Francois Alwyn (Frans) Venter (27 November 1916 – 8 July 1997) was a prominent Afrikaans writer of the 20th century. His novels explored biblical religious themes, or cultural identities in the South African context. He also examined relations between white and black more closely in "Wit oemfaan", which describes a white boy's discovery of the customs of the Zulu nation. "Swart pelgrim" on the other hand relates the experiences and observations of a migrant from a black rural setting to the industrialised, white-dominated environment. He may be best known for his novel "Geknelde land" (Afrikaans for Afflicted land), which describes the Eastern Cape Boer community living under Xhosa raids and the English governance of the 19th century.