Mohale Mashigo has received the inaugural Philida Literary Award, named in honour of the late author André Brink’s final published novel, Philida.
The award was announced earlier this week on the fifth anniversary of Brink’s death (6 February 2015), by his widow, the author Karina Szczurek. It will be given annually, to ‘a writer mid-career for an oeuvre of between three to five books of any genre’.
Upon accepting the award, Mashigo said, ‘It is an incredible honour. Philida is one of my favourite novels of all time’.
Mashigo receives a certificate designed by Debbie Minné and an undisclosed sum based on the royalties from the sales of You Make Me Possible: The Love Letters of Karina M Szczurek and André Brink (Protea Boekhuis, 2018).
Mashigo’s latest book is a collection of short fiction, Intruders.
The title of Brink’s novel comes from the figure of Philida van de Caab, a slave who entered South Africa’s historical record after laying a complaint against her masters, Francois and Cornelius Brink, distant relatives of the author’s.
The judges for this year’s award were, in addition to Szczurek, Desiree-Anne Martin, Helen Moffett, Joanne Hichens and Sara-Jayne Makwala King.
For more information on the award, visit its homepage.
Mashigo’s debut novel, The Yearning, won the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize for South African Writing in English, and was also shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award and the First-time Published Author South African Literary Award.
- Read: [Conversation Issue] ‘We bury our stories and wonder why we are in so much pain’—Mohale Mashigo talks to Jennifer Malec about The Yearning
- Read ‘The High Heel Killer’ – a short story from Mohale Mashigo’s new book Intruders
- ‘Why can’t a girl from Soweto become a mermaid?’ Mohale Mashigo chats about her new book, Intruders
- Read an excerpt from Mohale Mashigo’s award-winning debut novel, The Yearning
