Danie Botha

(1947-) Author, actor, critic, editor, publisher and writer. Daniel Stephanus “Danie” Botha was born near De Doorns in the Western Cape. He matriculated in 1964 from Worcester Boys’ High School. In 1966 he started working in the Central Research Department at the Cape Provincial Library in Cape Town. From 1967 to 1970 he studied at the University of Stellenbosch and received a BA Honours degree in Afrikaans and Dutch. He was a member of D.J. Opperman’s Letterkundige Laboratorium and also served on the editorial team of the at Die Matie student newspaper alongside people such Fanie Oliver and Etienne Britz. Together with Fanie Olivier he founded the literary magazine Penseel in 1970. After finishing his studies he worked as Afrikaans book selector at the Cape Provincial Library Service, and in August 1972 he joined Tafelberg Publishers as fiction editor. Danie was also head of the children’s books department during his time at Tafelberg. In the 1980s he moved back to fiction into the position of senior editor. Up to his retirement in 2000, he managed all literary genres and specialised in literary criticism, author biographies, anthologies, dramas, short stories and gay literature. As publisher/editor he published the dramatic works of inter alia André P. Brink and Deon Opperman. As an author he has produced numerous books. Among the original works, for example, the collection of short-stories, Die Soft Rock Klub ("The Soft Rock Club"), and a number of compiled collections of writing by others, such as Die beste spookstories van C.J. Langenhoven (1992), Op ’n hoë noot: die lekkerste stories van P.H. Nortjé (2008) and Tien uit tien: stories en sêgoeters van Fanus Rautenbach (2010).

His theatre involvement included a great deal of acting for the amateur and professional stage and the radio. In later years he also did broadcasting for community radio. Was a member of the Bellville Amateur Toneelgroep (BAT)and acted for them in a range of plays. He also appeared at the Space Theatre in Wilma Stockenström's Die Laaste Middagmaal. Later became a part-time critic for Die Burger and a judge for the Fleur du Cap Awards. In 2006 he published a valuable book on early South African Afrikaans theatre, entitled Voetligte en applous! Die beginjare van die Afrikaanse beroepstoneel (Protea Boekhuis) It is a book of theatrical anecdotes, primarily material he collected on the career and personality of the grande dame of the Afrikaans theatre, Anna Neethling-Pohl. In 2011 he was honoured by the ATKV for his contribution to drama and his work in publishing.