Jen Smout is a feminist writer and researcher based in Cape Town, with a decade in the field of researching and writing about gender-based violence in South Africa. She was formerly a commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality, and a parliamentary researcher. Jen also publishes as Jen Thorpe. She has published three feminist essay collections, two novels, and two children’s books. She also has pieces in two collections. Find out more about them in the Books tab above. Her first novel, The Peculiars, was long listed for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize (2017) and the Etisalat Fiction Prize (2017). Her second novel, The Fall, was long listed for the Sunday Times CNA Fiction Prize (2021).