Patricia Schonstein (born 1952), who also writes under the name Patricia Schonstein-Pinnock, is a South African-Italian novelist, poet, memoirist, author of children’s books and curator of anthologies. Schonstein, whose novels variously employ the genres of magical-realism, meta-fiction and narrative fiction, is famous for novels such as Skyline and A Time of Angels.
Schonstein's novels draw heavily on her personal experiences of growing up in Central Africa and to historical events related to the Inquisition, the Holocaust, the Rhodesian War, and apartheid. She pays homage to the child-victims of war in Africa and to refugees, weaving together harsh realities with elements of myth and magic.
Her work has been translated into Afrikaans, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish.
Life Born and raised in Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), Schonstein lives in South Africa where she works as a full-time author. She has Jewish heritage.South African Jews Begin To Tell Tales The Forward. 24 December 2024
Literary career Schonstein holds a master's degree in creative writing from the University of Cape Town, supervised by 2003 Nobel Literature Laureate J. M. Coetzee, who has endorsed much of her work. Her poetry has been endorsed by 1984 Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Schonstein served on the Poetry in McGregor committee and presented their annual ‘Patricia Schonstein – Poetry in McGregor Award’ (2013-2025).
She has been an honorary member of Southern African Friendship and Aid Network Sweden (SAFRAN) since 2008, and served as deputy editor of the poetry quarterly, Stanzas (2015-2020).
Awards Her debut novel, Skyline, won the French Prix du Marais in 2005; won the Percy FitzPatrick Award in 2002; took second place in the South African Sunday Times Fiction Award in 2001; was long-listed for the 2002 International Dublin Literary Award; was listed in the South African Twenty-Five Must-Reads in 2007; and was listed in the Swedish En Bok for alle. A Time of Angels took second place in the South African Sunday Times Fiction Award in 2004; and was short-listed for the 2004 Booksellers’ Choice Award. The Apothecary’s Daughter was listed in the Sunday Times Read Your Way Through Democracy in 2014. Banquet at Brabazan was short-listed for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize Africa Best Book in 2011. Schonstein was the winner of the 1997 Young Africa Award (Short Stories Category).
Works Novels Skyline, 2000 A Time of Angels, 2003 The Apothecary's Daughter, 2004 A Quilt of Dreams, 2006 The Master's Ruse, 2008 Banquet at Brabazan, 2010 The Inn at Helsvlakte, 2020 The Glass Island, 2026
For children Sing, Africa! Poems and Song for Young Children, 1990 Thobileʼs dream, 1991 Thobile and the Tortoises, 1992 The King Who Loved Birds, 1992 Maggie, Mango & Scottie – An Adventure in Africa, 2016 Ouma's Autumn, 1993 Saturday in Africa: Living History Through Poetry, 1996 The Phoebe Book of Poems for Children, 2022 The Most Amazing Story of Phoebe and the Trojan Elephant, 2026
Poetry The Unknown Child: Poems of War, Loss and Longing, 2009 A Gathering of Madonnas, and Other Poems, 2001
Fable
The Naming of He-Who-Has-No-Name, 2023
Non-fiction Xhosa: a Cultural Grammar for Beginners, 1994 Thrown Among the Bones—My Life in Fiction, 2022 Ways of Living: Some Gathered Insights, 2024
Curated anthologies Africa! My Africa! An Anthology of Poems, 2012 Africa Ablaze! Poems & Prose Pieces of War & Civil Conflict, 2013 Heart of Africa! Poems of Love, Loss and Longing, 2014 Absolute Africa! An anthology of poems, 2018 Naturally Africa! An anthology of earth poems, 2019 (Selected with Dan Wylie) McGregor Poetry Festival 2013 Anthology: Imagination and Passion McGregor Poetry Festival 2014 Anthology: Depth and Wonder McGregor Poetry Festival 2015 Anthology: Beauty and Truth McGregor Poetry Festival 2016 Anthology: Voices on Fire McGregor Poetry Festival 2017 Anthology: Joy and Abundance McGregor Poetry Festival 2018 Anthology: The Sound of Water McGregor Poetry Festival 2019 Anthology: The Heart of the Moon McGregor Poetry Festival 2020 Anthology: Love in the Time of Covid McGregor Poetry Festival 2021 Anthology: The Garden of the Beloved McGregor Poetry Festival 2022 Anthology: Touching the Wild McGregor Poetry Festival 2023: The Hugh Hodge Open Mic Anthology
Appearances in anthologies Lovely Beyond Any Singing: Landscape in South African Literature, compiled by Helen Moffett, Double Storey Books, 2006 Nice Times! A Book of South African Pleasures and Delights, compiled by Henrietta Rose-Innes, Double Storey Books, 2006 Land i förändring: en bok om det nya Sydafrika, edited by Annika Forsberg et al, Bokförlaget Tranan, 2004 Keys, compiled by Brenda Cooper, Maskew Miller Longman (Pty) Ltd, 1998
Further reading Heather Acott, 'Dark Humor: Satire, the Baroque, and the Carnivalesque in Patricia Schonstein’s Banquet at Brabazan and Ingrid Winterbach’s The Elusive Moth ', Kritika Kultura 18 (2012): 134-48 Michael Chapman and Margaret Lenta (Ed.) SA Lit and beyond 2000 Representing the African Diaspora J.U. Jacobs 315-332
References
__FORCETOC__