Lettie Viljoen was a

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

of the South African author Ingrid Winterbach, who primarily writes in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

. She lives in Jamestown,

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronounc ...

Life and education

Winterbach was born 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 Dem ...

in 1948. She got her early education from Florida High School, Johannesburg and studied

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

and Fine Arts at the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

, and went on to a postgraduate degree in Afrikaans and Dutch at the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...

under D.J. Opperman. She went on to work as a teacher, a journalist, a Fine Arts lecturer at the University of Stellenbosch and a lecturer in Afrikaans and Dutch at the

University of Natal The University of Natal was a university in the former South African province Natal which later became KwaZulu-Natal. The University of Natal no longer exists as a distinct legal entity, as it was incorporated into the University of KwaZulu-N ...

. She has been a full-time writer and painter since 2002. Most of her mature novels have been translated into Dutch and English (chiefly 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 ...

List of titles

As Lettie Viljoen

*1984 ''Klaaglied vir Koos'' *1986 ''Erf'' *1990 ''Belemmering'' *1993 ''Karolina Ferreira'' (published in English as ''The Elusive Moth'', 2005) *1996 ''Landskap met vroue en slang''

As Ingrid Winterbach

*1999 ''Buller se Plan'' *2002 ''Niggie'' (published in English as ''To Hell with Cronje'', 2007) *2006 ''Die Boek van Toeval en Toeverlaat'' (published in English as ''The Book of Happenstance'', 2008) *2010 ''Die Benederyk'' (published in English as ''The Road of Excess'', 2014) *2012 ''Die Aanspraak van Lewende Wesens'' (published in English as ''It Might Get Loud'', 2015) *2015 ''Vlakwater'' (published in English as ''The Shallows'', 2017) *2018 ''Die Troebel Tyd'' (published in English as ''The Troubled Times of Magrieta Prinsloo'', 2019) *2021 ''Voorouer. Pelgrim. Berg.''

Awards

* 1994

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 ...

– ''Karolina Ferreira'' * 1994 Old Mutual Literary Award – ''Karolina Ferreira'' * 2000 WA Hofmeyr Prize – ''Buller se plan'' * 2004

Hertzog Prize The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature a ...

for Prose – ''Niggie'' * 2007 WA Hofmeyr Prize – ''Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat'' * 2007

– ''Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat'' * 2007

University of Johannesburg Prize The University of Johannesburg Prize for South African Writing, also known as the UJ Prize, is awarded annually by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) for the best creative works in each of five categories: English, Afrikaans, Zulu, Northern Soth ...

for Creative Writing – ''Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat'' * 2010 South African Literary Award for literary translation for the translation of ''Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat'' * 2012 C.L. Engelbrecht Prize for Literature – ''Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat'' * 2012 NB-Uitgewers Groot Romankompetisie – ''Die aanspraak van lewende wesens'' (Human & Rousseau) * 2013

- ''Die aanspraak van lewende wesens'' * 2013

for Prose – ''Die aanspraak van lewende wesens'' * 2013 WA Hofmeyr Prize ( Media24 Books Literary Awards) – ''Die aanspraak van lewende wesens''

References

External links

Author's website

Human & Rousseau (publishers)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Viljoen, Lettie 1948 births Living people Hertzog Prize winners for prose 20th-century South African novelists 21st-century South African novelists South African women novelists Pseudonymous women writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers