith.

Sifiso Mzobe whose novel, Young Blood, was selected for the Oprah Winfrey Book Club, holds a special place on his list.

Magubane’s books are published by Felicity Keats of Umsinsi Press.

He met her through the Dancing Pencils Literacy Development project, a national initiative aimed at increasing literacy levels in South Africa, run by Umsinsi Press.

While being published is wonderful, the young wordsmith says he writes because he loves to, and is in no rush to make money from his books.

Instead, he wants to develop his skills to become a fully fledged professional author some day.

Winning awards for his writing would be welcome too.

“I haven’t received a high-profile writing award yet. But I figure I still have a lot of time to achieve that.

“Yes, I participated this year in the Dancing Pencils project. I have also attended Time of the Writer workshops as a journalist,” he added.

Magubane describes himself as a reserved but warm-hearted person.

“I enjoy telling stories. I would like to become an international best-selling author,” he said.

Magubane’s dream is to start his own publishing company and media house some day.