John van de Ruit is an actor, playwright and author who was educated at Michaelhouse and received an MA in Drama and Performance Studies from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. His highly successful stage production of Green Mamba and Black Mamba (in collaboration with Ben Voss) have performed to sell-out audiences around South Africa and have received numerous awards.

His debut novel, Spud, was a publishing phenomenon in South Africa, smashing all local publishing records, and was awarded the Booksellers’ Choice Award in 2006. Hot on the heels of Spud’s release in September 2005, Spud - The Madness Continues … was released in April 2007 to rave reviews. Both books have since been published in the USA and UK to great acclaim, as well as being translated into Italian (renamed Patata), Russian and Portuguese.

The penultimate book in the side-splitting series, Spud - Learning To Fly, will be released in June 2009. John’s keenness for travelling has seen him backpacking through South-East Asia and the Far East at various stages of his writing process (Spud - Learning To Fly was carefully mapped and thought out on the dusty roads of Vietnam!)

Rogue Star Productions has secured the screen rights to the first book, and a movie of Spud is due to begin shooting on location at Michaelhouse in December 2009.

Spud has crept into the hearts of readers across the world and was recently placed 11th on Exclusive Books’ list of 101 Books To Read Before You Die.