[citation needed] After leaving Sanlam, he started his own business specialising in the creation and management of virtual communities on the internet.

[2] Deon Meyer's novel-writing career started when the Afrikaans magazine, Huisgenoot, published a short story he had submitted.

The screenplay, written by South African writer Johann Potgieter, was finalised in 2008 but was never made into a motion picture.

In August 2009 the film rights for 13 Uur (Thirteen Hours) were awarded to British producers Malcolm Kohll and Robert Fig.

It was awarded best television script for a South African series by the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging in 2007 and won the ATKV Prose Prize in 2000.

Dead before Dying (French title Jusqu'au Dernier) won Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière 2003.

Devil’s Peak won the Martin Beck Award ("Den gyllene kofoten" or The golden crowbar) by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers in 2010.

Heart of the Hunter (Afrikaans title Proteus) won the ATKV Prose Prize in 2003 and the Deutscher Krimi Preis in 2006.