Ceridwen Dovey

Born in South Africa, Ceridwen Dovey spent her childhood moving back and forth often between South Africa and Australia. As a teenager, she made the choice to remain in Sydney, Australia, for high school while her parents returned to South Africa. In 1999, she began her studies at Harvard University and earned a joint degree in anthropology and visual and environmental studies. Following her graduation, she used experience she gained making documentary films in college to work briefly in television in New York City. Then, she moved to South Africa to study creative writing at the University of Cape Town. Her first novel, Blood Kin, was written as part of her creative writing masters thesis. It was published in several countries in 2007 and was shortlisted for a number of prizes in 2007 and 2008. Dovey also completed graduate work at New York University in social anthropology before returning to Sydney, Australia. Only the Animals is her second book, and it also won several awards. Following the book’s publication, Dovey turned to writing full-time. She lives in Sydney with her husband and two sons.