Elana Bregin

Elana Bregin was born in Johannesburg, South Africa and resides in the coastal city of Durban. She holds a Master's cum laude in English from the former University of Natal in Durban. She has worked for many years as an editor for book publishers, prior to which she was an academic tutor, ballet dancer and teacher, and 'freelance everything'- storing up useful experience for her writing.

Her most recent print novel, "Survival Training for Lonely Hearts" (Pan MacMillan 2012), now available in ebook as "The Company of Dogs", received much positive response from readers. It's been described as a 'gritty, witty read' about midlife loneliness, online dating, dogs, publishing, and the search for love and connection in a damaged society.

Bregin says she wanted to write 'a page-turner' that would keep readers engrossed and entertained from start to finish, while at the same time invoking the real challenges and complexities of present-day South Africa. The novel also draws on her experience of the book publishing world, though well fictionalised.

'This is the kind of novel you bunk work to finish reading' Rosamund Kendal, author of Angina Monologues

'Compelling tale of the pursuit of love touches on South Africa's prickly issues' Cape Times

'Smart, tender and reassuringly real ... I enjoyed every page of this heart-warming romp' Oprah Magazine

Bregin has been writing since the 1990s, when she won several awards for her young adult titles such as "The Red-haired Khumalo" and "The Boy From the Other Side", which dealt with socio-reality issues in a changing South Africa. In 2000 she won the South African English Academy's Percy FitzPatrick Award for her hard-hitting magic-realist novel, "The Slayer of Shadows".

It was after completing her MA thesis on the Bushman people and the way in which their 'difference' contributed to the colonial genocide against them, that she met Belinda Kruiper, wife of talented Bushman (San) artist Vetkat Kruiper (now deceased). The result was "Kalahari RainSong" (2004), a co-authored biographical novel which explores the cultural, spiritual and survival challenges of the last remaining #Khomani San community of the Northern Cape Kalahari desert.

Bregin says she 'dislikes being pigeonholed' and her work is often difficult to categorize. "Shiva's Dance" (2009), a novel set against the culturally rich backdrop of Durban, looks at the pain of growing up in a dysfunctional family and reflects her interest in Buddhist and Hindu spiritual principles. A prize-winning short story, "They", is set against the surreal backdrop of an animal-testing facility - a topic that she cares about deeply. While her Radio Drama, "Just you Wait" explores the human commonality of grief and pain that underlies the surface differences between people.