Di Stewart

Dianne Stewart

Dianne Stewart, nee Hay, was born in East London and grew up in Port Elizabeth, apart from a year spent in New Jersey (USA) as an exchange student. She attended Rhodes University, obtaining her BA degree (Psychology and Xhosa) then obtained her BA Honours degree in African Languages with the University of South Africa.

Through the former University of Natal (Durban) she achieved her Masters degree in English (South African Literature). She currently lives in KwaZulu Natal. Dianne is married and has four children. She is a full-time writer and freelance journalist and she teaches creative writing in schools and to adult groups.

In 2003 she placed artist, William Zulu’s autobiography, Spring will come, with University of KwaZulu Natal Press. In 2006 it was short-listed for the Alan Paton Sunday Times, Non-fiction award. She also assesses manuscripts for publishers.

Dianne has been writing children’s literature for almost twenty years—her first book was published in 1988. She started writing for children because of an interest in children and children’s literature. She has no favourite themes in her work but says that her books often express themes of hope, rejuvenation and restoration.

She considers one of her most successful books to be The Gift of the Sun because co-productions have been published in the UK and USA, and the book has been translated into Danish,

Swedish, Norwegian, French, Spanish, Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans and Korean. The illustrator of the book, Jude Daly, won the Katrine Harries Award for the illustrations in 1997. The Gift of the Sun was on the Smithsonian’s Notable Books for Children List in the USA in 1996. In 1997 it was selected by a joint committee of the Children’s Book Council and the National Council for Social Studies as a Notable Trade Book in the field of Social Studies in the USA. Also in 1997 it was one of the International Youth Library’s (Munich) annual international Selection Books and included in the White Raven’s catalogue. The Dove also illustrated by Jude Daly, received a Children’s Book of Distinction Award by the Hungry Mind Review, USA. The Paper Chase (Heinemann) has been translated into Swahili and Daughter of the Moonlight has been transcribed into Braille.

Her teenage novel Chasing the Wind is in its 5^th imprint and has been recommended as a classroom reader for the new OBE curriculum in KwaZulu Natal.

Dianne says that her ideas originate from a variety of sources including her study of African languages, which resulted in her collection of African Proverbs called Wisdom from Africa (Struik: 2005) She is inspired by the landscape and socio-political environment around her which has often provided the initial spark for her picture books. In the case of picture books, she develops the text as a whole before submitting it to an illustrator.

Dianne is very interested in art and is a director of the African Art Centre in Durban, a non-profit making organization for the promotion of art and crafts. For many years she was a committee member of the Stanger and Durban branches the Children’s Book Forum. She writes full time and teaches creative writing in schools in KwaZulu Natal and to adult groups.

Some of her achievements include:

1990 : Jay Heale’s South African Children’s Books of the Year for Mondi, the music maker (Garamond)

1990: South African Children’s Book Forum Honours list for Mondi, the music maker

1991: Jay Heale’s South African Children’s Books of the Year for Zondi’s First Ride in a Taxi

1994: Jay Heales’ South African Children’s Books of the Year for Daughter of the Moonlight.

1994: Hungry Mind Review (USA) Children’s book of Distinction award for The Dove.

1995: Maskew Miller Longman, Young Africa Award for short story: The Crash

1995/6: Honours List: Children’s Book Forum Western Cape for The Gift of the Sun. South African IBBY nomination for illustration at the international IBBY Conference in India.

Named the ‘VERY BEST OF BOLOGNA’ BY Edgardo Zaghini in Children’s Book News.

2002: The Dove selected by the Smithsonian USA (African art section) for their summer reading program.

Dianne has not only written books for children, she has written for adults as well. Her book on African proverbs, Wisdom from Africa was published by Struik in 2005. In 2003 she contributed part of her Masters thesis to WOMEN WRITING AFRICA: SOUTHERN REGION, published by Feminist Press in New York. Co-produced by Wits University Press in South Africa. From 1999 –2003 she was contributing editor Gardens (KwaZulu Natal) for the SA edition of Conde Nast House and Garden.

Books published by Dianne Stewart:

1988: The Mealie-Cob Children (Shuter and Shooter)

Translated into Xhosa, Zulu, Swati and Ndebele.

1989: The Runaway Hen (Human and Rousseau)

1990: Mondi, the Music Maker (Garamond)

1991: The Paper Chase (Heinemann International: Jaws)

1996: Translated into Swahili as Kufukuzana na Magazeti

1992: The Dove (Greenwillow, New York and David Philip)

1994: The Seafood Adventure (Garamond)

1994: Daughter of the Moonlight (Struik)

1994: Chasing the Wind (Oxford University Press)

1995: Cry of the Guinea Fowl (Garamond)

1996: The Gift of the Sun (Tafelberg)

1997: The Great Escape (Maskew Miller Longman)

1997: The Most Unusual Pet (Garamond)

1998: Remembering Grandmother (Cambridge University Press)

2001: African Myths and Legends (Struik)

2003: I went to Market (Maskew Miller Longman)

Translated into 7 Zambian languages

2004: The Zebra’s Stripes and other African Animal Tales (Struik)

2005: Wisdom from Africa (Struik)

2005: One of three authors of an anthology of fiction for Grade 9 curriculum

for Maskew Miller Longman (English)

2005: The monkeys in the trees (Shuter and Shooter)

Where are you?

2006: Folktales from Africa (Struik)

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