S02 E07 Ekow Duker

Loading player...
Ekow Duker is the author of White Wahala, Dying in New York, The God Who Made Mistakes, and most recently Yellowbone. Ekow was a finalist for the European Union Literary Award in 2011/2012 and is currently a judge in the fiction category of the Sunday Times Literary Awards.

Ekow joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he got his start writing anecdotes about his life while working as an engineer in the oil fields of Libya and Algeria. He describes how he self-published his first novel, only to have a major publisher approach him to publish it.

Fiona asks Ekow about the gap between his extremely contained and thoughtful real-life persona, and his wild and provocative fiction. Gail asks Ekow to describe what it is like when his writing is going well, and it feels more like taking dictation from an external source than creating it from scratch. Ekow breaks down his backlist for us, taking us through the inspiration and process behind each book.

For more details about the books, movies, series, and podcasts that are discussed on the show, sign up here for our weekly newsletter. Fiona and Gail would love to hear from you!
30 Oct 2023 English South Africa Books · Arts

Other recent episodes

S05E03 Terry-Ann Adams

Terry-Ann Adams is the award-winning author of the novel THOSE WHO LIVE IN CAGES and the short story collection WHITE CHALK. Terry-Ann joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what it is like to embark upon an MA in Creative Writing after you have already been published and…
7 Apr 53 min

S05 E02 Penny Haw

Penny Haw is the highly successful author of several works of historical fiction. Her latest novel FOLLOW ME TO AFRICA is hitting bestseller lists all over South Africa right now. Penny joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about her early forays into children's fiction, thrillers, and now historical…
31 Mar 1 hr 12 min

S05 E01 Shameez Patel

Shameez Patel Papathanasiou is taking her writing in a new direction. The author of the Selene Trilogy of fantasy novels, has gone back to her one true love - contemporary romance. Shameez joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what inspired this pivot and how much fun she…
24 Mar 1 hr 03 min

S04 E11 John van der Ruit

Spud is back! John van der Ruit is the record-smashing, best-selling author of the SPUD series of books, as well as an actor and playwright. John joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about what it was like finding the voice of an older Spud after all these years…
18 Nov 2024 1 hr 03 min

S04 E10 Gareth Crocker

Gareth Crocker is a well known novelist, film maker, and television creator. His latest book NOW YOU SUFFER is garnering great reviews. Gareth joins Fiona Snyckers and Gail Schimmel to talk about how he got an international deal for his first novel FINDING JACK, and why major Hollywood stars like…
11 Nov 2024 54 min