It was in London that Zadok began writing Gem Squash Tokoloshe, a first novel set in her native South Africa.

The Whitbread Judges announced: “Gem Squash Tokoloshe impressed us with its powerful evocation of a child's-eye view of rural South Africa.

In The Guardian of 18 November 2005 Zadok commented: "I feel like I can't run away from it [South Africa] and live somewhere else.

I've got to pay my dues, give back to the country that gave me so much..." Zadok has spoken of her wish to set up a project for HIV/AIDS orphans in her native South Africa.

[1] Short works by Rachel Zadok have also appeared in The Observer, the Jewish Chronicle, The Independent and African Violet, the 2012 Caine Prize Anthology.