Lauren Beukes is a South African novelist, short story writer, journalist, and television scriptwriter. She is an award-winning and best-selling author whose works have been translated into 26 languages and optioned for film and TV.

Her accolades include the Arthur C Clarke Award, the prestigious University of Johannesburg prize, the August Derleth Prize, the Strand Critics Choice Award, and the RT Thriller of the Year. She has been honored in South Africa’s parliament and more recently won the Mbokondo Award from the Department of Arts and Culture, celebrating women in the arts for her contributions to the Creative Writing field.

Among her notable works are Broken Monsters, a novel about art, ambition, damaged people, and not-quite-broken cities, and The Shining Girls, which features a time-traveling serial killer.