Thabiso Mahlape was born and raised in Polokwane, Limpopo. As a six year old, she took up reading to teach herself English, but her journey with words would carry her to lead one of the most successful
publishing imprints in the country. BlackBird Books, which she founded in August of 2015.
She is immensely proud of the fact that BlackBird Books is the pioneering publishing imprint dedicated to giving young black voices a platform.
Thabiso holds a Bachelor of Information Science degree specialising in publishing from the University of Pretoria.