Spud (novel)

Spud is a 2005 novel by South African author, actor, playwright and producer, John van de Ruit. It is a comedic story about life in a boarding school through the diary of John 'Spud' Milton and the "crazy eight" - eight boys in Spud's year and house at school. The diary also follows Spud's family life.

Spud

First (South African) edition
Author	John van de Ruit
Original title	Spud
Translator	John van de Ruit
Cover artist	Farell Grehan
Language	English
Subject	Boarding school life
Genre	Novel
Publisher	Penguin
Publication date	2005
Publication place	South Africa
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	389pp
ISBN	978-0-14-302484-2
OCLC	87375897
Followed by	Spud - The madness continues Spud - Learning to Fly Spud - Exit, Pursued by a Bear

A sequel, titled Spud: The Madness Continues, was released in mid-2007. It details Spud's second year of boarding school and trip to England paid by Wombat, his crazy grandmother.

In June 2009, the third book in the series was released, titled Spud: Learning to Fly. This book details Spud's third year at a school.

The fourth book in the series, detailing Spud's Matric year, was released August 2012, under the title Spud: Exit, Pursued by a Bear.^[1]

The fifth and final book was released in November 2024, under the title Spud: The Reunion.

After commercial success in South Africa and winning the 2006 Booksellers award,^[2] Spud was released in North America in 2007.

Film adaptation

Main article: Spud (film)

A film adaptation, directed by Donovan Marsh, was released in South Africa on 3 December 2010. The film stars South African-born Australian actor Troye Sivan as Spud and with John Cleese as The Guv. The film was a success in South Africa, topping the box office. The film was later nominated for six South African Film and Television Awards, including Best Feature Film and Best Actor in a Feature Film (Troye Sivan).^[3]

The sequel, Spud: The Madness Continues was released in 2013. A third film, Spud 3: Learning to Fly, was released in 2014.