Maya Fowler is a novelist, editor and translator living in Cape Town. Her debut novel The Elephant in the Room was published by Kwela Books in 2009 and was subsequently shortlisted for the Herman Charles Bosman prize.
Besides general fiction, Maya is active in the young-adult arena. Thus far she has produced two Afrikaans-language titles: As Jy ’n Ster Sien Verskiet (“When You See a Shooting Star”, Tafelberg Publishers, 2011) and Om Op Eiers Te Dans (“Dancing on Eggshells”, Maskew Miller Longman, 2011). As Jy ’n Ster Sien Verskiet was shortlisted for both the Sanlam prize and the MER prize for youth literature. Om Op Eiers Te Dans won the 2011 Maskew Miller Longman youth literature award.
She is currently translating Karin Brynard’s multi-award-winning Afrikaans-language crime novel Plaasmoord into English for the international market, and is a regular contributor to the Cape Times books page.
Maya wrote ‘Skilpad soek sy huis’ / ‘Tortoise Finds His Home’ for Book Dash in Cape Town – http://bookdash.org/tortoise-finds-his-home-by-maya-fowler-katrien-coetzer-and-damian-gibbs/. The book won a Unicef-sponsored prize for Best Author in Early Childhood Development Literature for 2015.
Umuzi is publishing her novel called Patagonia: A Fugue in English and Patagonië: 'n Fuga in Afrikaans. And in September 2018 Protea is bringing out her novel titled Tebatso gaan see toe.
Maya also tutors the Basiese Kreatiewe Skryfkursus and the Skryf 'n kinderboek kursus.