Reflecting on five years as a young, award-winning author

I AM so excited!!! Do you know why? July 16, 2015 was the day my first book, Smelly Cats, was launched in Johannesburg.

It has been an amazing and blessed journey ever since I became the youngest author in South Africa, and possibly Africa, because of my exposure to books at an early age.

I believe that early exposure to books is what made me a writer today, even though my writing journey started when I saw my mother’s Master’s thesis and thought she had written a book.

I was inspired to write my own book, and I did that without my parents’ knowledge when I was seven years old.

After presenting my manuscript to my mother and then to my father, they started to look for a publisher.

They looked everywhere in the world until my mother’s company, Profounder Intelligence Management Services, finally published the book.

Thanks to that decision, Profounder Intelligence has since published more than 14 different book titles by children and adult writers to date.

Smelly Cats remains my favourite book. This book is approved by the South African Department of Basic Education as suitable for children of all ages through to primary school.

In 2016, Smelly Cats made me the youngest winner at National Development Agency (NDA) “Best Publication 2015 in the Special Mention Category”, prize donated by Unicef. I have since published 5 books and I am still writing. Thanks to the biggest support I have received from all, I have seen myself growing into a fine writer who has become an international multiple awardwinning child author, public speaker, activist and brand ambassador to many.

I am also learning so much about book publishing. My writing journey has been interesting. I started off writing stories for children, and now my sixth book (coming soon) is a full novel. I have flown the South African flag overseas on different occasions, starting in 2019.

I was recognised by the Egyptian President El Sisi as one of five “most promising African youths”.

I was honoured in Ghana and in India as a child prodigy for my writings. I was a speaker at the 2020 World Literacy Conference this April, representing world youth individuals determined to change the world through the power of literacy.

I have won more than 20 awards and several recognitions for my works. A special attribute about my writings is that beside being the youngest most influential writer in Africa, my book Tim’s Answer is now available in Braille and Daisy formats.

I am the custodian of the annual AfrICAN Children of The Year Awards.

As a way to spread writing like a disease among African children and adults alike, I am working towards growing my foundation and making sure that my dream of elevating African children is fulfilled through different projects that The Stacey Fru Foundation Runs are running currently.