He returned to Johannesburg in 1951 and worked for the South African Jewish Board of Deputies as a public relations assistant and then as a journalist for "Press Digest". In 1952 he returned to Kimberley to work as a correspondence secretary on his father's cattle farm. During this period he became determined to be a writer. His first literary success occurred with a short story entitled "The Box," which was published in "Commentary". It was followed by other short stories in "Harpers Bazaar", "The New Yorker", and other magazines.