Lauren Beukes Books In Order

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Story Collections

Publication Order of Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Disorder Collection Books

Publication Order of Strontium Dog Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Fairest Graphic Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Lauren Beukes is no stranger in the world of fictional writing. She has quite a number of books to her name, some of which have catapulted her to international heights and won her several accolades and prestigious mentions. Lauren is also a full-time journalist, comic illustrator, short-story writer and a loyal wife to a happy family in Cape Town, South Africa.

Early Years
Lauren was born and raised in Johannesburg, South Africa. She schooled in South Africa later graduating from the University of Cape Town with an MA in Creative Writing. This was the turning point for Lauren as it marked the start of a prolific career as a writer. Her first book ‘Moxyland’ sold locally in books stores, and internationally via Osprey’s Publishing; the company that had won the bid for distributing Laura’s book. Lauren Beukes has written other books that boosted her international fame, winning her several prize awards and the honor of getting her works adapted for screenplay.

Besides writing fiction, Lauren has several other achievements on her career. She is a screenwriter and was part of the team to produce South Africa’s first animated TV Series ‘The Adventures of Pax Africa’. She has worked with Disney as well, writing over 12 episodes of the show ‘Florrie’s Dragons’. She has also co-produced internationally for France with a company called Millimages for their French animated series dubbed ‘Mouk’.

The multi-talented author has worked on documentaries to create awareness and evoke conversations from the public. She is the brains behind ‘Glitterboys & Gangland’-a documentary based on a gay beauty pageant- where 14 contestants were battling for the title of Miss Gay Western Cape. The film was well received both locally and internationally, earning a spot at the Atlanta Film Festiva & San Diego Black Film Festival.

As a journalist, Lauren’s gets published both locally and internationally by renowned Magazines and Newspapers. She is privileged to be featured on The Hollywood Reporter, Nature Medicine, and The Sunday Times Lifestyle. Moreover, her journalistic prowess has been recognized by international magazines like Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and SL Magazine.

Lauren Beukes is a creative comic illustrator as well with a number of publications to her name. Some of her notable works include All the Pretty Pionies, An Arc of Fairest, The Hidden Kingdom and a comical adaptation of Bill Willingham’s series, ‘Fables’.

Shining Girls (2013)
Shining Girls is the highlight of Lauren’s writing career, as the novel that rapidly multiplied her fanbas and caused the likes of Leonardo DiCaprio to gain interest on her work. The book unfolds the story of a dark character who is the main serial killer forced to travel through time targeting a specific group of women described as the shining girls. The shining girls are a bevy of bright ambitious minds whom the assassin has to eliminate if he is to keep his possession of the time-travelling portal key. But the wheels of fate turn agaisnt him as one of the victim survives his attack and comes after him instead; the hunter becoming the hunted.

This creative twist popularized ‘Shining Girls’ and sold thousands of copies on release. Awards trickle in, the first one being the Best Novel Award by the Strand Magazine Critic. Later, Lauren received the Readers choice Award for Exclusive Books and the most prestigious South African award, The University of Johannesburg Prize. In just one year, Shining Girls was published both in the UK and USA by Harper Collins and Mulholland books.

Two American filming companies have adapted the storyline from Shining Girls into a TV series. One of this company is Media Rights Capital, an independent film production company. The other film company is, Appian Way, owned by Leonardo DiCaprio himself.

Zoo City (2010)
Zoo City is a book set in a futuristic South Africa and centres on the female character Zinzi. She literally walks with a sloth on her back, spends a lot of her time dodging trouble and finding missing persons; the last one being her psychic power. However, she still gets knee-deep, in the trouble, in the crime-prone slum area of Zoo City. And when she is hired to find a missing pop star, she is forced to confront the harsh realities of her city and a forgotten past.

Lauren has won several accolades from publishing her book Zoo City. On its debut, the novel scooped the prestigious Arthur C Clarke Award, The Kitchies Red Tentacle for Best novel and a nominee for the BSFA best novel award. Though the book didn’t scoop the BSFA best novel category, it still went home with a prize for the Best Novel Artwork category. Zoo City has also won the World Fantasy Award and The Johannesburg Creative Writing Prize.

Other Works of Lauren Beukes
Two other Lauren Beuke books that are a must read are Moxyland and Broken Monsters. In Moxyland, the author takes us through the cruel world of cyber crime. The protagonists are a group of vigilante tech-gang who are trying to overthrow an oppressive governent and a ring of conspiring tech companies. The risk here is losing one’s online presence which is a form of imprisonment for the victim. Broken Monsters is a horrific thriller centered on a female detective who faces a whole new team of adversaries she has never witnessed in her 8years of homicide investigation. Set in the decaying city of Detroit, its up to Gabi Versado to employ her wits and wade through the thick blanket of criminal monsters and blood-chilling twists to get the answers she deserves.

Besides novels, press release articles and screen writing, Lauren Beukes enjoys writing short stories. Some of her published short fictions include ‘Touch: Stories of Contact’, ‘African Road: New Writing from South Africa’, ‘Open: Erotic Stories from South African Women Writers’ and ‘Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse’.

Lauren Beuke definitely has the Midas Touch as everything she works on morphs into a masterpiece. From her engaging fictional books to TV productions that keep you glued to the screen, she is a master of all trades as a creative. She currently resides in Cape Town with her loving husband and one daughter.