Mandy Wiener

Mandy was short-listed in the prestigious ‘Alan Paton Sunday Times Literary Awards’ for her book, ‘Killing Kebble’ which was a local publishing phenomenon, selling in excess of 100 000 copies. It was also chosen as Jenny Crwys-Williams’ ‘Book of the Year’ in 2011.

Her second book, ‘My Second Initiation’, written with former head of the NPA Vusi Pikoli, was also short-listed for the Alan Paton award and was Crwys-William’s non-fiction book of the year in 2013. In 2014, she published ‘Behind The Door: The Oscar Pistorius and Reeva Steenkamp Story’ with her colleague Barry Bateman.

The book was released internationally and contained new, exclusive information about the trial. Her 2018 book, Ministry of Crime, took a deep dive into organised crime, police corruption and politics. In 2020, Mandy published The Whistleblowers highlighting the stories of several South African whistleblowers and advocating for a change in legislation and culture.

Mandy is a regular feature on the speaking circuit. She addresses conferences, corporates and gatherings and also facilitates panels and discussions with a unique perspective on current affairs and how history unfolds in South Africa.

She focuses on ‘Hope Dealers’: the good people who did their jobs, the whistleblowers who felt compelled to speak truth to power, the civil society activists who stepped into the breach and the journalists who dug up the dirt to hold authorities to account.

There are lessons in these stories for corporates and for individuals on what needs to be done to improve governance, to change legislation and to create a speak-up culture in order to root out corruption. Most importantly these stories will inspire the audience not to be apathetic or complacent, but to fight for a better South Africa.

Thanks to her extensive background in media and journalism, Mandy has gained a lifetime of insight into how best to handle interviews and media.

In personalised training sessions, she offers theory and practical training, covering topics such as the SA media landscape, messaging for media, media rights and how to deal with journalists and crisis communications. Sessions also include training on writing for media, including thought leadership and opinion pieces. Click the button below to book Mandy for media training.

Mandy has won a number of National and Regional Vodacom ‘Journalist of the Year’ awards, has been named ‘The CNN African Radio Journalist of the Year’ and has received several commendations in the Webber Wentzel ‘Legal Journalist of the Year’ awards.

In addition, she has received the National Press Club award in the Radio Category and the Social Media category and was awarded the ‘Rising Star – Women in the Media’ award in 2011.

On the writing front, Mandy was short-listed in the prestigious ‘Alan Paton Sunday Times Literary Awards’ for her book, ‘Killing Kebble’ which was a local publishing phenomenon, selling in excess of 100 000 copies. It was also chosen as Jenny Crwys-Williams’ ‘Book of the Year’ in 2011. Mandy’s second book, ‘My Second Initiation’, written with former head of the NPA Vusi Pikoli, was also short-listed for the Alan Paton award and was Crwys-William’s non-fiction book of the year in 2013. Ministry of Crime was long-listed for the Alan Paton.