The 2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists have been announced, with nominees including Malebo Sephodi, Nick Mulgrew, Kelwyn Sole and Rehana Rossouw.
Now in their thirteenth year, the SALAs are awarded annually by the wRite Associates and the Department of Arts and Culture to celebrate literary excellence in all the languages of South Africa.
This year, twenty-three authors have been shortlisted, from a total of just under two hundred submissions. Two additional award categories have been announced in 2018: the Novel Award and the Children’s Literature Award.
The winners will be announced on 6 November 2018 at Unisa. Following the passing of Keorapetse Kgositsile, the new National Poet Laureate will also be announced at the ceremony.
Morakabe Seakhoa, SALA project director, says: ‘We are excited that South African literature continues to flourish, with many young writers coming into the scene, sharing platforms with their more established and experienced counterparts.’
However, Seakhoa also expressed concern that ‘we still see less and less of works written in African languages’.
The awards will be followed by the sixth Africa Century International African Writers Conference, which will take place from 6–7 November. The International African Writers Day Lecture will be delivered by Professor Kwesi Kwaa Prah, the founder of the Centre for Advanced Studies of African Societies in South Africa.
2018 South African Literary Awards shortlists
Category: First-time Published Author Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Celesté Fritze | Verlorenkop | Afrikaans |
| Malebo Sephodi | Miss Behave | English |
Category: Creative Non-fiction Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Deon Maas | Melk die heilige koeie: Van baarde en banting tot Zupta and zol | Afrikaans |
| Jurgen Schadeberg | The Way I See It | English |
Category: K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award
| No shortlist |
Category: Poetry Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Johan Myburg | Uittogboek | Afrikaans |
| Kelwyn Sole | Walking, Falling | English |
Category: Literary Translators Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Jeff Opland and Peter Mtuze | Umoya Wembongi: Collected Poems 1922–1935) by John Solilo | isiXhosa to English |
| Jeff Opland and Peter Mtuze | Iziganeko Zesizwe: Occasional Poems (1900–1943) by SEK Mqhayi | isiXhosa to English |
Category: Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Nick Mulgrew | The First Law of Sadness | English |
| Nicole Jaekel Strauss | As in die mond | Afrikaans |
Category: Novel Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Dan Sleigh | 1795 | Afrikaans |
| Rehana Rossouw | New Times | English |
Category: Children’s Literature Award
| Author | Publications | Language |
| Marilyn J Honikman | There Should Have Been Five | English |
| Jaco Jacobs | Daar is nie ʼn krokodil in hierdie boek nie | Afrikaans |
| Jaco Jacobs | Moenie hierdie boek eet nie! | Afrikaans |
| Marita van der Vyver | Al wat ek weet | Afrikaans |
Category: Posthumous Literary Award
| To be announced at the award ceremony |
Category: Literary Journalism Award
| To be announced at the award ceremony |
Category: Lifetime Achievement Literary Award
| Author | Book title | Language |
| Hermann Giliomee | Body of work | Afrikaans |
| Ronnie Kasrils | Body of work | English |
Category: Chairperson’s Award
| To be announced at the award ceremony |
Category: National Poet Laureate
| To be announced at the award ceremony |
See also:
- 2017 South African Literary Awards winners announced
- ‘Smaller’: New short fiction from Nick Mulgrew’s forthcoming collection, The First Law of Sadness
- A steady vigil over the slow death of the anti-apartheid dream: Rustum Kozain reviews Kelwyn Sole’s latest poetry collection, Walking, Falling
- ‘I started writing the book in a fit of anger with Fees Must Fall activists’—Rehana Rossouw chats to Jennifer Malec about New Times
- ‘Spending time with Bra Willie is the closest thing to being in touch with the soul of this country’: Read Mandla Langa’s Introduction to Keorapetse Kgositsile’s Homesoil in My Blood
