Marion Molteno
Marion Molteno is a prize-winning author of four novels, which reflect the unusual range of a life lived across countries and cultures. She grew up in South Africa where she was active in opposition to the apartheid regime. She has worked in education in Africa and with minority communities in the UK, and as a policy adviser with Save the Children she has travelled to remote places across Asia and Africa.
Author news
All 4 of Marion's novels have won or been shortlisted for prizes.
UNCERTAIN LIGHT - finalist for two International book awards. Set in the complex world of international humanitarian aid, it begins when a UN peace keeper is taken hostage in Tajikistan. It's informed by Marion's experience of work for Save the Children across three continents.
IF YOU CAN WALK, YOU CAN DANCE - Winner of the Commonwealth Writer's Prize for the best book in the Africa region. A story of a young woman political exile, making a new life with courage. Celebrates the power of music across cultures.
SOMEWHERE MORE SIMPLE - short listed for the International Rubery Book Award, 2018. On the idyllic Isles of Scilly, three outsiders make new lives, and their own stories begin to intertwine.
A SHIELD OF COOLEST AIR winner, David Thomas Prize for Fiction. A moving story of what happened when a young woman stepped out of her safe life to befriend a Somali asylum seeker in London.
** Check out readers' responses: https://www.marionmolteno.co.uk/fiction/uncertain-light/responses-to-uncertain-light/
- Marion is a sought after public speaker, and enjoys interacting with readers. With Covid restrictions, she's now doing this on zoom. If you're in a book group and would like to invite her to talk about her books and life experience across different cultures, get in touch via her website.
**See what others say: https://www.marionmolteno.co.uk/events/comments-by-event-organisers/
- Marion is the patron of the National Women's Register whose 6,000 members meet in local groups across the UK to discuss anything that interests them. Covid has temporarily suspended home-based meetings, but they now have a fascinating programme of zoom talks. Marion is currently running a series of monthly interviews called Creative Women each featuring a woman who has achieved remarkable things, and whom she met while touring with Uncertain Light.
** Find out more here: https://www.marionmolteno.co.uk/creative-projects/
