Archie Crail facts for kids

Archie Crail (born in 1944 in Paarl, South Africa) is a writer from South Africa and Canada. He is known for his collection of short stories called The Bonus Deal. This book was even nominated for a big award, the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction, in 1992.

About Archie Crail

Archie Crail was born and grew up in Paarl, South Africa. He is a South African with a mixed heritage. He went to the University of South Africa.

Fighting for Fairness

Archie Crail was an activist against apartheid. Apartheid was a system of unfair rules that separated people based on their race in South Africa. He worked with the African National Congress (ANC). The ANC was a group that fought against these unfair rules. He also studied theology with Desmond Tutu, a famous leader who also fought apartheid.

Later, Archie Crail lived in Namibia (which was called South-West Africa then). He continued his political work there with another group called SWAPO. For a short time, he lived in Botswana. In 1980, he moved to Canada with his family.

Life in Canada

Archie Crail and his family settled in Regina, Saskatchewan in 1980. He took classes at the University of Regina. He even studied creative writing there with a writer named Ven Begamudré.

His Writing Journey

Archie Crail's first big work was a play called Exile. This play won a writing competition in 1989. It was performed by the 25th Street Theatre in Saskatoon in 1990. Later, Exile was even performed in South Africa.

Published Works

His collection of short stories, The Bonus Deal, came out in 1992. It was published by Coteau Books. Some of the stories from The Bonus Deal were also turned into radio plays for CBC Radio.

In 1991, the South African government allowed exiled members of the African National Congress to return home. Archie Crail went back to South Africa to attend a conference for the organization in Durban.

Works

• Exile (1990)
• The Bonus Deal (1992)