CHRIS VAN WYK was born in 1957 and educated at Riverlea High School. He lives in Northcliff, Johannesburg, where he works as a full-time writer. His childhood memoir Shirley, Goodness & Mercy, published by Picador Africa in 2004, is a South African bestseller. In 2009 Van Wyk abridged Nelson Mandela's autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, to create a picture book (illustrated by Paddy Bouma) for young children.