Sven Axelrad is an accountant, musician, and writer. His debut novel, Buried Treasure (Penguin Random House SA, 2023), was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Award and longlisted for both the HSS and SALA Awards. His follow-up, God’s Pocket (2024), was longlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Award, shortlisted for the Book Lounge Book of the Year, and named a finalist for the HSS Best Emerging Writer Award. His third novel, The Nicotine Gospel (2025), was released to acclaim, selling out at the Franschhoek Literary Festival, where he shared the stage with John Boyne and Abi Daré. Sven has represented South African literature at the International Havana Book Fair, published in New Contrast Magazine, and had a short story longlisted for the Desperate Literature Prize in Madrid. He lives in Durban, a crumbling city of dreams, and loves the ocean, his wife, and his dog.