Dan Sleigh


Daniel Sleigh is a South African novelist who writes in Afrikaans. He was born on the farm Geelbeksfontein on the West Coast on 3 November 1938. He matriculated at Vredenburg High School and then joined the South African Navy. Until 1962, he studied at the Paarl Training College to become a Physical Education teacher, after which he taught in Namibia and Cape Town.
In 1969 he completed his BA Degree in History and English Literature at the University of South Africa. Sleigh then completed a MA Degree cum laude, followed by a Doctorate in History in 1987 at the University of Stellenbosch. Until his retirement in 1996, Sleigh worked at the Western Cape Department of Education.
He made his literary debut in 1974 with the volume of poetry entitled Duif oor water. This was followed by historical works for young people, like Die buiteposte and Tussen twee vlae.
In 2001 he won the Sanlam/Insig/Tafelberg Competition for his novel Eilande. This novel was later also awarded the WA Hofmeyr, RAU, M-Net and Helgaard Steyn Prizes.

Awards







Poetry

1971 Duif oor water, Tafelberg
Prose: novels

1972 Die nege-maande-mars, Tafelberg

1973 ’n Man om te hardloop, Tafelberg

1977 Sersant Barodien, Kaapse Korps, Tafelberg

1978 ’n Kanon vir Barbier, Tafelberg

1979 Vryburger Tas, Tafelberg

2002 Eilande, Tafelberg

2010 Afstande, Tafelberg

2011 Wals met Matilda, Tafelberg
Prose: youth novels

1974 Tussen twee vlae, Tafelberg

1975 Onder die bittervaan, Tafelberg

1976 Anselm en die jut, Van der Walt
Non-fiction

1978 Jan Kompanjie: die wêreld van die Verenigde Oos-Indiese Kompanjie, Tafelberg

1979 Ruiters teen die Ryk, Nasou

1988 The Huguenots, Maskew Miller Longman

1993 Die buiteposte, HAUM

1996 The Forts of the Liesbeeck Frontier, Castle Military Museum

1999 The Ride Against an Empire, Castle Military Museum
Translations
Eilande into English and Dutch

Afstande into Dutch