Putting South African science fiction on the map Guardian.co.uk Books Blog: Putting South African science fiction on the map Last month, Lauren Beukes scooped one of the science fiction worlds major literary awards - and in doing so, heralded something of a coming of age for South African speculative fiction. Beukes - who describes herself as "an author, scriptwriter and recovering journalist" - won the prestigious Arthur C Clarke award for her second novel, Zoo City . The previous weekend the novel was on the five-strong shortlist for the British Science Fiction Association awards, missing out to Ian McDonalds The Dervish House at the major genre gathering Eastercon in Birmingham. But the Arthur C Clarke award � which saw Beukes beat McDonald � will be more than compensation, as will the news at the weekend that she has been shortlisted in the John W Campbell award for best new writer, to be revealed alongside the Hugo nominations in the US in August. Beukess novel is publi...