Exciting news! Carol Campbell​’s third Karoo novel, The Tortoise Cried its Only Tear, will soon be published in Dutch by Uitgeverij Mozaïek in The Netherlands.

Acquiring editor Corinne Vuijk said of Campbell’s book, ‘I so much loved the story, the way in which the tension increases, the flashbacks, the atmosphere … I just can’t stand the idea of this book not coming to Mozaïek.’

Campbell first began writing about the karretjiemense of the Karoo in her debut, My Children Have Faces, a book that became an instant classic.

The nomadic karretjiemense believe that a tortoise sheds a single tear on the day of its death. Drawing on this symbolism, Campbell interweaves the stories of three karretjiemense children, Siena, Boetie and Kriekie, whose lives later intersect as adults.

Siena is first encountered covered in blood and running along a deserted dust road at night, heading for the only safe place she knows, Seekoegat Primary School. Campbell’s opening sets the scene for a compassionate and deeply moving tale told with the punch of a thriller. Even in the dust of the arid Karoo, one sometimes finds acts of kindness that can bring hope to a harsh life.

My Children Have Faces won the First Time Published Author Award at the 2015 South African Literary Awards.

As a journalist, Campbell has worked for the Argus, the Cape Times, The Mercury, Daily News, and The Sunday Tribune. She lives in Shetland with her family.

The acquisition was negotiated by the Lennon-Ritchie Agency on behalf of Umuzi. Read more about Campbell’s beautiful Karoo novels here.

• Read: ‘One of the joys of writing is that you can build bridges between people’ – Carol Campbell talks about her new book, The Tortoise Cried its Only Tear

Categories Fiction International South Africa

Tags Lennon-Ritchie Agency Mozaïek My Children Have Faces News Penguin Random House SA The Tortoise Cried its Only Tear Translation Translation Rights Uitgeverij Mozaïek Umuzi