Six of South Africa’s esteemed authors received awards for their outstanding writing talent and contribution to the literary oeuvre of the country at last night’s prestigious Via Afrika Literary Awards function.
The awards, which took place at Pigalle Restaurant in Cape Town, combine five prizes that have been part of the South African literary landscape for decades.
The esteemed W.A. Hofmeyr Prize for best Afrikaans prose was awarded to Ingrid Winterbach, for Die boek van toeval en toeverlaat (Human & Rousseau).
Judges in this category, Prof Chris van der Merwe of the University of Cape Town and Dr Steward van Wyk of the University of the Western Cape, commended Winterbach for the metaphysical and multi-layered dimensions of her work.
"In particular in the creation of beauty and meaning in the Afrikaans novel that challenges decay lies her ability to balance the pain of loss," said Prof Van der Merwe.
For the first time in the history of the Herman Charles Bosman Prize for best English prose, the award is this year shared by two authors, Kgebetli Moele for Room 207All we have left unsaid and Maxine Case for (both published by Kwela Books).
The judges, Jenny Hobbs and Unisa Prof Andries Oliphant, say Case’s poignant yet understated novel and Moele’s frank novel about human hope, dubious success and abject failure in a hard environment both deserve to win this esteemed prize.
The Recht Malan Prize for best non-literary or non-fiction book went to Leon Rousseau for Die groot avontuur (Human & Rousseau). Gerrit Brand, books editor of Die Burger, and well-known sociologis Dr Elsa van Huyssteen were judges in this category. Brand commented that, with Die Groot Avontuur, Leon Rousseau “continues in more than one respect the tradition of Eugène Marais, about whom he is a leading expert.”
The M.E.R. Prize for the best illustrated children’s book went to Fanie Viljoen for Geraamte in die klas (Human & Rousseau), illustrated by Karl Stephan. Judges Lona Gericke and Linda Rode said this beautiful book teaches children life’s deeper lessons through wit.
The M.E.R. Prize for youth novels was awarded to Jenny Robson for Praise Song (Tafelberg Publishers), a gripping and sustained tale of Aids and morality. Prof Maritha Snyman of the University of Pretoria and Prof Louise Viljoen of the University of Stellenbosch acted as judges in this category.
The 2007 Jan Rabie / Rapport Prize was awarded to Johan Engelbrecht, for his debut work, Kaffertjie (Zulu Planet Publishing). Engelbrecht was commended for his contribution to renewal in Afrikaans literature.
The judges praised the winning authors for the insight shown in their books and the quality of the award-winning entries in all categories.
Each winner received a cash prize of R30 000. In the M.E.R category for illustrated children’s books, Viljoen (writer) and Stephan (illustrator) received R15 000 each.
The Via Afrika prizes are awarded annually to authors within the Via Afrika stable, representing NB Publishers, Jonathan Ball Publishers, LuxVerbi-BM, NVA and Van Schaik Publishers.
Dr Muza Shezi, Managing Director of Via Afrika, commented that “It is important to create a platform to foster continued excellence in our writers. This year’s Via Afrika Literary Awards achieved just that. Indeed, awards like this challenge the spiritual and mental lessons faced by the people of South Africa and the writers balance our senses to good effect as a result.”
