Karen Jennings (born 1982) is a South African author.
Jennings was born in Cape Town, South Africa, in 1982, the daughter of an Afrikaans mother and an English father; both of her parents were teachers. She has master's degrees in English literature and creative writing from the University of Cape Town, and a PhD in creative writing from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. She has done post-doctoral research at the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil, on the historical relationship between science and literature, with particular reference to eusocial insects. In 2022, Jennings was a postdoctoral writer in residence(Department of History) as part of the Biography of an Uncharted People Project at LEAP, Stellenbosch.
From 2023-2024, Jennings was a postdoctoral writer in residence as part of the Cape Panel Project at the Laboratory for the Economics of AfricaâÂÂs Past (LEAP), Stellenbosch University.
Jennings edited Feast, Famine & Potluck, a collection of African short stories published in 2014 by Modjaji Books for Short Story Day Africa. Her first novel Finding Soutbek was shortlisted for the 2013 Etisalat Prize for Literature (now known as the 9mobile Prize for Literature). Her book An Island, written with support from a Miles Moreland Foundation Writing Scholarship, was longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize.
Her novel Crooked Seeds was published across the world by Holland House Books in the UK, Hogarth Books in the US, Pan Macmillan India Picador India, Text Publishing in Australia, Masobe Books in Nigeria, and in South Africa by Karavan Press
In 2025 Crooked Seeds was longlisted for both the Republic of Consciousness Prize and the Women's Prize.
In 2021 Karen Jennings co-founded the Island Prize with Holland House Books; the Prize is intended to enable debut African authors to find agents and publishers, emphasising the importance that 'stories from Africa be given a wide variety of platforms so that they can be shared at home and abroad without the need to fit certain moulds.' (Karen Jennings) With this in mind, Jennings also co-wrote Words on the Page, A Workbook for African Writers with Robert Peett of Holland House Books. The Workbook was designed with African writers in mind, and is a collection of resources, exercises, and discussions aimed at encouraging and developing the creative process.
Jennings runs regular writing workshops and currently lectures Creative Writing at North-West University, Potchefstroom.
Short Stories:
Short story anthology: Away from the Dead London: Holland Park Press, in 2014
Individual short stories :
âÂÂRangton of Baliâ to be published in The Woven Tale Press in 2025.
âÂÂRunawayâ published in New Contrast December 2024.
âÂÂIn The Dustâ published in Isele: In the Dust | Karen Jennings â Isele Magazine. November 2024
âÂÂThe Incidentâ published in One Life. Short.Sharp.Stories anthology, Tattoo Press, Cape
Town, 2024.
âÂÂSkeletonâ published in Lounloun: The Skeleton â lá»Âúnlá»Âún December 2024.
âÂÂVigilanteâ published in Southword No. 47 in October/November 2024.
âÂÂPantiesâ published in In Other Words, edited by Kerry Hammerton: Karavan Press, Cape
Town, 2024
âÂÂPeguâ published by Libretto: PEGU | KAREN JENNINGS - Inspiring Creativity,
Cultivating Excellence (librettong.com) July 2024.
âÂÂThe Translatorâ published by Afrocritik: The Translator | Karen Jennings - Afrocritik April
2024.
Essays published in 2024:
âÂÂWaiting for WaterâÂÂ: Waiting for water - LitNet
âÂÂWithout a Leg to Stand onâÂÂ: Without a Leg to Stand On. Author Karen Jennings talks about
the⦠| by The Kalahari Review | Kalahari Review
âÂÂWashing by HandâÂÂ: Washing by hand: a brief look at Cape laundry since the 17th century -
âÂÂWell, Yes, I Have a DreamâÂÂ: Well, Yes, I Have a Dream⦠| Karen Jennings | Essay