Litnet

Chris van Wyk was born in Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto in July 1957. He was educated at Riverlea High School in Riverlea, Johannesburg. He lives in Northcliff, Johannesburg and works as a full-time writer. He is married to Kathy and they have two sons.

Both he and Kathy were activists in the liberation movement the United Democratic Front (UDF) in the 1980s.

From 1980 to 1985 he edited the South African literary quarterly magazine Staffrider. He has travelled to Swaziland, Botswana, Nigeria, Russia, England, Germany, Sweden, Austria and Denmark to attend seminars and festivals relating to South African and African literature.

He writes novels, short stories and poetry. His short stories and poems have been published in Denmark, Germany, Sweden, France, Turkey, the UK, the USA and Canada. He also writes books for teenagers and younger children.

In 1979 he won the Olive Schreiner Award for his collection of poems, It Is Time to Go Home.

In 1998 he was awarded the Sanlam Prize for the year’s best South African short story (called Magic). In the same year his novel, The Year of the Tapeworm, was published.

In 2003 he published a series of biographies for children and young teens. Under the series title Freedom Fighters, they include Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Helen Joseph, Desmond Tutu, Chris Hani, Sol Plaatje, Albert Luthuli and Steve Biko. These books are easy to read and illustrated with high quality photographs. This series is used extensively in South African schools.

In 2006 Freedom Fighters 2 was published, which includes Walter Sisulu, Bram Fischer, Ruth First, Joe Slovo, Lilian Ngoyi, Yusuf Dadoo, Mohandas Gandhi, John Dube, Robert Sobukwe and Cissie Gool.

Now Listen Here – The Life and Times of Bill Jardine, was published in 2003 by STE Publishers, Johannesburg. It is the biography of Bill Jardine, an ANC sports activist who, together with among others, Makhenkesi Stofile, Ngconde Balfour, Steve Tshwete and Trevor Manuel fought racism in apartheid sport which in turn contributed to a free, democratic South Africa.

Shirley, Goodness and Mercy – a Childhood Memoir, was published by Picador Africa in 2004. It is the story of Van Wyk’s childhood and youth growing up and living in a “coloured” township in the 1960s, 70s and 80s. This book was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award in 2005. It was published in Britain in 2006.

Chris often speaks at schools, library conferences and literary events about the value of books and reading and about South African literature.

Opgedateer/Updated: 2006-09-01
Bio-inligting verouderd? Stuur 'n e-pos aan bio@litnet.co.za 
Bio-info dated? Send an e-mail to bio@litnet.co.za