"apartheid, and the lives of people in the ""new South Africa"". Many of the first black South African print authors were missionary-educated, and many thus wrote in either English or Afrikaans. One of the first well known novels written by a black author in an African language was Solomon Thekiso Plaatje's ""Mhudi"", written in 1930. Notable white English-language South African authors include Nadine Gordimer who was, in Seamus Heaney's words, one of ""the guerrillas of the imagination"", and who became the first South African and the seventh woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1991. Her novel,"
"Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 1923 – 13 July 2014) was a South African writer, political activist and recipient of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was recognized as a woman ""who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity"". Gordimer's writing dealt with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in South Africa. Under that regime, works such as ""Burger's Daughter"" and ""July's People"" were banned. She was active in the anti-apartheid movement, joining the African National Congress during the days when the organization was"
"proudest day of her life was when she testified at the 1986 Delmas Treason Trial on behalf of 22 South African anti-apartheid activists. (See Simon Nkoli, Mosiuoa Lekota, etc.) Throughout these years she also regularly took part in anti-apartheid demonstrations in South Africa, and traveled internationally speaking out against South African apartheid and discrimination and political repression. Her works began achieving literary recognition early in her career, with her first international recognition in 1961, followed by numerous literary awards throughout the ensuing decades. Literary recognition for her accomplishments culminated with the Nobel Prize for Literature on 3 October 1991, which"
"activism. ""New York Times"" critic J. R. Ramakrishnan, who noted a similarity with author Mia Alvar, wrote that Gordimer wrote about ""long-suffering spouses and (the) familial enablers of political men"" in her fiction. Source: Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 1923 – 13 July 2014) was a South African writer, political activist and recipient of the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature. She was recognized as a woman ""who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity"". Gordimer's writing dealt with moral and racial issues, particularly apartheid in"
"M-Net Literary Awards M-Net Literary Awards (1991–2013) was a South African literary award. It was established in 1991 by M-Net (Electronic Media Network), a South African television station. It was among South Africa's most prestigious literary honours. The prize was created to encourage the writing of quality novels by South African authors in one of South Africa's 11 official languages. The award was suspended indefinitely after the 2013 season. Winners received a prize of R50,000 beginning in 2011, up from R30,000 in previous years. M-Net also had a film category, which offered a prize for a novel showing the greatest"
"works in English, including novelist Chinua Achebe, as well as playwright Wole Soyinka. Soyinka won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1986, as did South African novelist Nadine Gordimer in 1995. Other South African writers in English are novelist J.M. Coetzee (Nobel Prize 2003) and playwright Athol Fugard. Kenya's most internationally renowned author is Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o who has written novels, plays and short stories in English. Poet Derek Walcott, from St Lucia in the Caribbean, was another Nobel Prize winner in 1992. An Australian Patrick White, a major novelist in this period, whose first work was published in 1939,"
"unravels Rosa's fate, saying that it is ""a tribute to her art"". Despite being banned in South Africa, ""Burger's Daughter"" won the 1980 Central News Agency (CNA) Literary Award, a prominent literary award in that country. In 1991 Gordimer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for her works of ""intense immediacy"" and ""extremely complicated personal and social relationships in her environment"". During the award ceremony speech by Sture Allén, Permanent Secretary of the Swedish Academy, ""Burger's Daughter"" was cited as one of Gordimer's novels in which ""artistry and morality fuse"". In 2001 the novel was named one of South"
"Prize for English Fiction. The novel also won the 2010 Herman Charles Bosman Prize and the 2013 University of Kwazulu-Natal General Book Prize. It was nominated as a Sunday Independent 'Book of the Year' in 2009, shortlisted for a Sunday Times Fiction Prize in 2010, and shortlisted for the University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing. Sally-Ann Murray Sally-Ann Murray (born 1961) is an author from South Africa. Murray was born in 1961 in Durban, South Africa, and attended the Durban Girls' High School. She received her MA and PhD from the University of Natal. In 1992 Murray published her"
"dramas. Several influential black poets became prominent in the 1970s such as Mongane Wally Serote, whose most famous work, ""No Baby Must Weep"", gave insight into the everyday lives of black South Africans under Apartheid. Lewis Nkosi, essentially an essayist, made a crossover to novel writing and published three novels: ""Mating Birds"" (1986), ""Underground People"" (2002) and ""Mandela's Ego"" (2006). Another famous black novelist, Zakes Mda, transitioned from poetry and plays to becoming a novelist. His novel ""The Heart of Redness"" won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize and was made a part of the school curriculum across South Africa. Miriam"
"this year. The 2009 M-Net Literary Awards were announced at a ceremony in Camps Bay, Cape Town. For the first time this year, a ""Film"" award was given for a novel that could potentially become a film on M-Net. M-Net Literary Awards M-Net Literary Awards (1991–2013) was a South African literary award. It was established in 1991 by M-Net (Electronic Media Network), a South African television station. It was among South Africa's most prestigious literary honours. The prize was created to encourage the writing of quality novels by South African authors in one of South Africa's 11 official languages. The"
"Prize for his 1988 travelogue ""Behind the Frontlines: Journey into Afro-Britain""), Mike Phillips and Diran Adebayo (first winner in 1995 of the Saga Prize, which was set up by Marsha Hunt to encourage Black British writing and ran for four years), poets Benjamin Zephaniah, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Lemn Sissay, Salena Godden and Patience Agbabi, playwrights Mustapha Matura, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Roy Williams, Winsome Pinnock, Patricia Cumper and Bola Agbaje, journalists such as Gary Younge and Ekow Eshun, and Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman. Onyeka Nubia is the author of fictional trilogy ""Waiting to Explode"", ""The Black Prince"", and ""The Phoenix"", for which"
"Umuzi, NB Publishers’ Kwela Books, Jacana Media, new feminist press Modjaji Books (whose authors include Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, winner of the 2011 South African Literary Prize for poetry) and South Africa’s oldest literary journal ""New Contrast"". The following are some poets in South Africa. The list is incomplete and inadequately captures the breadth and vibrancy of the poetry landscape in the country. For a more comprehensive listing, see List of South African poets. Chris van Wyk (1957 – 2014) was a South African children’s book author, novelist and poet. Van Wyk is famous for his poem ""In Detention"" on"
"place. In 2011, she won the 2011 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Best First Book in the African region for her novel “Happiness is a Four-letter Word.” This novel is a story about four female friends living in Johannesburg. The novel was also shortlisted for the 2011 Booksellers Choice Award. The novel was later adapted into a movie. Upon its release in South Africa in 2016, it became a box office success. She works as a management consultant, and lives in Johannesburg. Cynthia Jele Cynthia Jele is a South African novelist. Her novel ""Happiness is a Four-Letter Word"" won the"
"of a handful of writers to have won the Hertzog prize in two different categories. She won it first for poetry in 1977 and then for fiction in 1991. Her 1981 novel ""Die kremetartekspedisie"" was translated into English by the Nobel Prize winner J. M. Coetzee under the title ""The Expedition to the Baobab Tree"". Her work has also been translated into Dutch, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Turkish and Swedish. Wilma Stockenström Wilma Johanna Stockenström (born 7 August 1933) is a South African writer, translator, and actor. She writes in the Afrikaans language, and along with Sheila Cussons, Elisabeth Eybers,"
"chiefly because he believed there was no room for “his type of story” in what was a rather conservative Afrikaans market. When he did write it, his vision was fully formed, titled Die nag het net een oog, a Gothic novel set in a small (and totally un-Gothic) rural community. For this in 1991 he won the coveted De Kat prize, at that time the country’s most prestigious literary award. Many books for adults have followed, as have many awards and nominations. This prolific writer’s adult work explores thriller, supernatural and more conventional dramatic themes. He is also credited with"
"years later. Zukiswa Wanner Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976) is a South African journalist and novelist, born in Zambia and now based in Kenya. Since 2006, when she published her first book, her novels have been shortlisted for awards including the South African Literary Awards (SALA) and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. In 2015 she won the K Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award for ""London Cape Town Joburg"" (2014). In 2014 Wanner was named on the Africa39 list of 39 Sub-Saharan African writers aged under 40 with potential and talent to define trends in African literature. Zukiswa Wanner was born in 1976"
"fiction that will grip and sometimes amaze the reader."" Michael Cawood Green Michael Cawood Green (born 10 April 1954) is a South African born academic and writer. As a researcher he is most noted for his monograph, ""Novel Histories"" which explores the uses of history in South African fiction. He is the author of two works of historical fiction, ""Sinking: A Verse Novella"" about the 1964 Blyvooruitzicht sinkhole disaster, and ""For the Sake of Silence"" about the Trappists in South Africa. Michael Green's fiction forms part of a 'new wave' of writing (see also Zakes Mda, Ivan Vladislavic, J. M."
"unnatural), for which he received the Ingrid Jonker Prize. Lionel Abrahams (1928-2004) was a poet, novelist, editor, essayist, and publisher. Abrahams's work is largely philosophical, praising integrity and compassion. His poems are characterised by free verse with emotional strength. Although born in Egypt, Tatamkulu Afrika (1920-2002) went to South Africa at an early age. His first volume of poetry, ""Nine Lives"" was published in 1991. Afrika's poetry is rich in natural imagery, and the mood of his poems differ, from simple and innocent to lonely and frightened. Gabeba Baderoon is the 2005 recipient of the DaimlerChrysler Award for South African"
"national newspapers. He is a regular contributor to ""LitNet"", an Afrikaans literary e-zine, and he has also authored and edited several works of literature. Hein Willemse Heinrich Stephen Samuel Willemse (born 18 September 1957, Ladismith, Cape Province) is a South African academic, literary critic, activist and author. He currently serves as professor in the Department of Afrikaans at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, and as editor-in-chief of the African literary journal ""Tydskrif vir Letterkunde"" (""Journal for Literature""). As a young academic, Willemse played an active role in the opposition of apartheid, and along with other Afrikaans authors - including"
"Literary Awards) for the best illustrated children’s book published in South African during the previous year (2011) – they won for ""Goblin Diaries: Apprenticed to the Red Witch"", published by Tafelberg Publishers (SA). This was the second time she had been awarded this prestigious award - the first time was in 2008 when she won it with author Wendy Hartmann for ""Nina and Little Duck"", published in 2007 by Human & Rousseau (SA). Marjorie van Heerden Marjorie Hope van Heerden (born October 8, 1949) is a South African writer and illustrator of children’s books. Since the publication of her first"
"2001 Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam. Lesego Rampolokeng Lesego Rampolokeng (born 7 July 1965) is a South African writer, playwright and performance poet. Lesego Rampolokeng was born in 1965 in Orlando West, Soweto, Johannesburg. He studied law at the University of the North in South Africa, but he has not followed this path any further. Lesego Rampolokeng came to prominence in the 1980s, a very turbulent time in South Africa. His poetry often criticises the establishment. His first instalment of poetry was ""Horns for Hondo"" (1991) and this was followed by ""End Beginnings"" (1993). Lesego collaborates with musicians. He has"
"shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award in 2002. ""Masai Dreaming"" won the South African M-Net Literary Awards. ""The Promise of Happiness"" was chosen as one of ""Richard and Judy's"" Book Club's titles for 2005 and was the winner of the 2005 Hawthornden Prize and the ""Sunday Times"" Fiction Prize of South Africa. Cartwright lived in London with his wife, Penny, and two sons. Justin Cartwright Justin James Cartwright (1945 – 3 December 2018) was a British novelist, originally from South Africa. Cartwright was born in Cape Town, South Africa, but grew up in Johannesburg where his father was the editor"
"""who in a wide cultural perspective and with poetic overtones fashions the drama of existence"". Reed Way Dasenbrock writes that the award of the Nobel Prize in Literature to Soyinka is ""likely to prove quite controversial and thoroughly deserved"". He also notes that ""it is the first Nobel Prize awarded to an African writer or to any writer from the 'new literatures' in English that have emerged in the former colonies of the British Empire."" His Nobel acceptance speech, ""This Past Must Address Its Present"", was devoted to South African freedom-fighter Nelson Mandela. Soyinka's speech was an outspoken criticism of"
"in literature, becoming the first African Literature Nobel Prize winner. Other significant writers, of a younger generation, include Chris Abani, Ayobami Adebayo, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Yemisi Aribisala, Sefi Atta, A. Igoni Barrett, Helon Habila, Chigozie Obioma, Helen Oyeyemi, Nnedi Okorafor, Chinelo Okparanta, Sarah Ladipo Manyika, Chika Unigwe, Ogaga Ifowodo, Gift Foraine Amukoyo and Teju Cole. Some, including Ifowodo, Cole and Adichie, are based in the West. Wole Soyinka was the first black African to win the Nobel Prize for literature. Previously, Claude Simon and Albert Camus, born in French Madagascar and French-held Algeria, respectively, had won the prize. Soyinka was"
"appeared first in Afrikaans in 1993 (as ""Die Reuk van Appels""). The book garnered significant recognition in the form of the M-Net Award, one of South Africa's most prestigious literary prizes, as well as the Eugene Marais and the CNA Debut Literary Awards in South Africa, and the Betty Trask Award for the best first novel published in the United Kingdom in 1996. The novel was also short-listed for both the Steinbeck and Guardian Literary Awards. In 1997 the novel received the Art Seidenbaum Award from the ""Los Angeles Times"". The attention attracted by the success of this book compelled"
"Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ""Akinwándé Oluwo̩lé Babátúndé S̩óyinká"" (born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, poet and essayist. He was awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize in Literature, the first African to be honoured in that category. Soyinka was born into a Yoruba family in Abeokuta. After studying in Nigeria and the UK, he worked with the Royal Court Theatre in London. He went on to write plays that were produced in both countries, in theatres and on radio. He took an active role in Nigeria's political history and its struggle for"
"None to Accompany Me None to Accompany Me is a 1994 novel by South African Nobel Winner Nadine Gordimer. The novel follows the motifs and plot framework of a Bildungsroman, exploring the development of the main character, Vera Stark. The novel is set during the early 1990s in South Africa after the release of Nelson Mandela. The novel focuses on Stark shedding personal ties to find her ""true self"" in a political cause: fighting apartheid as a civil rights lawyer. Her decisions also effect, her friends, a Black African family who had lived in political exile: Sibongile and Didymus Maqoma."
"of Emergency. He went to Australia where he worked as a chef in his sibling's café. In 2006, he was writer-in-residency at NIAS, the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study, and lectured by invitation at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and Kyoto University, Japan. The Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University awarded him as an alumni achiever in November 2011. In 2012, he was writer-in-residence at Rhodes University. Currently (as of 2015) he lives in Lismore, New South Wales, Australia, working on the first novel which he creates in English instead of Afrikaans. Eben Venter Eben Venter is an Afrikaans-speaking writer who was born"
"arguably catapulted him into the international literary limelight, the damage it and ""Casualties"" have done to his reputation seems permanent; in both works he infuriated and alienated a large audience and some influential critics. In his defence, Clark has maintained that he merely portrayed events as he saw them. As one of Africa's pre-eminent and distinguished authors, he has, since his retirement, continued to play an active role in literary affairs, a role for which he is increasingly gaining international recognition. In 1991, for example, he received the Nigerian National Order of Merit Award for literary excellence and saw publication,"
"Maskew Miller Longman Literature Awards The Maskew Miller Longman Literature Awards were established in 2007 by Maskew Miller Longman, an educational publishing company in South Africa. The competition was created to encourage writing in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages, with a particular focus on literature suitable for a youth audience. The genres rotate each year between novels, drama and short stories. It is the only competition to invite entries in all official languages. Past judges include André Brink, John Kani, Riana Scheepers, Andries Oliphant and Niki Daly. Afrikaans Winner: Cecilia du Toit, ""BFF"" English Winner: Charmaine Kendal, ""Doorways"""
"1991 were now eligible for an award named after one of the genre's beloved authors. Karen Joy Fowler herself is considered a feminist SF writer for her short stories, such as ""What I Didn't See"", for which she received the Nebula Award in 2004. This story is an homage to Sheldon, and describes a gorilla hunting expedition in Africa. Pat Murphy won a number of awards for her feminist SF novels as well, including her second novel ""The Falling Woman"" (1986), a tale of personal conflict and visionary experiences set during an archaeological field study for which she won the"
"on his grandparents' lives, ""Merksteen"" (1998). Karel Schoeman Karel Schoeman (, 26 October 1939 in Trompsburg, South Africa – 1 May 2017 in Bloemfontein, South Africa) was a South African novelist, historian, translator and man of letters. He was the author of 19 novels and numerous works of history. He was one of South Africa's most honoured authors. Schoeman wrote primarily in Afrikaans, although several of his non-fiction books were originally written in English. His novels are increasingly being translated into other languages, notably, English, French and Dutch. Born in 1939 in Trompsburg, South Africa, Karel Schoeman matriculated in 1956"
"Michael Cawood Green Michael Cawood Green (born 10 April 1954) is a South African born academic and writer. As a researcher he is most noted for his monograph, ""Novel Histories"" which explores the uses of history in South African fiction. He is the author of two works of historical fiction, ""Sinking: A Verse Novella"" about the 1964 Blyvooruitzicht sinkhole disaster, and ""For the Sake of Silence"" about the Trappists in South Africa. Michael Green's fiction forms part of a 'new wave' of writing (see also Zakes Mda, Ivan Vladislavic, J. M. Coetzee) which explores the altered landscape of Post-apartheid South"