Sandra Tamele holds a Bachelor's degree in Architecture but her love for languages and reading spurred her to literary projects. In 2007, she published the first work that she translated and has since translated 21 novels and short story collections written by, among others, Nobel Literature Laureates Wole Soyinka and Naguib Mahfouz .
Understanding the importance of translation, in 2015 she started hosting an annual literary translation competition among young Mozambicans which led to the establishment of her publishing house Editora Trinta Zero Nove.
Tamele and her publishing house were recipients of the London Book Fair International Excellence for Literary Translation Initiatives Award in 2021, and the BOP Children’s Books Publisher of the Year in 2023.
She was the recipient of a PEN Translates Award in 2022 for Tchanaze by Carlos Paradona. Loose Ties, her translation of Yara Monteiro’s novel was longlisted for the Dublin Literary Award in 2023.