Karin Schimke is a South African author, poet and translator. She is renowned for her poetry and translation work, as well as for her non-fiction book We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children (2024), which she co-authored with Vanessa Raphaely. Her debut poetry collection won the Ingrid Jonker Prize. She has also received the Sol Plaatje Award and the South African Literary Award for Translation.
Karin Schimke was born in South Africa. After completing her education, she began working as a journalist. Her articles have appeared in over twenty publications, including The Sunday Times Lifestyle Magazine, The Mail & Guardian, Business Day, Financial Mail, and Women's Health.
Schimke worked as a books editor for the Cape Times for five years and has contributed reviews to Litnet, Slipnet, and Maverick Life. She runs the South African Bookstagram account @readingdarling.
Karin Schimke has written five non-fiction books and ghostwritten four more for clients. She has also published two poetry collections. Her poems have appeared in literary magazines in South Africa, Europe, and the USA, including The Atlanta Review and Mslexia. In addition to writing, she has translated seven books, edited seventeen, and assessed over one hundred manuscripts.
She has won the Ingrid Jonker Prize for Poetry, as well as the Sol Plaatje and South African Literary Awards for Translation. Karin was also a finalist for the South African Literary Award for Poetry. She has completed residencies at the Sylt Foundation in Germany.
In We Were Perfect Parents Until We Had Children (2024), Schimke and Raphaely compile advice from South African parents with older children. Based on conversations from 'The Village', a Facebook group, the book reflects on family life, setbacks, and how to maintain hope.
Photo credit: karinschimke.com
