Eben Venter
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{{Infobox writer
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| birth_place = Burgersdorp, South Africa
| occupation = Novelist
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| awards = W.A. Hofmeyr Prize
M-Net Literary Award
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Eben Venter is an Afrikaans-speaking writer who was born in Burgersdorp in South Africa and has lived in Australia, Japan and the Netherlands. He published thirteen works of fiction (novels, short story collections and a cookbook). His works have been translated into English, Dutch and German.
He was awarded the M-Net Literary Award in 2010 for his book Santa Gamka.
Life
Venter was raised on a farm in Eastern Cape.{{cite web |title=Eben Venter |url=http://www.tafelberg.com/authors/1191 |website=tafelberg.com |accessdate=March 10, 2019}} He went to Grey College in Bloemfontein{{cite web |title=Working with Words: Eben Venter |url=https://www.wheelercentre.com/news/working-with-words-eben-venter |website=wheelercentre.com |accessdate=March 10, 2019 |date=June 17, 2016}} before he was conscripted into the air force and served on the Angolan border. He obtained an MA in Philosophy and worked as a journalist in Johannesburg before leaving South Africa in 1986, during the State of Emergency. He went to Australia where he worked as a chef in his sibling's café.
In 2005, Venter taught at Adam Mickiewicz University and Palacky University before becoming a writer-in-residency at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in 2007.{{cite web |title=2011 Alumni Achievers |url=https://alumni.mandela.ac.za/Notable-Alumni/Alumni-Awards/2011-Alumni-Awards |website=alumni.mandela.ac.za |accessdate=March 10, 2019}}
On August 4, 2010, Venter was nominated for the M-Net Literary Award in the Afrikaans category for his book Santa Gamka.{{cite news |title=NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS |url=https://www.pressreader.com/south-africa/the-witness/20100804/281917359370795 |accessdate=March 10, 2019 |publisher=The Witness |date=August 4, 2010}}
The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University awarded him as an alumni achiever in November 2011. In 2012, he was writer-in-residence at Rhodes University. In 2018, Venter released his first book created in English instead of Afrikaans titled Green as the sky is blue.{{cite web |title=Three books by Eben Venter acquired by Penguin Random House |url=https://readinglist.click/sub/three-books-by-eben-venter-acquired-by-penguin-random-house/ |website=readinglist.click |accessdate=March 10, 2019}}
List of titles
- 1986 Witblitz
- 1993 Foxtrot van die vleiseters, translated into German by Stefanie Schäfer (Burenfoxtrott) and Dutch by Riet de Jong-Goossens (Dans aan het einde van de dag)
- 1996 Ek stamel, ek sterwe, translated into English by Luke Stubbs (My Beautiful Death) and Dutch by Riet de Jong-Goossens (Ik stamel ik sterf)
- 1999 My simpatie, Cerise
- 2000 Twaalf
- 2003 Begeerte
- 2006 Horrelpoot, translated into English by Luke Stubbs (Trencherman)
- 2009 Santa Gamka
- 2010 Brouhaha
- 2013 Wolf, Wolf, translated into English by Michiel Heyns
- 2017 Groen soos die hemel daarbo, translated into English (Green as the sky is blue) by the author
- 2023 Decima, translated into Afrikaans by the author
Awards
- 1994 Media24 Books Literary Awards (WA Hofmeyr Prize) – Foxtrot van die vleiseters
- 1996 Media24 Books Literary Awards (WA Hofmeyr Prize) – Ek stamel, ek sterwe
- 2004 Media24 Books Literary Awards (WA Hofmeyr Prize) – Begeerte
- 2010 Media24 Books Literary Awards (WA Hofmeyr Prize) – Santa Gamka
- 2010 M-Net Literary Awards – Santa Gamka
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [http://www.tafelberg.com/authors/1191 Author focus of publisher Tafelberg]
- [http://www.bdlive.co.za/life/2014/07/29/author-interview-dying-father-dominates-novel Interview with Eben Venter]
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Category:South African writers
Category:Nelson Mandela University alumni
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