About
Charlene Smith is a multi-award winning writer, writing teacher, and documentary film maker. Authorized biographer for Nobel Peace Prize winner, Nelson Mandela, she has worked for the Los Angeles Times, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and CBS 60 Minutes among others. She lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Featured Work
Mandela: In Celebration of a Great Life
Authorized biography. This account was launched at an event in Johannesburg South Africa with Nelson Mandela and his wife, Graca Machel, and three of the next South African presidents: Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and the present president, Cyril Ramaphosa. The book has an introduction by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Smith draws heavily on her career as a political journalist in South Africa focussing on resistance politics, and her experience as an underground activist who developed a close relationship with Mandela, Ramaphosa and many of the people Mandela was closest to, to deliver a vivid and moving account of a great man and the nation he loved.
Other Works
Awards and Recognition
- • Goddard Alumni Arts Award (2015) • Sri Chinmoy Peace Torchbearer Award, Arlington MA (2014) • Prix Italia – Documentary HIV and AIDS. • CBS Documentary on Nelson Mandela, 12 international awards. • Distinguished Work Media and Human Rights, SA Women Abroad, Toronto, Canada. • Winner: Harvard Bookstore Essay Writing Contest for New England Essays (2012). • Mondi Award: Best Feature Writer. • Courageous Journalism, Rhodes University. • Features Award, CNN Journalist of the Year. • Person of the Year, Mail and Guardian Newspaper. • Woman of the Year: Media and Communications, South African Broadcasting Corporation.
