Career
His style has been compared with Anthony Burgess, Chuck Palahniuk and Irvine Welsh. Staggie is best known for his controversial, acclaimed 2013 debut novel Risk. His filmmaking was influenced primarily by Quentin Tarantino, and his skills led to his being selected as a finalist in the 2013 Kevin Spacey Jameson Prize.
Staggie is currently planning another book, named Epic.
Staggie grew up in Cape Town, South Africa. His mother Cheryl removed him from criminal surroundings, for which he dedicated to her his book Risk.
Staggie graduated UCT with a degree in psychology in 2005, then moved to Ireland to raise funds for charities. After Ireland he taught English as Second Language in South of Korea before moving to Prague, Czechoslovakian Republic, where he studied directing and screenwriting at Prague Film School.
He is now living back in Cape Town, studying for his honours at University of South Africa. He is also making a documentary about the Hard Livings gang.
In 2013 Staggie"s Fluxus video poem "Requiem for Lithium" was selected for the Visible Verse Festival in Vancouver. In 2014 Staggie"s short story "Beaufort West" was published in the Sunday Times Lifestyle magazine"s “FFWD >> 2034 The Future Fiction Edition”. The special edition was published to celebrate 20 years of democracy in South Africa and featured short stories by 40 top South Africa authors set in South Africa on 27 April 2034 – 20 years after the publication date.