Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO awarded the SA Book Awards Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction Prize

UPDATE: We are delighted to announce that SKORPIO has been awarded the Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction Prize at this year's SA Book Awards – as voted for by booksellers across South Africa – taking home the ZAR 5,000 prize.

Many congratulations Deon!

You can read more about SKORPIO and the awards in our news story below.

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SKORPIO, the latest Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido investigation by bestselling crime sensation Deon Meyer, has advanced to the shortlist for the 26th annual SA Book Awards, in the Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction category.

Booksellers from across South Africa were invited to vote for their favourite South African-authored books of the year from a longlist of the bestselling titles of 2025, with SKORPIO recognised following an epic 9-week end-of-year run at the top of the South African bestseller lists, claiming the Christmas #1. The awards, powered by NielsenIQ BookData and supported by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa and the SA Booksellers’ Association, strive to celebrate books written and published in South Africa, as voted for by South African booksellers. Each category winner is awarded ZAR 5,000.00 and an overall winner – awarded to Deon in 2024 for previous book LEO – receiving the highest number of votes, is presented with ZAR 20,000.00. The winners were announced at a special virtual award ceremony on 8 September 2026.

The other books on this year’s Adult Fiction shortlist are:

  • BINNERYM VAN BLOED by Antje Krog

  • DÉJÀ VU by Chanette Paul

  • DIE BY THE SWORD by Tony Park

  • SWEETIE by Nataniël Nataniël

First published last year in Afrikaans by Human and Rousseau, English-language readers won’t have to wait long to enjoy the thrills of SKORPIO for themselves: last week, Pan Macmillan unveiled the cover of their edition, the first to be published by Pan Macmillan following a six-figure swoop for the UK and Commonwealth English-language rights. Titled SCORPIO RISING (translated by K.L. Seegers), it will be published in South Africa in October this year, and in the UK on 11 February 2027, alongside Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada. Rights have further sold in France (Editions Gallimard), the Netherlands (A W Bruna) and Germany (Aufbau).

In SKORPIO/SCORPIO RISING, when two seemingly disparate investigations collide, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido must race against time to solve both before it is too late.

When Detective Benny Griessel is assigned the case of a private eye crushed under a BMW in his garage, it looks a lot like suicide. But Benny’s partner, Vaughn Cupido, knew the deceased, and he says it’s murder. Benny would love to have Vaughn’s help on the case, because so far it’s going nowhere. But his partner is stuck wasting his considerable talents investigating the arson of a remote shepherd’s hut.

Then a caravan explodes on a nearby farm, and the identity of the body inside drives the media into a feeding frenzy just a week before an international security forum comes to town. Suddenly, Griessel and Cupido’s dead-end cases are burning red-hot, and the flames threaten not just their careers, but those dearest to them.

Local and international threats become perilously entwined in this tautly constructed thriller from a master of the form, as Griessel and Cupido race against time to uncover a plot that could challenge global politics at the highest level…

Credit: Will Punt, Peartree Photography

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in 31 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for SKORPIO

‘Even if he writes a book where Griessel and Cupid just go on holiday without any crime to solve, I will still buy it, read it and add it to my collection… Meyer needs no introduction… I don’t even want to think what he has meant to the Afrikaans book and film industry as a whole. He showed everyone what is possible, and SKORPIO shows how everyone still listens when he speaks. In 2025, a wealth of good suspense literature was published; SKORPIO is the icing on the cake.’ – Stefan Coetzee, LitNet

‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24

‘In terms of depth, it is Meyer’s penetrating consideration of the nature of criminality that is surprising… In Meyer we notice the necessary awareness of South Africa’s social diversity. This makes the story nuanced and credible. What is also striking is the compassion with which Meyer treats the characters. This is a novel that is marked by humanity. Even the characters and suspects do not lack the author’s compassion… Ultimately, it is the scope of the story that surprises both the detectives and the reader. The evil that is systemic corruption is strikingly exposed. With the unmistakable Deon Meyer trademark, precise and powerful, SKORPIO is prime crime fiction that captivates to the end’ – Francois Bekker, Netwerk24

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Follow Deon on Twitter

Deon Meyer’s DEVIL’S PEAK finds UK streaming home on U and Channel 4

Following its successful home debut in South Africa on M-Net,  and US distribution on Tubi, DEVIL’S PEAK – the 5-part miniseries adaptation of Deon Meyer’s prize-winning 2005 novel – has finally found its UK home, streaming now on U (formally UKTV) and on Channel 4’s on-demand service.

DEVIL’S PEAK sees the talented but broken Benny Griessel tracking down a righteous vigilante killer whose crimes are capturing the imagination of the city. Meanwhile, grieving father Thobela Mpayipheli seeks justice after the untimely murder of his son. Benny and Thobela are brought into the orbit of a trapped mother, Christine, who is willing to do anything to achieve a better life for herself and her daughter, and the fates of these three characters become inextricably linked. Combining gripping tension with uncompromising authenticity, DEVIL’S PEAK offers an original South African take on the investigative thriller for today.

Produced by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, with backing by BBC Studios and Multichoice Studios, the series stars Hilton Pelser (THE KISSING BOOTH, MOFFIE) as Detective Benny Griessel, with Sisanda Henna (who starred in previous Deon Meyer adaptation TRACKERS), Tarryn Wyngaard, Shamilla Miller, and Masasa Mbangeni. The 5 x 1-hour series is directed by Jozua Malherbe (JUSTICE SERVED, GRIEKWASTAD) and written by Matthew Orton (MOON KNIGHT, OPERATION FINALE). International distribution for the show is being handled by BBC Studios.

Originally published in Afrikaans as INFANTA in 2005, and translated into English by K.L. Seegers, DEVIL’S PEAK won the ATKV Prize in South Africa and won the Svenska Oversatta Kriminalroman (Martin Beck) Award and the Readers’ Award from CritiquesLibres.com in October 2010. The book is published in English in the UK and Canada by Hodder & Stoughton and WF Howes, and in the USA by Little, Brown, as well as in many translation markets.

The latest Benny Griessel novel, SCORPIO RISING, was first published last year in Afrikaans by Human and Rousseau, with Pan Macmillan publishing the English translation (translated by K.L. Seegers), in South Africa in October this year, and in the UK on 11 February 2027, alongside Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada. Rights have further sold in France (Editions Gallimard), the Netherlands (A W Bruna) and Germany (Aufbau).

Photo: Will Punt, Peartree Photography

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in 31 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg and the UK via U on Channel 4. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for the novel DEVIL’S PEAK

‘With Deon Meyer you can't go wrong. He's a writer whose work I admire, wait for and then devour.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer portrays a world of terrifying uncertainty, in which those who fought for liberation from apartheid are having to come to terms with the knowledge that freedom is not enough to wipe out cruelty. A thoughtful and exciting novel.’ – Natasha Cooper, Times Literary Supplement

‘This is one of those entertainment fictions that teaches one more than any textbook or documentary. This thriller is a fascinating portrayal of one aspect of life in post-apartheid South Africa… winding up the tension to a gripping, shocking climax. Highly recommended.’ – Literary Review

‘Deon Meyer is…one of the sharpest and most perceptive thriller writers around…Meyer paints a wonderful picture of the dark side of the rainbow nation… Against the odds Meyer leaves us with a resolution that is both poignant and supremely satisfying. In no way is this a negative book about the new South Africa. It makes the place come alive with a breathless urgency that recalls the 1940s Los Angeles of Dashiel Hammet or Raymond Chandler: a bit mad, a bit bad, a bit dangerous, but exotically vibrant, a society in adolescence. Think of Meyer in the way that you might have regarded a bottle of Cape red a dozen years ago – dark, strong with an unusual but beguilingly moreish taste. If it can produce popular literature as good as this, the new South Africa has a lot going for it.’ – Peter Millar, The Times

‘If you want a glimpse of the soul of the new South Africa in all its glory, and with all the gory details of its problems and corruption, Meyer is your man… I marvelled at the intricacy of the plotting, I smiled at Christine's cheeky ingenuity, I felt Thobela's pain and Benny's desperation, and I was stunned by a dénouement of awesome power and accomplishment.’ – Matthew Lewin, The Guardian

Visit Deon’s website

Follow Deon on Twitter

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO longlisted for the SA Book Awards Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction Prize

Bestselling crime sensation Deon Meyer has been longlisted for the 26th annual SA Book Awards in the Favourite Bestselling Adult Fiction category with SKORPIO. The awards, powered by NielsenIQ BookData and supported by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa and the SA Booksellers’ Association, strive to celebrate books written and published in South Africa, as voted for by South African booksellers.

SKORPIO earned its place on the longlist following an epic 9-week end of year run at the top of the South African bestseller lists, claiming the Christmas #1. In 2024, Deon took home not only the Best Fiction prize but also the overall Book of the Year prize at the SA Book Awards, for his previous Benny Griessel title LEO.

This year’s longlist was made up of the bestselling titles published in South Africa by South African authors, as measured by NielsenIQ BookScan South Africa in 2025, with South African booksellers invited to vote for their favourite to determine the shortlist and winners. Each category winner will be awarded ZAR 5,000.00 and there will be an overall winner, receiving the highest number of votes, who will be presented with ZAR 20,000.00. The winners will be announced at a special virtual award ceremony later in the year.

SKORPIO was first published in South Africa, in Afrikaans, by Human and Rousseau in October 2025. The English-language edition, titled SCORPIO RISING (translated by K.L. Seegers), will be published by Pan Macmillan in South Africa in October this year, and in the UK in Spring 2027, alongside Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada. Rights have further sold in France (Editions Gallimard), the Netherlands (A W Bruna) and Germany (Aufbau).

In SKORPIO/SCORPIO RISING, when two seemingly disparate investigations collide, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido must race against time to solve both before it is too late.

Aishah Fernandez, distinguished former Deputy Director General of South Africa’s nuclear power regulatory agency, is brutally attacked in her hotel room in Moscow. Four months later, Benny Griessel and his partner Vaughn Cupido – their rank as captains happily restored – find themselves investigating two tragic but seemingly unrelated cases: two small explosions and the suspicious death of private investigator Brandon Maarman.

At the same time, Benny is desperately trying to repair the damaged relationship with his son Fritz. As the connections between the cases become frighteningly clear, the race to save the country from an international disaster is on, with stakes higher than a father’s bond with his son.

Credit: Will Punt, Pear Tree Photography

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in 31 countries, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation. His latest novel LEO, a new Benny Griessel thriller, enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching audiences in the USA, New Zealand, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe.

Praise for SKORPIO

‘Even if he writes a book where Griessel and Cupid just go on holiday without any crime to solve, I will still buy it, read it and add it to my collection… Meyer needs no introduction… I don’t even want to think what he has meant to the Afrikaans book and film industry as a whole. He showed everyone what is possible, and SKORPIO shows how everyone still listens when he speaks. In 2025, a wealth of good suspense literature was published; SKORPIO is the icing on the cake.’ – Stefan Coetzee, LitNet

‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24

‘In terms of depth, it is Meyer’s penetrating consideration of the nature of criminality that is surprising… In Meyer we notice the necessary awareness of South Africa’s social diversity. This makes the story nuanced and credible. What is also striking is the compassion with which Meyer treats the characters. This is a novel that is marked by humanity. Even the characters and suspects do not lack the author’s compassion… Ultimately, it is the scope of the story that surprises both the detectives and the reader. The evil that is systemic corruption is strikingly exposed. With the unmistakable Deon Meyer trademark, precise and powerful, SKORPIO is prime crime fiction that captivates to the end’ – Francois Bekker, Netwerk24

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO dominant at the top in South Africa after claiming the Christmas #1

Deon Meyer’s SKORPIO – his latest Afrikaans-language thriller following Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido – extended its reign at the top of the South African bestseller lists, scooping the coveted Christmas #1 slot as part of a 9-week run that stretched back to its November debut. The book has now achieved the feat of exceeding 24,000 copies in its Afrikaans first-edition, and continues to reign at the top of the each of the Fiction, Afrikaans-language and South African-writers bestseller lists in South Africa.

SKORPIO was published by Human & Rousseau, an imprint of Jonathan Ball, on 31 October 2025; English-language editions (translated by K.L. Seegers) are forthcoming from Pan Macmillan in the UK, Grove Atlantic in the US and Canada, as well as translations in Germany (Aufbau), and the Netherlands (A.W. Bruna).

In SKORPIO, as an international security forum convenes in the picturesque town of Stellenbosch, detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido race against time to uncover a plot that could shake international foundations. With the threat looming over the prestigious gathering of global leaders, the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Congratulations, Deon!

About Deon Meyer

Deon Meyer lives in Stellenbosch. His books are sold in more than 40 countries worldwide, and have been awarded many prizes around the world: the Deutsche Krimi Prize in Germany, the ATKV Prize in South Africa, the Martin Beck Award in Sweden and Le Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and Le Prix Mystère de la Critique in France. COBRA was shortlisted for the 2015 CWA International Dagger, THIRTEEN HOURS was shortlisted for the 2010 CWA International Dagger, and HEART OF THE HUNTER, was longlisted for the 2005 IMPAC Prize and selected as one of Chicago Tribune’s ‘10 best mysteries and thrillers of 2004’. THE DARK FLOOD was longlisted for the 2023 CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, and LEO enjoyed ten weeks at the top of the South African bestseller lists, Number One in all categories, before going on to win Best Adult Fiction and Book of the Year at the 2024 SA Book Awards, and the ATKV-Woordveertjies Prize for best Afrikaans Thriller.

Adaptations of Deon’s novels have recently had great success on screen: in April 2024, HEART OF THE HUNTER topped the global Netflix film charts, becoming the first African film to do so, with over 11 million views in its first two days alone. DEVIL’S PEAK was also adapted for a miniseries by Lookout Point and Expanded Media Productions, premiering on M-Net in South Africa in 2023 before reaching international audiences. In 2020, TRACKERS, produced by Three River Fiction and Scene 23, aired on Sky Atlantic in the UK and HBO in the USA, as well as Australia and New Zealand, and across the Nordic countries and Europe. His latest adaptation, THE INVISIBLE (from the novel BLOOD SAFARI), starring Abbie Cornish and Dougray Scott is currently in production through M-Net, Scene23, Berkeley Media Group (BMG), and ITV Studios.

Praise for SKORPIO

‘It’s the characters, the humanity and the humour that keeps me devouring Deon Meyer’s novels.’ – Deborah Steinmair, Netwerk24

Praise for Deon Meyer

‘He’s up there with the best in the world.’ – Marcel Berlins, The Times

‘I love Deon Meyer novels. It’s global storytelling at its best, with the undeniable hallmarks of gritty realism and deep character building.’ – Michael Connelly

‘Deon Meyer's name on the cover is a guarantee of crime writing at its best.’ – Tess Gerritsen

‘Deon Meyer is one of the giants of crime fiction.’ – El Mundo

‘One of the best crime writers on the planet.’ – Mail on Sunday

Visit Deon’s website

Follow Deon on Twitter