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Karen Jennings (author)

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Karen Jennings (born 1982) is a South African author.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Jennings was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1982, the daughter of an Afrikaans mother and an English father; both of her parents were teachers.[2][3] She has master's degrees in English literature and creative writing from the University of Cape Town,[3] and a PhD in creative writing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.[1] She has done post-doctoral research at the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, on the historical relationship between science and literature, with particular reference to eusocial insects.[4] In 2022, Jennings was a postdoctoral writer in residence(Department of History) as part of the Biography of an Uncharted People Project at LEAP, Stellenbosch.[5]

From 2023-2024, Jennings was a postdoctoral writer in residence as part of the Cape Panel Project at the Laboratory for the Economics of Africa’s Past (LEAP), Stellenbosch University. [6]

Career

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Jennings edited Feast, Famine & Potluck, a collection of African short stories published in 2014 by Modjaji Books for Short Story Day Africa.[7] Her first novel Finding Soutbek was shortlisted for the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature (now known as the 9mobile Prize for Literature).[8] Her book An Island, written with support from a Miles Moreland Foundation Writing Scholarship, was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize.[9][10]

Her novel Crooked Seeds was published across the world by Holland House Books in the UK, Hogarth Books in the US, Pan Macmillan India Picador India, Text Publishing in Australia, Masobe Books in Nigeria, and in South Africa by Karavan Press

In 2025 Crooked Seeds was longlisted for both the Republic of Consciousness Prize and the Women's Prize.

In 2021 Karen Jennings co-founded the Island Prize with Holland House Books; the Prize is intended to enable debut African authors to find agents and publishers, emphasising the importance that 'stories from Africa be given a wide variety of platforms so that they can be shared at home and abroad without the need to fit certain moulds.' (Karen Jennings)[11] With this in mind, Jennings also co-wrote Words on the Page, A Workbook for African Writers with Robert Peett of Holland House Books. The Workbook was designed with African writers in mind, and is a collection of resources, exercises, and discussions aimed at encouraging and developing the creative process.[12]

Jennings runs regular writing workshops and currently lectures Creative Writing at North-West University, Potchefstroom.[13]

Short Stories and Essays

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Short Stories:

Short story anthology: Away from the Dead London: Holland Park Press, in 2014

Individual short stories :

“Rangton of Bali” to be published in The Woven Tale Press in 2025.

“Runaway” published in New Contrast December 2024.[14]

“In The Dust” published in Isele: In the Dust | Karen Jennings – Isele Magazine. November 2024

“The Incident” published in One Life. Short.Sharp.Stories anthology, Tattoo Press, Cape

Town, 2024.[15]

“Skeleton” published in Lounloun: The Skeleton – lọúnlọún December 2024.

“Vigilante” published in Southword No. 47 in October/November 2024.[16]

“Panties” published in In Other Words, edited by Kerry Hammerton: Karavan Press, Cape

Town, 2024[17]

“Pegu” published by Libretto: PEGU | KAREN JENNINGS - Inspiring Creativity,

Cultivating Excellence (librettong.com) July 2024.

“The Translator” published by Afrocritik: The Translator | Karen Jennings - Afrocritik April

2024.


Essays published in 2024:

“Waiting for Water”: Waiting for water - LitNet

“Without a Leg to Stand on”: Without a Leg to Stand On. Author Karen Jennings talks about

the… | by The Kalahari Review | Kalahari Review

“Washing by Hand”: Washing by hand: a brief look at Cape laundry since the 17th century -

LitNet

“Well, Yes, I Have a Dream”: Well, Yes, I Have a Dream… | Karen Jennings | Essay

(brittlepaper.com)

Awards

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Works

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  • Finding Soutbek (Holland Park Press, 2013, ISBN 9781907320200) – novel[18]
  • Away from the Dead (Holland Park Press, 2014, ISBN 9781907320439) – short stories
  • Travels with My Father: An Autobiographical Novel (Holland Park Press, 2016, ISBN 9781907320699) – novel/memoir [19]
  • Space Inhabited by Echoes (Holland Park Press, 2018, ISBN 9781907320774) – poetry[20][21]
  • Upturned Earth (Holland Park Press, 2019, ISBN 9781907320910) - novel
  • An Island (Holland House Books, 2020, ISBN 9781910688922) – novel
  • Crooked Seeds. Hogarth. 16 April 2024. ISBN 978-0-593-59712-5. – novel [22][23]
  • Crooked Seeds. Holland House Books. 16 April 2024. ISBN 978-1-7391047-2-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link))[24][25]
  • Crooked Seeds. Text Publishing. 16 April 2024. ISBN 9781922790675.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Crooked Seeds. Masobe Books. 24 June 2024. ISBN 978-978-60488-2-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Crooked Seeds. Karavan Press. 8 May 2024. ISBN 978-1-7764726-2-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  • Crooked Seeds. Pan Macmillan Picador India. 16 April 2024. ISBN 9789361135743.
  • Words on the Page co-written with Robert Peett (2025)[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Karen Jennings". Holland Park Press. 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  2. ^ a b Cosslett, Rhiannon Lucy (5 August 2021). "'I've been poor for a long time': after many rejections, Karen Jennings is up for the Booker". The Guardian.
  3. ^ a b "Karen Jennings, Author at LitNet". LitNet. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Authors: Karen Jennings". Holland House Books. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  5. ^ admin. "Biography of an Uncharted People". Biography of an Uncharted People. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  6. ^ "Karen Jennings - Franschhoek Literary Festival". Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  7. ^ Jennings, Karen, ed. (2013). Feast, famine & potluck. South Africa: Short Story Day Africa. ISBN 978-0-620-58886-7. OCLC 915159052.
  8. ^ "Etisalat Prize for Literature Announces 2013 Shortlist". Etisalat Prize. 23 January 2014. Archived from the original on 1 March 2014. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  9. ^ Self, John (5 August 2021). "An Island by Karen Jennings review — the dark horse of Booker 2021". The Times.
  10. ^ de Waal, Shaun (27 July 2021). "'This is an extraordinary moment for me': SA writer Karen Jennings on Booker longlist". Arts.
  11. ^ "The Island Prize 2024-25 Rules". Holland House Books. 4 November 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  12. ^ "Clamshell Press Workbook". Holland House Books. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  13. ^ Karina (6 March 2025). "Karen Jennings at Time of the Writer". Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  14. ^ "New Contrast Issue 207". New Contrast Literary Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  15. ^ "One Life - Short Stories (Paperback)". www.loot.co.za. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Southword 47 – Munster Literature Centre". Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  17. ^ Jennings, Karen (5 September 2024). "Washing by hand: a brief look at Cape laundry since the 17th century - LitNet". LitNet - Die boekehuis met baie wonings. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  18. ^ Viljoen, Shaun. "Finding Soutbek." Tydskrif vir Letterkunde, vol. 50, no. 2, 2013, pp. 207+.
  19. ^ Kolbe, Helena (6 January 2017). "Book review: Travels with My Father by Karen Jennings". LitNet. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  20. ^ Ullyatt, Tony (4 October 2018). "Space inhabited by echoes by Karen Jennings: a review". LitNet. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
  21. ^ Szczurek, Karina M. (10 August 2018). "Space Inhabited by Echoes: Karen Jennings". Cape Times. Retrieved 6 August 2021 – via PressReader.
  22. ^ Charles, Ron (9 April 2024). "Review | 'Crooked Seeds' is hard to read and impossible to look away from". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  23. ^ Self, John (2 April 2024). "Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings review – a perfectly realised fictional creation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 May 2024.
  24. ^ "Crooked Seeds". Holland House Books. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  25. ^ Self, John (2 April 2024). "Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings review – a perfectly realised fictional creation". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  26. ^ "Clamshell Press Workbook". Holland House Books. 15 January 2025. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
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