EU literary award shortlist announced
The shortlist for the eighth European Union Literary Award was announced by participating EU member states and South African publishers Jacana Media.
The award’s core ideal is to promote new South African literature that will speak to not only a local audience, but to an international one as well.
This year’s award was supported by Goethe-Institut South Africa and the French Embassy in South Africa.
Judges Dr Mongane Wally Serote, Phakama Mbonambi and Dr Pamela Nicols stressed the contrasting nature of the 30 entries, and agreed the variety challenged them to read in a manner different from how they would day-to-day.
“Reading the submissions […] affords a fascinatingly wide view of our current literary imaginings. This diversity is to be celebrated,” said Serote.
The judges agreed that the three finalists’ writing was “superb”, but were less enthusiastic about the overall quality of writing, which appeared risk-averse.
“The manuscripts were unnamed but there is a sense that the large number of historical pioneer novels are being written by white South African writers who think, wrongly, that the past is a safer place of representation than the present […]. There appears to be a need to get all authors to read more of each other.”
The shortlisted manuscripts for the 2013 European Union Literary Award are The Last Mentsch by Peter Bayer, The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by Penny Busetto, and Nketu, the Story of a South African King by Reen Collett.
The winner will be announced on 27 November at Goethe-Institut Johannesburg, 119 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood.
The winner will receive a R25 000 cash prize, and their novel will be published by Jacana Media next year.
Previous winners include Zinaid Meeran’s Saracen at the Gates (2009), Kopano Matlwa’s Coconut (2006/2007), and Ishtiyaq Shukri’s The Silent Minaret (2004).
