… is a German-Dutch writer, born in Berlin in 1955.
He began as a teacher in Hamburg (Germany), later he joined the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam (Netherlands). Since 2001 he is at home in Cape Town (South Africa), where he became a founding member and Co-Director of HOKISA, a South African NGO (www.hokisa.co.za) which cares for children affected and/or infected by HIV/AIDS. 

Most of his books are written in German and translated into many other languages (like Afrikaans, Bulgarian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Swedish, isiXhosa - and English). Lutz van Dijk has received several literary awards, among them the Nambian Youth Literature Award (1997) and the German Gustav-Heinemann-Peace-Award (2001).

Next to Germany and Holland, where he is on reading tours twice a year, he has given readings in schools, libraries, bookshops and with human rights groups in Austria, Bulgaria, Denmark, France, England, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Spain and outside of Europe in countries in Western and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and the USA. 

Some of Lutz van Dijk’s books in English:

 

 

• Themba - a Boy called Hope
...tells the story of Themba, a rural boy who rises to become aplayer in the South African national soccer team, in spite of AIDS. His story tells of resistance and courage - and of his love for his younger sister, Nomtha. (Pietermaritzburg, Cape Town 2006). This novel was made into an international movie in 2010 (starring among others Simphiwe Dana, Nat Singo and Patrick Mofokeng) and is also available on DVD. 

 

 

 

• Nobody will ever kill me
Mbu Maloni, written with Lutz van Dijk
When his best friend Atie was killed in a street fight, Mbu decided to write a story about his life: About growing about in extreme poverty, with a mother who drinks and lots of violence. But Mbu has dreams, he never gives up. This is not a novel, but a true story about a boy who becomes a man under the most difficult circumstances. (Pietermaritzburg 2011).

• Stronger than the Storm
14 year old Thinasonke, at home in Gugulethu, a township in the Western Cape, South Africa, is gang- raped on her way home from school and gets infected by HIV… How will her life go on? (A novel based on a true story, Cape Town 2000)

 

 

 

• Romeo and Jabulile
This tender love story for young readers is set during the period of xenophobic violence in South Africa in May 2008. It shows that hope and trust between the Xhosa girl Jabulile and the young Romeo, a refugee from Zimbabwe, can triumph over hatred and fear (Cape Town 2010)

 

 

 

• A History of Africa
African history as told by African voices through the ages – from the shaping of the continent to early civilizations, from the times of European colonization to the “long way to freedom” since 1945 (A book for young people in Africa and all over the world, Cape Town 2007)

Between Anger and Hope
A report on the youth hearings of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), written together with Karin Chubb and with a preface by Archbishop em. Desmond Tutu (Johannesburg 2001)

• Damned Strong Love
Stefan lives in Poland during World War II. He is 14, when his country is accupied by German troops. His older brother joins the resistance. Stefans fells in love when he is 16 – with a young Austrian-German soldier.
(The true story of Stefan K., New York 1995)

• Challenging Homophobia - Teaching Sexual Diversity  (edited together with Barry van Driel)
This international collection presents reflections on the psychological and social processes underlying homophobia. And it offers guidance for challenging homophobia, in the form of case studies, tested lesson plans and educational advice. Contributors are from nine countries and different continents (UK and USA 2007)

For readings please contact the author:
• Via email: lutzvandijk@iafrica.com
• Via postal address: 39 Clovelly Road, 
  Clovelly 7975 (Cape Town), South Africa