Bronwyn Law-Viljoen Explained

Bronwyn Law-Viljoen
Discipline:	Literature
Education:	Rhodes University (M.A.) New York University (Ph.D.) University of the Witwatersrand (Ph.D.)
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Awards:	Fulbright Scholar Olive Schreiner Prize
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Bronwyn Law-Viljoen is a South African writer, editor, publisher and professor. She is the co-founder of the publisher Fourthwall Books and owns a bookstore called Edition. She acts as the primary editor for works on law and history of South Africa and the architecture and building process of its constitutional court structures, along with artistic book publications of the work of William Kentridge. She has also published her own novel called The Printmaker.

Education

Law-Viljoen has an MA degree (1994) from Rhodes University in South Africa, a PhD in Literature (2003) from New York University and a PhD in Creative Writing (2017) from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[1]

Career

Author

Law-Viljoen's first novel, The Printmaker, was published in 2016 (Umuzi/Penguin Random House).^[2] It was shortlisted for the premier fiction prize in South Africa for the Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Award,^[3] and won the 2018 English Academy of South Africa Olive Schreiner Prize.^[4] It appeared in French in 2019 (Editions Zoé).

Academic

Law-Viljoen is an associate professor, the head of the Department of Creative Writing and the deputy head of the School of Literature, Language and Media at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.^[5]

Editor

Law-Viljoen was the editor of the arts magazine Art South Africa and editor-in-chief at David Krut Publishing in Johannesburg.^[1] Prior to that, she completed an internship at the independent photography publishing company, Aperture, in New York.^[1]

She is the editor and co-founder of Fourthwall Books,^[5] an independent publisher of books on art and photography established in South Africa in 2010. By 2020, the company had published 41 books and won several important awards: the 2010 Jane Jacobs Best Urban Book Award (New York) for Writing the City into Being;^[6] the 2011 Antalis Paper Loves You Award for Fire Walker;^[7] the 2015 Jan Rabie Rapport Prize for Non-Fiction for Nagmusiek;^[8] the 2015 Kyknet Rapport Prize for Fiction for Nagmusiek;^[9] the 2016 Eugene Marais Prize for Nagmusiek;^[10] and the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award 2019 for Everyone is Present.^[11] Through Fourthwall Books, she has been involved in the editing and publishing of a number of authors' works, including Flute by William Kentridge, Light on a Hill with contributions by multiple architects, builders, and court judges that Law-Viljoen helped to compile,^[12] and Art and Justice on the history and conception of the constitutional court in South Africa.^{[13] [14]}

She also opened her own bookstore called Edition in Milpark, Johannesburg as an extension of her publishing company.^[15]

Bibliography

Novels

• The Printmaker (2016, Umuzi/Penguin Random House),^{[16] [17]} translated as Le Graveur (2019, Editions Zoé)^[18]

Books edited

• Fire Walker: William Kentridge, Gerhard Marx (with Oliver Barstow, 2011, Fourthwall Books)^[19]
• William Kentridge Nose: Thirty Etchings (2010, David Krut Publishing)
• Art and Justice: The Art of the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2008, David Krut Publishing)^[20]
• William Kentridge Flute (2007, David Krut Publishing)^[21]
• Light on a Hill: Building the Constitutional Court of South Africa (2006, David Krut Publishing)^[22]
• William Kentridge Prints (2006, David Krut Publishing)^[23]

Awards and honours

• 2018: Olive Schreiner Prize from the English Academy of South Africa, for The Printmaker^[4]
• 2017: The Printmaker shortlisted for the Sunday Times Barry Ronge Fiction Award^[3]
• 2001: Americanist Molberger Prize for Literature of the Transition^[24]
• 1996–1998: Fulbright Scholarship, New York University^[1]

External links

• Staff profile at University of the Witwatersrand
• Author profile at Researchgate
• Author profile at penguinrandomhouse.co.za

Notes and References

1. Web site: Bronwyn Law-Viljoen Biography . . 29 November 2020 . . 3 August 2021.
2. News: . A portrait of the artist as an old man . . 30 January 2017 . 2 August 2021.
3. News: Smith . Tymon . 16 May 2017 . And the final contenders are... . The Times . 2 August 2021.
4. News: Malec . Jennifer . 27 August 2019 . English Academy of Southern Africa Awards winners announced . . 2 August 2021.
5. News: . 20th wordsmith fest set for great line-up: Focus on alumni, KZN authors and short stories . . 11 March 2017 . 2 August 2021.
6. Du Preez . Amanda . 11 December 2020 . Writing the city into being : Essays on Johannesburg 1998–2008, Lindsay Bremner : book review . Image & Text . 2012 . 19 . 3 August 2021 . vanc.
7. . Paper loves design . Graphix Magazine . New Media . October 2012 . 3 August 2021.
8. News: . 26 October 2015 . Kortlys vir deuutprys bekend . Shortlist for debut prize known . Afrikaans . Netwerk24 . 3 August 2021.
9. Web site: Grief and the (im)possibility of Night Music . . 4 November 2015 . york.ac.uk . . 3 August 2021.
10. Web site: Partnership between Fourthwall Books and Jacana Media announced . Stephen . Janine . 8 May 2018 . Jacana Media . 3 August 2021.
11. Web site: Special Event for Israel's Holocaust Remembrance Day . . 8 April 2021 . Institute for Holocaust, Genocide, and Memory Studies . . 3 August 2021.
12. News: . SMS to win these books from David Krut Publishing . . 17 August 2008 . 2 August 2021.
13. News: . Celebration of creative arts . . 22 December 2008 . 2 August 2021.
14. News: von Klemperer . Margaret . 30 April 2015 . Showcasing art and justice . . 2 August 2021.
15. News: Zvomuya . Percy . 5 April 2013 . Bibliophile for all seasons . . 2 August 2021.
16. News: . Bronwyn Law-Viljoen . . 25 November 2016 . 2 August 2021.
17. Louw . Pat . 2017 . The Printmaker . . 54 . 2 . 169–171 . 10.17159/tvl.v.54i2.2976 . 31 January 2024 . 2 August 2021 . vanc.
18. News: . "Le Graveur" (The Printmaker), by Bronwyn Law – Viljoen, translated from English (South Africa) by Elisabeth Gilles . . 26 September 2019 . 2 August 2021.
19. Fire Walker, Oliver Barstow & Bronwyn Law-Viljoen (Eds.) : book review. 1 January 2012. De Arte. 47. 85. 89–91. journals.co.za (Atypon). 10520/EJC124925.
20. Art and justice : the art of the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Bronwyn Law-Viljoen (Ed.) : book reviews. 1 January 2009. De Arte. 44. 80. 70–73. 10.1080/00043389.2009.11877116. journals.co.za (Atypon). 10520/EJC31077. 218602453.
21. Web site: William Kentridge-Flute, Bronwyn Law-Viljoen (Ed.): book review. Virginia. MacKenny. January 2008 . www.academia.edu.
22. Light on a hill : building the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Bronwyn Law-Viljoen (Ed.) : book review. 1 January 2007. De Arte. 42. 75. 86–88. journals.co.za (Atypon). 10520/EJC310112.
23. Web site: Thinking Aloud, Small Thoughts, Falcon and Dove – DAVID KRUT PROJECTS. February 2021 .
24. Web site: Research Report 2001 . . 2001 . ru.ac.za . . 6 . 3 August 2021.