Rachel Zadok is a South African writer and a Whitbread First Novel Award nominee (2005). She is the author of the novels ''Gem Squash Tokoloshe'' and ''Sister-Sister''.

Life

Zadok was born in South Africa in 1972 to a South African mother and an Israeli father and grew up in

Kensington Kensington is an area of London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, around west of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensingt ...

, a white middle-class suburb of Johannesburg. She later studied Fine Art and worked as a freelance graphic designer. She moved with her doctor husband to London, England in 2001 where she waitressed for a while and then worked for an orphans' charity. She graduated with a Certificate in Novel Writing from

City University, London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

. It was in London that Zadok began writing ''Gem Squash Tokoloshe'', a first novel set in her native South Africa. "The book is really about belief and the influence society has on children," she said in a November 2005

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

interview. In 2004, Zadok entered the 'How to Get Published' competition on Channel 4's ''

Richard & Judy ''Richard & Judy'' (also known as ''Richard & Judy's New Position'') is a British television chat show presented by the married couple Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan. The show originally aired on Channel 4 from 26 November 2001 to 22 Augus ...

Show'', reaching the final five of 46,000 entrants.

Pan Macmillan Pan Books is a British publishing imprint that first became active in the 1940s and is now part of the British-based Macmillan Publishers, owned by the Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group of Germany. History Pan Books began as an indepe ...

subsequently offered her a publishing contract. ''Gem Squash Tokoloshe'' was shortlisted for the

Whitbread Book Awards The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

First Novel award and the

John Llewellyn Rhys Prize The John Llewellyn Rhys Prize was a literary prize awarded annually for the best work of literature (fiction, non-fiction, poetry, or drama) by an author from the Commonwealth aged 35 or under, written in English and published in the United Kin ...

, and long-listed for the

International Dublin Literary Award The International Dublin Literary Award (), established as the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award in 1996, is presented each year for a novel written or translated into English. It promotes excellence in world literature and is solely ...

. The Whitbread Judges announced: "Gem Squash Tokoloshe impressed us with its powerful evocation of a child's-eye view of rural South Africa. Rachel Zadok sets the private drama of a collapsing household against the backdrop of a changing nation and creates a tangible atmosphere of menace". Zadok returned to South Africa in 2010 and now lives with her husband and daughter in Cape Town. In ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' of 18 November 2005 Zadok commented: "I feel like I can't run away from it outh Africaand live somewhere else. I've got to pay my dues, give back to the country that gave me so much..." Zadok has spoken of her wish to set up a project for

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

orphans in her native South Africa. In 2011, she launched Short Story Day Africa, an initiative to highlight African short fiction. She published her second novel, ''Sister-Sister'', with South African publisher Kwela Books in 2013.

Works

* ''Gem Squash Tokoloshe'', Pan Macmillan, 2005 * ''Sister-Sister'', Kwela Books, 2013 Short works by Rachel Zadok have also appeared in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', the ''

Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

'', ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' and ''African Violet'', the 2012

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2000, the £10,000 prize was named ...

Anthology.Author page on Kwela Books website
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External links

Rachel Zadok's blog, "Readjusting Disorder"

Rachel Zadok's blog at Books LIVE

Kwela Books

''From Waitress to the Whitbread''

Whitbread Book Awards

Guardian Unlimited ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

, 29 October 2005
"I didn't know who Mandela was"
Guardian, 18 November 2005
"From risotto to riches for Richard & Judy author"

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

, 18 November 2005
"Interview: Jasper Gerard meets Rachel Zadok"

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

, 20 November 2005

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zadok, Rachel 1972 births Living people Alumni of City, University of London South African women novelists White South African people Writers from Johannesburg 21st-century South African women writers South African people of Israeli descent 21st-century South African novelists

Life

Works

See also

External links

References