Mark Winkler
Mark Winkler (born 29 January 1966) is a South African writer of literary fiction living in Cape Town. He is the author of four novels, An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Absolutely Everything (2013), Wasted (2015), The Safest Place You Know (2016), and The Errors of Dr Browne, published in August of 2022.
Mark Winkler | |
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| Born | 29 January 1966 Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Fiction |
| Notable works | An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Absolutely Everything and Wasted |
| Website | |
| themarkwinkler | |
Life
Winkler was born in Johannesburg in 1966. He grew up in what is now Mpumalanga and attended high school at St. Alban's College, Pretoria. He graduated from Rhodes University, Grahamstown, with a Bachelor of Journalism in 1990.
Works
Novels
His first novel, An Exceptionally Simple Theory of Absolutely Everything, has been described as “an intensely absorbing and unapologetically apolitical tale”,[1] and “remarkable in its refusal to conform to ideas of what a South African novel should be”.[2]
His second novel, the Wasted, was longlisted for the 2016 Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize.[3] Wasted has been described as “tense, darkly humorous, unpredictable and thought-provoking”,[4] “one of the year’s most ambitious, suspenseful, tightly controlled and expertly executed novels”.[5]
Short stories
Winkler’s short story, When I Came Home, was shortlisted for the 2016 Commonwealth Writer’s Prize, one of 26 stories to be selected out of almost 4,000 submissions from 47 countries.[6]
His short story, Ink,[7] was awarded third prize in the 2016 Short Story Day Africa competition[8] and was published in the anthology Water.[7]
Winkler is a member of PEN South Africa.
Published works
- An Exceptionally Simple Theory (of Absolutely Everything). Kwela. 2013. ISBN 978-0-7957-0451-2.
- Wasted. Kwela. 2015. ISBN 978-0-7957-0700-1.
- Ink, Water, Short Story Day Africa, 2016
- When I came home, adda, Commonwealth Writers, May 2016
- The Safest Place You Know. Penguin Random House. 2016. ISBN 978-1-4152-0909-7.
- The Errors of Dr Browne. Penguin Random House. 2022. ISBN 978-1-4859-0494-6.
References
- Amid, Jonathan (10 March 2014). "Tugging towards discovery | LitNet". LitNet. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- Childes, Tarah. "An Exceptionally Simple Theory (of Absolutely Everything) by Mark Winkler - Review". aerodrome.co.za. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- "The 2016 Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Prize longlist". Sunday Times Books. 4 April 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- Szczurek, Karina M. (30 November 2015). "In/sanity: Mark Winkler's Wasted". karinamagdalena.com.
- Amid, Jonathan (24 June 2015). "Reader's review: Wasted by Mark Winkler". LitNet. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- Hopkinson, Charlie (29 March 2016). "2016 Commonwealth Short Story Prize Shortlist". Commonwealth Writers. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- Schimke, Karin (14 April 2016). "Book of the Week: Water". Financial Mail. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- "'I suppose water and the issues around it have been very much in the collective consciousness.' An interview with Mark Winkler". Short Story Day Africa. 20 January 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.