Rayda Jacobs (born 6 March 1947) is a South African writer and film-maker. She was born in

Diep River, Cape Town Diep River is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, named after the Diep River that runs through the area. The suburb is bordered by Heathfield to the south and Plumstead to the north. Diep River railway station is on the main line from Cape Town ...

and began writing at a young age. In 1968, she moved to

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. She married there, had two children and later divorced. Her first book ''

The Middle Children __FORCETOC__ ''The Middle Children'' is a collection of fourteen short stories written by South African writer Rayda Jacobs, based mostly on her experience living through apartheid and published in Canada in 1994. Through these short stories the re ...

'', a collection of short stories, was published in Canada in 1994. Jacobs returned to South Africa the following year. Her novel ''Eyes of the Sky'', published in 1996, received the Herman Charles Bosman Prize for English fiction. She wrote a series of feature articles for the ''

Cape Times The ''Cape Times'' is an English-language morning newspaper owned by Independent News & Media SA and published in Cape Town, South Africa. the newspaper had a daily readership of 261 000 and a circulation of 34 523. By the fourth quarter of ...

'' and hosted radio programs. She has also produced and directed documentaries for television, including ''God Has Many Names'' and ''Portrait of Muslim Women''.

Selected works

* ''The Slave Book'', novel (1998) * ''Sachs Street'', novel (2001) * ''Confessions of a Gambler'', novel (2003), received

The Sunday Times Fiction Prize The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the '' Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' ...

and the Herman Charles Bosman Prize, adapted for film

References

External links

* 1947 births Living people South African writers South African film producers South African film directors Writers from Cape Town South African emigrants to Canada {{SouthAfrica-writer-stub