Carolann "C. A." Davids (born 1971) is a South African writer and editor who is best known for her novels ''The Blacks of Cape Town'', (2013), ''How To Be A Revolutionary,'' (2022) and her short stories.

Career and philosophy

Born in 1971 in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, South Africa, Davids is a novelist, editor and writer. She previously worked in arts marketing as the marketing manager for the Baxter Theatre Centre at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

(UCT), and communications manager for the Alexander Kasser Theatre at

Montclair State University Montclair State University (MSU) is a public research university in Montclair, New Jersey, with parts of the campus extending into Clifton and into Little Falls. As of fall 2018, Montclair State was, by enrollment, the second largest public un ...

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

, USA. Before that, she worked as an advertising and promotions manager for Levi Strauss SA. Davids has contributed to publications such as ''

Lapham's Quarterly ''Lapham's Quarterly'' is a literary magazine established in 2007 by former ''Harper's Magazine'' editor Lewis H. Lapham. Each issue examines a theme using primary source material from history. The inaugural issue "States of War" contained doze ...

'', the '' Johannesburg Review of Books'', the South African ''

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 ...

'' and ''

Wasafiri ''Wasafiri'' is a quarterly British literary magazine covering international contemporary writing. Founded in 1984, the magazine derives its name from a Swahili word meaning "travellers" that is etymologically linked with the Arabic word "safari ...

'', and her writing has appeared in anthologies such as ''Twist'', an anthology of short stories by South African women (published by Struik, October 2006) and in ''African Pens: New Writing from Southern Africa'' (published by New Africa Books, April 2007). Davids has lived in Switzerland, the United States of America and

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China, and now resides on the edge of

District Six District Six (Afrikaans: ''Distrik Ses'') is a residential neighborhood in Cape Town, South Africa, located next to the city's Cape Town CBD, CBD. In 1959, people of color were banned from the area and most of them were resettled in Gugulet ...

, South Africa. She graduated from the

(UCT) with an MA in creative writing. Her debut novel ''The Blacks of Cape Town'' received a positive critical reception in 2013. Davids is as strong advocate of South African literature:

Recognition

Davids has been shortlisted for the

University of Johannesburg The University of Johannesburg, colloquially known as UJ, is a public university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is State ownership, owned by the state or receives significant fundi ...

Debut Prize 2013, longlisted for the ''Sunday Times'' Fiction Prize 2013; longlisted for the inaugural ''

Kwani? ''Kwani?'' (derived from the Sheng slang ''so what?'') was a prominent African literary magazine headquartered in Kenya. It has been hailed as "undoubtedly the most influential journal to have emerged from sub-Saharan Africa". The magazine orig ...

'' Manuscript Project, and shortlisted for the EU Literary Award in 2012. ''How To Be A Revolutionary'' won the prestigious Sunday Times Literary Award for best fiction in 2022.

Personal life

Davids lives with her husband and two children in Cape Town, South Africa.

Bibliography

Fiction

* ''The Blacks of Cape Town'' ( Modjaji Books, 2013, ) * ''How to be a Revolutionary'' (

Verso Books Verso Books (formerly New Left Books) is a publishing house based in London and New York City, founded in 1970 by the staff of ''New Left Review'' (NLR) and includes Tariq Ali and Perry Anderson on its board of directors. According to its webs ...

, 2022, )

Short stories

* Short story in ''Twist'' (2006) * "Nostalgia" in ''African Pens: New Writing from Southern Africa'' (2007)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davids, C.A 1971 births Living people 21st-century South African novelists 21st-century South African women writers South African women novelists University of Cape Town alumni