Writer Ginny Swart is from Cape Town, South
Africa. "Before I started writing fiction, I’d done a bit of everything,
including working in an advertising agency, teaching art, working on a weekly
trade paper for the garment industry and selling advertising. When my husband
and I lived in Australia for a year I charred because I couldn’t get
a work permit. Best paid job I ever had!
I’ve written a book for teenagers called "Nosipho and the
King of Bones", published by MacMillan Boleswa SA. But since 2001 I’ve
been writing light fiction mostly for magazines. I’m a member of "The Wild
Geese", a 20-strong on-line support group for magazine writers, and their brutal crits and encouragement helped get me started.
I’ve had over 150 stories published in South Africa, UK,
Australia, Sweden and Germany and I’m still trying to crack the USA market. But
the postage defeats me and they haven’t discovered e-mail in that country! I’ve
had stories accepted in three of the “Sexy Shorts” sold-for-charity
anthologies, the latest is “Sexy Shorts for the Beach” coming out in the UK in
June 2006, in aid of cancer research. The stories I’m proudest of are the ones
with a strong South African flavour. I won the 2003 Real Writers prize for
"The
Carpet King", "Top Chef
Negotiable" was accepted by Textword USA (an anthology of English
Literature for high school students) and "The Angolan Refugee" was
printed in Queens Quarterly, Canada.
One of these days I’m going to turn my attention to writing
the great South African novel. Until that happy day I’ll carry on checking my
e-mails hoping to find one from an editor saying, “Your story’s been accepted
for publication.”
Can’t beat that for an adrenaline rush!"
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