Karina Author, Book, Literary Awards, Prize

The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize

The shortlists of the 2024 Sunday Times Literary Awards have been announced today and The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown features on the Fiction Prize shortlist.

Fiction Prize Criteria

The winner should be a novel of rare imagination and style, evocative, textured and a tale so compelling as to become an enduring landmark of contemporary fiction.

Judges:

Siphiwo Mahala
Dr Alma-Nelisha Cele
Michele Magwood

CHAIR OF JUDGES SIPHIWO MAHALA SAYS:

The judging panel approached the books entered for this year’s Fiction Prize with a keen interest to delve into a world of the unknown. In turn, we were introduced to a kaleidoscopic array of writing from both the seasoned and emerging writers alike. The result was a pleasantly edifying and exhilarating experience, as reading these novels was embarking on a journey punctuated with diverse themes, surprising and experimental narrative styles and boundless imagery. The wide range of settings, encompassing familiar and unfamiliar locations, bears testament to the universality of our stories and illustrate that our narratives transcend the realist preoccupations with the present moment. These five shortlisted novels, each in its own unique way, represent masterful works of rare, unfettered and powerful imagination. 

Here is the fiction shortlist in order of the author’s surname:

  • Buried Treasure by Sven Axelrad (Umuzi)
  • The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown (Karavan Press)
  • The Egg Dilemma by Morabo Morojele (Jacana)
  • The Institute for Creative Dying by Jarred Thompson (Picador Africa)
  • Mirage by David Ralph Viviers (Umuzi)

The Bitterness of Olives by Andrew Brown (Karavan Press)
Written before the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip on October 7, Brown’s latest novel is set against the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A retired detective in Tel Aviv and Palestinian doctor in Gaza with a shared past, must resolve their differences to investigate a murder. 
Judges said: A harrowing account of a moment of strife, beautifully told. The author, endowed with vivid imagination coupled with acumen and erudition, deftly immerses the reader in a brutal and bewildering landscape. A wholly sublime narrative, this novel is contemporaneous, daring, complex and aesthetically pleasing.

Read the full press release here: Sunday Times

Karina Author, Book, Prize

Slaughterhouse by Melissa Sussens shortlisted for the Ingrid Jonker Prize

The following collections of poetry were selected by the judges to be on the shortlist of the Ingrid Jonker Prize 2024 – in alphabetical order:

  • Sarah Lubala – A History of Disappearance
  • Irya EM Maharaj – Earth Circuit
  • Sizakele Nkosi – unGrand Malume
  • Caitlin Stobie – Thin Slices
  • Melissa Sussens – Slaughterhouse

Congratulations to all shortlisted poets! A special note of appreciation to Melissa Sussens – thank you for publishing your stunning debut collection with Karavan Press!

Karina Author, Prize

Lethokuhle Msimang receives the Comparative Literature Master Academic Achievement Award from Dartmouth College

Congratulations, Lethu!

The prize is annually awarded to one MA student who best embodies the academic values that the Program in Comparative Literature particularly cherishes: original and critical thinking; commitment to learning; respect for, and interest in, the work of others. A monetary award and a diploma recognize both collegiality and intellectual excellence. In May, after the students’ final presentations, a committee composed of the Chair, the Graduate Director, and the instructors of COLT 100, COLT 101 and COLT 103 decide to whom to bestow this award.

Karina Prize

Great poetry news!

The shortlists of The 2024 Isele Prizes have been announced and the Poetry list features Melissa Sussens (Slaughterhouse, Karavan Press, 2022) and Kharys Ateh Laue (who has co-authored a collection of stories with Caitlin Stobie that Karavan Press will be publishing later this year). You can read their stunning poems here:

Instead Of Measuring My Life In Productivity | Melissa Sussens

Elegy | Kharys Ateh Laue

And: the winners of New Contrast‘s 2023 National Poetry Prize have been announced:

(Kerry published her latest collection of poetry, afterwards, with Karavan Press and Keith was the winner of the Short.Sharp.Stories competition last year and featured in Fluid: The Freedom to Be.)

All three winning poems will be featured in the upcoming issue of New Contrast at the end of April.

The 2023 judges were Sindiswa Busuku, Nondwe Mpuma and Sarah Lubala.

The National Poetry Prize sponsor is Bruce Jack Wines.

Congratulations to all!

Karina Author, Book, Prize

THE OTHER ME by JOY WATSON shortlisted for the UJ Debut Prize

Announcement of the UJ Prize Shortlists (Debut Prize and Main Prize) for Works Published in 2022

The University of Johannesburg Prize (UJ Prize) for South African Writing is delighted to announce the shortlist for books published in 2022. The UJ Prize opened for submissions on 25 October 2022 and closed on 31 January 2023.

We received a record number of entries this year, and a panel comprised of seven judges considered the submissions. Following a rigorous adjudication process, the judges have shortlisted the following books in the respective categories:

Debut Prize

  • Boy on the Run (novel) by Welcome Mandla Lishivha
  • The Other Me (novel) by Joy Watson
  • Things My Mother Left Me (novel) by Pulane Mpondo

Main Prize

  • An Angel’s Demise (novel) by Sue Nyathi
  • Greyheart (poetry) by Lesego Rampolokeng
  • How to be a Revolutionary (novel) by C.A. Davids

The panel of judges drawn from three different universities around South Africa, selected these six titles out of more than 100 entries. “The overwhelming response to the prize is indicative of the growth and diversity of South African writing,” said Professor Ronit Frenkel, Chairperson of judges and Head of the English Department at the University of Johannesburg.

The final results will be announced on 14 September 2023.

Congratulations, Joy, and all other shortlisted writers!

Karina Author, Book, Prize

UJ Prize shortlist clarification

As many of you would have seen when the original press release about the University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing shortlists went out on 15 September, our A Hibiscus Coast by Nick Mulgrew was included — troublingly, however, for the debut prize.

But the novel is the author’s fourth book, a fact clearly stated both inside the book and on its cover. 

We were thrilled nevertheless, because we thought that the inclusion of the novel might have been a simple administrative mix-up, and that the novel belonged on the main category’s shortlist.

When we asked for clarification before making an official announcement on our side, however, the response was:

“Unfortunately, the UJ literary prize panel erroneously shortlisted Nick Mulgrew’s The [sic] Hibiscus Coast as a debut publication. As his publisher pointed out that he had published creative writing previously, we have removed this wonderful book from the debut shortlist. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

With considerable disappointment, therefore, the book has been withdrawn entirely from consideration for the University of Johannesburg Prizes.

Thank you to all who congratulated Nick and Karavan Press after the initial press release. We are celebrating this exceptional novel (shortlist or no shortlist) and continue to congratulate the shortlisted authors.

Here is the updated, correct (sadly for us), press release: JRB.

Karina Competition, Prize

The Island Prize 2022 Winners

Submissions for the inaugural The Island Prize opened in September of 2021. By the time the submission window ended in mid-December, we had received more than 120 entries from all over Africa. There is a myth that there is only one type of storytelling in Africa. We can say with confidence that this is not the case. The submissions we saw were not only written in a variety of styles, but also included different genres and subjects, depicting people and experiences from all walks of life. You need only look at the shortlist to see a sample of these! However, before we get to the shortlist, we must thank our volunteer readers who spent many hours going through submissions and who helped to whittle them down to a longlist of ten. At this point the judges – Karen Jennings, Obinna Udenwe and Hilda Twongyeirwe – began reading the manuscripts and were pleased to note that the ten longlisted authors came from all over the continent, with the following countries represented: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Algeria. After careful reading, the judges were able to agree unanimously on the five manuscripts selected for the shortlist. 

And here are the winners:

WINNER OF THE ISLAND PRIZE 2022

“Glass Tower” by Sarah Isaacs

SECOND PLACE

“A Darkness with Her Name on It” by Doreen Anyango 

THIRD PLACE

The other three novels could not be separated and so we have three in third place.

“Single Minded” by Marina Auer

“Sand Roses” by Hamza Koudri 

“Delightful Cage” by Joyce Odera 

Continue reading to find out more about this year’s winners: The Island Prize 2022 Winners