Ashling McCarthy is a Durban novelist, anthropologist and artist. Her Poacher’s Moon crime series — with the third book due in the second half of 2025 — explores wildlife poaching from multiple perspectives.
While not all poachers are driven by inequality and desperation, Ashling’s stories raise critical questions about marginalised people living on the fringes of game reserves. Culture, faith and inequality all play a role in the complex realities surrounding poaching.
Preparation for her books involves extensive research, from news reports to academic papers. She also conducts one-on-one interviews with key informants and immerses herself in the environments she writes about. Her family was involved in a game farm for 18 years, and she has lived and worked with rural crafters.
“I have had unique exposure. Through that exposure, I wondered how other people would think, given their experiences. I realised how little I knew, and curiosity drove me,” she says.
Her first book, Down at Jika Jika Tavern, is being incorporated into school curricula. In addition to writing, Ashling paints and runs a non-profit organisation that facilitates social change.
“Some journeys start with a clear route and a definite end in sight. Others begin tentatively, with a series of seemingly unconnected waypoints leading to an unimagined destination. That was my journey. Only in my 30s did I fully understand how each waypoint provided me with the knowledge, skills and empathy needed for the work ahead.”
