Chris Karsten (born 9 November 1947) is a South African journalist and writer writing in Afrikaans who has received numerous awards for his writing.

Life and work

Chris Karsten was born on 9 November 1947 in

Morgenzon Morgenzon ( Dutch for ''morning sun'') is a ghost town situated on the banks of the Osspruit River ''(Ox Stream)'' with an agricultural school (which is all the town is known for) in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The town is 45 km south ...

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is a province of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Swazi, Xhosa, Ndebele and Zulu languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It ...

. He matriculated from the Hoërskool Hoogenhout in

Bethal Bethal () is a farming town in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The farms in the region produce maize, sunflower seeds, sorghum, rye and potatoes. The town lies east of Johannesburg on the N17 National Route. History The town originated on an old farm ...

. Afterwards, he studied further at the University of Pretoria and in 1970 earned a

B.A Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

with Afrikaans-Dutch and psychology as majors. In 1971 he began his career as a journalist for ''

Die Volksblad The ''Volksblad'' (English: People's Journal) is an Afrikaans-language daily newspaper published in Bloemfontein, South Africa, and distributed in the Free State and Northern Cape provinces, where it is the largest Afrikaans daily. It is South ...

'' in Bloemfontein. With the support of ''Beeld'' in 1974 he moved to Johannesburg. He returned to ''Die Volksblad'' as editor and was also the representative for Nasionale Koerante in Zimbabwe, head of ''Die Volksblad'' newspaper and parliamentary reporter. Later he became news editor and member of the newspaper's editorial team. He moved to George, where he served as bureau-head for ''Rapport''. He married Simone, who was born in Canada and came to South Africa as a child. In 2010 they decided to emigrate to the land of her birth, and settled in the small fishing village Lunenburg in Nova Scotia. They have three sons, Christoff, Eric and Udo. Christoff died at the age of twenty in a car accident.

Writing

Numerous of his short stories appeared in magazines before he published his first book, the children's story ''Floris Sapiens''. The title of the book is derived from the Florisbad excavation site in the Free State. The book is science-fiction and covers a group of prehistoric children. Floris and his friend Saldanna refuse to blindly follow tradition and go on an adventure to experience new things. In 1985 he was awarded the Sanlam Prize (Silwer) for Children's Literature for ''Floris Sapiens''. ''Die jokkie wat met perde kon praat'' was also aimed at children and is the story of a black boy, Letsie, who is unable to speak and is taken in by a white family, the parents of the narrator Billy. Although unable to speak, Letsie is excellent at horseriding and can speak telepathically with horses. Following this, he focused on work for adults. "''Frats''" is a novel about Khoena, based on the life of Saartjie Baartman. In 2008 "''Frats''" won the ATKV Prose Prize. After this, Karsten switched to crime fiction. "''Seisoen van sonde''" is about a serial killer. The book won an ATKV prize in 2010, and was also on the shortlist for an M-Net prize.

Awards

* 2008 –

ATKV Prose Prize The ATKV-Prosaprys (AKTV Prose Prize) is a literary award awarded annually by the ATKV to an Afrikaans writer for a work of prose published during the previous calendar year. The prize was first awarded in 1984 to Dalene Matthee for her book Kringe ...

for ''Frats'' * 2011 –

for ''Abel se ontwaking'' * 2014 –

for ''’n Man van min belang''

Sources

Books

* Wybenga, Gretel en Snyman, Maritha (reds.) "Van Patrys-hulle tot Hanna Hoekom" Lapa-Uitgewers Eerste uitgawe Tweede druk 2005

Magazines and newspapers

* Coetzee, Corné "Mozart vir mooi, Liszt vir moord" “Plus" 15 October 2009 * Ferrus, Diana "Rapport" 2 September 2007 * Malan, Marlene "Abel Lotz moor weer" “Rapport" 30 March 2014 * Nieuwoudt, Stephanie "Joernalis skryf jeugboek met ’n verskil" “Plus" 9 December 1997 * Rautenbach, Elmari "Winterbach-manuskrip wen" “Beeld" 13 March 2012 * Retief, Hanlie "Taai soos bloed vloei ink in sy are" “Rapport" 18 March 2012

Internet

* Crime beat: http://crimebeat.bookslive.co.za/blog/2013/02/06/crime-beat-a-quiet-chat-with-chris-karsten/ * Green, Phyllis Sarie: http://www.sarie.com/lewe-liefdes/5-boekminute-met-chris-karsten/ * NB-Uitgewers: http://www.nb.co.za/authors/257 * Roberts, Maryke LitNet: http://www.litnet.co.za/onderhoud-oor-die-respektabele-meneer-hartslief-deur-chris-karsten/ * Storiewerf: http://www.storiewerf.co.za/cvs/cv_chriskarsten_ph.htm

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karsten, Chris 1947 births South African journalists Afrikaans-language writers Afrikaner people South African people of Dutch descent South African male novelists University of Pretoria alumni 20th-century South African novelists 21st-century South African novelists 20th-century South African male writers 21st-century South African male writers Living people