Willem Anker (born 1979) is a
South African writer who writes in the
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 ...
language. He was born in
Citrusdal
Citrusdal is a town of 5,000 people in the Olifants River Valley in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the base of the Cederberg mountains about north of Cape Town. Agriculture in the area is dominated by citrus fruit fa ...
in 1979. He studied at
Stellenbosch University
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 ...
, where he now teaches
creative writing
Creative writing is any writing that goes outside the bounds of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on narrative craft, character development, and the use of literary ...
.
His debut novel, ''Siegfried'', was published in 2007. His most noted work to date is the multi-award winning ''Buys'' (2014) which was 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 ...
as ''Red Dog'' and was longlisted for the 2020
International Booker Prize
The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize was announced ...
.
Awards
* 2008
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 ''Siegfried
''
* 2015
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 ''Buys''
*2015
W.A. Hofmeyr Prize
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 ...
, for ''Buys''
*2016
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 ''Buys''
*2016
K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award, for ''Buys''
References
South African writers
1979 births
Living people
{{SouthAfrica-writer-stub