Lodewyk G du Plessis

Writer

Born in 1938, Lodewyk studied law and went on to practise as a prosecutor, advocate and high court judge for many years. After he retired from the Bench in 2003, he spent a few years travelling, particularly in Asia. Based in Malaysia, he travelled to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Taiwan and China. Here he discovered a fascinating and interesting world, and was inspired by Asian food, customs, culture, history and philosophy.

It took him the best part of six years to write his debut novel, Die Dao van Daan van der Walt, which is set in China and was published in 2018 when he was 80 years old. It went on to receive many prizes, such as the Helgaard Steyn Prize, the Eugène Marais Prize and the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize, to name only a few, and has now been translated into English by South African author, translator and academic Michiel Heyns as The Dao of Daniel.