Eben Venter is an Afrikaans-speaking writer who was born in Burgersdorp in South Africa and has lived in Australia, Japan and the Netherlands. He published eleven works of fiction (novels, short story collections and a cookbook). His works have been translated into English, Dutch and German. He was awarded the

M-Net Literary Award M-Net Literary Awards were a group of South African literary awards, awarded from 1991 to 2013. They were established and sponsored by M-Net (Electronic Media Network), a South African television station. The award was suspended indefinitely a ...

in 2010 for his book ''Santa Gamka''.

Life

Venter was raised on a farm in

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. He went to Grey College in

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State (province), Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legisla ...

before he was conscripted into the air force and served on the Angolan border. He obtained an MA in philosophy and worked as a journalist in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

before leaving South Africa in 1986, during the State of Emergency. He went to Australia where he worked as a chef in his sibling's café. In 2005, Venter taught at

Adam Mickiewicz University Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

and Palacky University before becoming a writer-in-residency at the

Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIAS) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, is an independent research institute in the field of the humanities and social and behavioural sciences founded in 1970. The instit ...

in 2007. On August 4, 2010, Venter was nominated for the

in the Afrikaans category for his book ''Santa Gamka.'' The

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as ''Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU)'' ) and before that - the University of Port Elizabeth (UPE), the Port Elizabeth Technikon and Vista University's Port Elizabeth campus. This South Afr ...

awarded him as an alumni achiever in November 2011. In 2012, he was writer-in-residence at

Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

. In 2018, Venter released his first book created in English instead of Afrikaans titled ''Green as the Sky Is Blue.''

List of titles

*1986 ''Witblitz'' *1993 ''Foxtrot van die vleiseters'', translated into German (as ''Burenfoxtrott'') and Dutch (''Dans aan het einde van de dag'') *1996 ''Ek stamel, ek sterwe'', translated into English (''My Beautiful Death'') and Dutch (''Ik stamel ik sterf'') *1999 ''My simpatie, Cerise'' *2000 ''Twaalf'' *2003 ''Begeerte'' *2006 ''Horrelpoot'', translated as ''Trencherman'' *2009 ''Santa Gamka'' *2010 ''Brouhaha'' *2013 ''Wolf, Wolf'', translated into English by

Michiel Heyns Michiel Heyns (born 2 December 1943) is a South African author, translator and academic. He went to school in Thaba 'Nchu, Kimberley and Grahamstown, and later studied at the University of Stellenbosch and Cambridge University before serving a ...

Awards

* 1994

Media24 Books Literary Awards The Media24 Books Literary Awards (known before 2011 as the Via Afrika Awards, and before that as the Nasboek Literary Awards) are a group of five South African literary prizes awarded annually by Media24, the print-media arm of the South African m ...

(WA Hofmeyr Prize) – ''Foxtrot van die vleiseters'' * 1996

(WA Hofmeyr Prize) – ''Ek stamel, ek sterwe'' * 2004

(WA Hofmeyr Prize) – ''Begeerte'' * 2010

(WA Hofmeyr Prize) – ''Santa Gamka'' * 2010

M-Net Literary Awards M-Net Literary Awards were a group of South African literary awards, awarded from 1991 to 2013. They were established and sponsored by M-Net (Electronic Media Network), a South African television station. The award was suspended indefinitely a ...

– ''Santa Gamka''

References

External links

Author focus of publisher Tafelberg

Interview with Eben Venter
1954 births Living people South African writers Nelson Mandela University alumni {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub