Lauren Liebenberg

Lauren Liebenberg (born 3 August 1972) is a Zimbabwe-born South African writer. Her debut novel The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam was nominated for the Orange Prize for Fiction in 2008.[2] Her subsequent novels, The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club and Cry Baby, have also received international critical acclaim.

Lauren Liebenberg
Born (1972-08-03) 3 August 1972[1]
Zimbabwe
OccupationWriter
NationalitySouth African
Notable worksThe Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club Cry Baby

Background

Liebenberg was born and raised in Rhodesia but in her adolescence, left newly independent Zimbabwe for neighbouring South Africa, where her father worked in the gold-mining industry. She attended Brescia House, a Catholic school for girls in Johannesburg. After completing her undergraduate degree at the University of South Africa, she lived in England for some years, before returning to South Africa, where she graduated from the business school of the University of the Witwatersrand with a master's degree in business (MBA). She worked in investment banking and published in the field of financial markets, including a reference book entitled The Electronic Financial Markets of the Future, published in 2002. [3][4][5][6]

Her debut novel, The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam which drew upon her experiences as a child in Rhodesia during the Rhodesian Bush War, garnered much attention from critics when it was published in 2008. The Guardian described it as "astonishingly vivid", going on to say that "Rhodesia springs to fecund, fetid life before your eyes ... like the children at its heart ... it’s immediate, rarely judgmental ... charming, upsetting and poignantly strange ... burrowing deep under your skin".[7] The Financial Times described it as an "elegiac first novel [that] captures the insular vulnerability of this white African childhood."[8] The Times described it as a "touching debut".[9] The novel was also serialized by The Independent.[10]

Apart from being longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction, Liebenberg was one of only three women to be shortlisted for the Orange debut prize in 2008.[11][12] In 2010, the novel was longlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award.[13]

Her follow-up novel, The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club, a coming-of-age story set in the gold-fields of Johannesburg, was published in 2011, and also drew warm praise from critics. The Guardian said the novel had "a true, raw feel about it" and described Liebenberg as a "terrific writer".[14] The Times called it "moving ... [an] excellently crafted story" [15] and The Financial Times hailed it as "vivid ... evocative ... and compelling".[16] Cry Baby her third and latest novel, a satire on contemporary suburbia with a strong feminist theme, was published in February 2014.[17] Liebenberg is married with two children and lives in Johannesburg, South Africa.[18]

Bibliography
  • The Electronic Financial Markets of the Future and Survival Strategies of the Broker-Dealers by Lauren Liebenberg (Palgrave Macmillan, 2002) ISBN 978-0-33399-860-1
  • The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren Liebenberg (Virago Press, 2008) ISBN 1-84408-464-7
  • The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club by Lauren Liebenberg (Virago Press, 2010) ISBN 1-84408-489-2
  • Cry Baby by Lauren Liebenberg (Penguin Books, 2014) ISBN 978-0-14353-861-5

References
  1. Interview with Lauren Liebenberg by Amanda Patterson Archived 25 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine Writers Write. 25 June 2008.
  2. "Novelist who faced trial in Turkey makes long list for Orange Prize", The Independent, 18 March 2008.
  3. Liebenberg, Lauren. The Electronic Financial Markets of the Future | SpringerLink. doi:10.1057/9781403946065.
  4. An Evocative Debut from Lauren Liebenberg Archived 4 January 2011 at the Wayback Machine Penguin. 7 April 2008
  5. The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam Orange Prize. Retrieved on 6 November 2010
  6. Lauren Liebenberg, author of The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam, in conversation with Janet van Eeden Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Litnet. 14 May 2008
  7. Danger in the veld The Guardian. 5 April 2008
  8. The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam Archived 1 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Financial Times. 29 March 2008
  9. Paperback fiction – Alfred & Emily by Doris Lessing The Times. 13 March 2009
  10. Book extract: The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam, By Lauren Liebenberg The Independent. 4 May 2008
  11. Three authors on Orange shortlist BBC. 8 April 2008
  12. Orange Jam – Lauren Liebenberg shortlisted for debut award Little Brown. Retrieved on 6 November 2010
  13. The 2010 Award Archived 23 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine International Dublin Literary Award. Retrieved on 7 November 2010
  14. Wallace, Jason (8 April 2011). "The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club by Lauren Liebenberg - review". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  15. "The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club by Lauren Liebenberg". Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  16. "The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club". Financial Times. 4 April 2011. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  17. "Lauren Liebenberg Returns with Her Third Novel, Cry Baby". Penguin SA @ Sunday Times Books LIVE. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  18. "Lauren Liebenberg is a South African modern family humour writer". www.laurenliebenberg.com. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
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