Mary Watson (born 31 May 1975) is a

South African __NOTOC__ South African may relate to: * The nation of South Africa * South African Airways * South African English * South African people * Languages of South Africa * Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the Afric ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

. In 2006 she won the

Caine Prize for African Writing The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...

and in 2014 was named on the

Africa39 Africa39 was a collaborative project initiated by the Hay Festival in partnership with Rainbow Book Club, celebrating Port Harcourt: UNESCO World Book Capital 2014 by identifying 39 of the most promising writers under the age of 40 with the potent ...

list of writers from sub-Saharan Africa aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.

Biography

Born in

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

, Watson completed her master's degree in creative writing under

André Brink André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town. In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...

at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

. After receiving a second master's degree at the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 2003, she returned to Cape Town where she completed her PhD. She worked as a lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Cape Town between 2004 and 2008. Barya, Mildred Kiconco (2 July 2009)
"An interview with Mary Watson"
''

Pambazuka News ''Pambazuka News'' is an open access, Pan-African e-mail and online electronic newsletter. It is published weekly in English, Portuguese and French by the not-for-profit organisation Fahamu. The word ''Pambazuka'' means "dawn" or "arise" in Kiswah ...

''. Issue 140. Retrieved 28 June 2011. Watson has lived in

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a City status in Ireland, city in the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lo ...

, Ireland, since 2009.

Career

Watson is the author of ''Moss'', a collection of short stories published in 2004.Pauli, Michelle (11 July 2006)
"Mary Watson wins 'African Booker'"
''

guardian.co.uk TheGuardian.com, formerly known as Guardian.co.uk and ''Guardian Unlimited'', is a British news and media website owned by the Guardian Media Group. It contains nearly all of the content of the newspapers ''The Guardian'' and ''The Observer'', ...

''. Retrieved 28 June 2011. In 2013, her novel ''The Cutting Room'' was published by Penguin South Africa. Her short stories have appeared in several anthologies. In 2006, she won the

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...

for her short story "Jungfrau". She was a finalist in the Rolex Protege and Mentorship programme in 2012. In April 2014, Watson was named in the

Hay Festival The Hay Festival of Literature & Arts, better known as the Hay Festival ( cy, Gŵyl Y Gelli), is an annual literature festival held in Hay-on-Wye, Powys, Wales, for 10 days from May to June. Devised by Norman, Rhoda and Peter Florence in 1988, t ...

project as one of 39 writers from sub-Saharan Africa aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature.

Works

*''Moss'', Kwela, Cape Town, 2004 *''The Cutting Room'', Penguin, Johannesburg, 2013 *''The Wren Hunt'', Bloomsbury, 2018 *''The Wickerlight'', Bloomsbury, 2019 *''Blood to Poison,'' Bloomsbury, 2022

References

External links

* Donna Bryson
"South African Author Wins Caine Prize"
CBS, 12 July 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Mary South African women short story writers South African short story writers Writers from Cape Town University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of the University of Bristol Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Living people 1975 births Caine Prize winners 21st-century South African women writers South African expatriates in Ireland 21st-century short story writers