Jan Hurst-Nicholson

Jan Hurst-Nicholson has been reliably informed that website biographies are usually written in the third person, giving them the air of being penned by an authoritative third party (allowing the author carte-blanche to embellish without the restraints of false modesty)

Jan’s published articles, humorous articles and short stories have been compiled into a book: "Something to Read on the Plane - a bit of light literature, short stories & other fun stuff," and "I Made These Up (short stories for the fireside)"

Her experiences moving from Liverpool to South Africa in the 1970s were the inspiration for her humorous novel, "But Can You Drink The Water?” a semi-finalist (top 50 out of 5000) in the 2010 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award and a runner-up in the Peter Pook humorous novel competition.

Jan worked in the R&D department of a large bakery for several years, and this gave her the idea for "The Breadwinners" a family saga spanning 60 years and set in Durban.

Her teen/YA novel, “Mystery at Ocean Drive”, which was a runner-up in the 2010 Citizen/Pan MacMillan YA novel award.

"With the Headmaster's Approval" won the best Chick Lit/Women’s Lit category in the 2015 eFestival of Words

Her first children's book was "Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the missing canary eggs" published by Gecko Books, and was one of Bookchat's 1993 South African Books of the Year. This was followed by "Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the kidnapped mouse" which was selected as one of the 2013 Kart Kids Book Award winners in the US. “Leon Chameleon PI and the case of the bottled bat” is awaiting publication. These are humorous, animal, detective stories set in a nature reserve.

"Bheki and the Magic Light", which tells of a bullied herd boy who becomes a hero, was published by Penguin SA and is now also available as an e-book.

'Jake,' was published by Cambridge University Press.

“The Race (an inspiring story for left-handers)” is her latest children's book and also has advice for parents and teachers.

Jan’s non-fiction book. "PUBLIC SPEAKING - BANISH THE BUTTERFLIES: Practical bite-sized tips, techniques and fun anecdotes from seasoned speakers to put you at ease in any public speaking situation" is based on her 35-year involvement in public speaking training.

Jan's writing also appears in Edge Words (20 stories from the Cheshire Prize for Literature 2006 and 2023) published by University of Chester, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul and Chicken Soup for the Soul 101 best stories On Being a Parent; Summer Shorts, My Funny Major Medical, and Tales2Inspire, The Crystal Collection.