Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards shortlist announced

The shortlists for the first ever Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards were announced today, Wednesday, September 1, 2021.

The Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards, an attempt to foster a robust literary community in Namibia, were revealed to the African literary community in May. They were to cover the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and visual arts. In July, the judging panel of Beauty Boois, Dr Coletta Kandemiri, Bruni Lubbe, and Shawn Van Eeden was introduced.

The longlist for the prize was announced at the beginning of August with many new names introduced to us in the categories of fiction, poetry and nonfiction. This website follows the literary arts so we did not feature the visual arts longlistees in our reporting but they too were revealed.

The judging panel has today announced their shortlists for this prize and here we focus on the categories of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. They are;

Fiction

• December by Filemon Iiyambo (Issue 4: November, 2020)
• The Letter by Dalene Kooper (Issue 4: November, 2020)
• Silhouette by Ndawedwa Denga Hanghuwo (Issue 5: March, 2021)

Nonfiction

• Is There A Doctorate In The House? by Frowin Becker (Issue 5: March, 2021)
• Auralgraph: Spice In The Wind by Ndakolute Ndilula (Issue 5: March, 2021)
• Ouma Sofie’s Gold by Natasha Uys (Issue 6: July, 2021)

Poetry

• Queens In Your Bloodline by Ros Limbo (Issue 3: July, 2020)
• Green And Greening by Pauline Buhle Ndhlovu (Issue 4: November, 2020)
• From The Fury Of A Dying Sun by Alacia Armstrong (Issue 5: March, 2021)

A statement from the judges said: “Our mandate, to choose works which best displayed the diversity of literary creation in the country from a longlist of 28 works, made the selection process challenging but interesting. All the entries featured on the longlist were wonderful, and we wish all the writers, poets, and visual artists strength and determination as they create their future works. Namibia’s population may be small, but its artists produce works that cover a wide creative spectrum. With this year’s shortlist, we hope we have showcased just that.”

The winners will be unveiled to the public at a gala dinner in November.