Alert! Novelists Ceridwen Dovey and Richard de Nooy have won the University of Johannesburg Prizes for creative writing, for best book – Blood Kin – and best first book – Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot – respectively.
They were chosen from two shortlists announced not so long ago which included the likes of JM Coetzee and Kopano Matlwa. Dovey receives R50 000 and de Nooy R10 000.
Richard de Nooy, in particular, is dear to BOOK SA’s heart, and we’d like to extend the heartiest congratulations, to him and Dovey both.
The timing of the announcement is interesting, as is the reporting: the news comes just one day ahead of what many consider to be the biggest night in literature, the Sunday Times Literary Awards, held tomorrow; and it was published, before any official press releases were sent out, in today’s Mail & Guardian. Are we seeing the evolution of a new media-sponsored or -affiliated award?
We’ll post the UJ Prize judge’s statement when we get it!
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August 1st, 2008 @12:06 #
Excellent news Ceridwen and Richard!
Very hearty congratulations to you both.
August 1st, 2008 @12:17 #
Hey wonderful news - congratulations to you both.
August 1st, 2008 @12:18 #
Yay - well done, guys. Richard's victory ushers in a whole new period for SA Lit when a book as left field (while still well conceived and executed) as his can win a major critical prize. It's a significant thing.
August 1st, 2008 @12:45 #
Well bloody done. And very well deserved. Two of my favourite SA fictions that I've read and both experimental and challenging. The kind of novels that don't so much push the envelope as fold it into a paperplane and set fire to it.
August 1st, 2008 @13:14 #
Brilliant!!! For both and for all of us.
August 1st, 2008 @13:20 #
Woohoo, go Richard, ushering in also a new period for BookSA-chatters!
August 1st, 2008 @13:51 #
Fantastic news, Richard! Congratulations!
August 1st, 2008 @16:31 #
FYI - you rock!
August 2nd, 2008 @14:50 #
Fabulous news - congratulations!
August 3rd, 2008 @11:37 #
Wow! Thanks for your warm words! Hope to celebrate this with all of you sometime soon! Just back from Sweden, so I'm playing catch-up. Hope to be back in blogging mode soon. R.ushing madly!
August 3rd, 2008 @14:20 #
Well done...........look forward to the next one.
August 4th, 2008 @09:46 #
Loved both novels, congrats to you both!
August 6th, 2008 @09:45 #
The M&G has finally posted the UJ Prize judges' statement online. It was written by Craig Mackenzie and there actually ain't much too it:
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2008-08-06-firsttimer-takes-uj-prize
UJ Prize administrator Ronit Frenkel confirms that that's all we're going to get.
December 31st, 2008 @12:35 #
Wow, I somehow missed this at the time, and now I want to jump up and down and dance, esp for Richard's sake.
January 1st, 2009 @16:58 #
Heartiest Congratulations