Bulelwa Mabasa and CA Davids won in their categories at the Sunday Times Literary Awards 2023 in Johannesburg on Wednesday, November 1, 2023.
The Sunday Times Literary Prize, organised by South African newspaper The Sunday Times, are titles awarded in fiction and nonfiction. Founded in 1989, it has been won by Siphiwe Ndlovu and Terry Kurgan (2019), Bongani Ngqulunga and Harry Kalmer (2018), Zakes Mda and Greg Marinovich (2017), Pumla Dineo Gqola and Nkosinathi Sithole (2016), Jacob Dlamini and Damon Galgut (2015) and a host of others in recent times. Tshidiso Moletsane and Mignonne Breierwin won the award in 2022.
The longlists for the 2023 edition, brought to you in partnership with Exclusive Books, were made public on July 16 before the shortlists were revealed on September 24. The winners of the awards revealed on Wednesday are;
Fiction
Judging panel: Ekow Duker (chair), Kevin Ritchie, and Nomboniso Gasa
- How to be a Revolutionary, CA Davids (Umuzi)
The jury described How to Be a Revolutionary as ‘masterful’: ‘A fascinating book made up of three different stories, to create a whole that is increasingly relevant in a multi-polar world where people’s pasts have to be grappled with to be made sense of.’
Davids responded with the tweet, “Thank you very much 💙”
Nonfiction
Judging Panel: Duma Gqubule (chair), Judy Dlamini, and Julian Rademeyer.
- My Land Obsession: A Memoir, Bulelwa Mabasa (Picador Africa)
The judges described My Land Obsession as ‘an engaging memoir’ : ‘It’s inspirational, factual and relevant with many angles that define our past going back generations.’
Mabasa said on Twitter, “Thank you to my professional home of just over 21 years for allowing me the space and for honing my skills as an attorney!”
Each of the writers goes home with R100,000.
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