Invitation

The wRite associates, in partnership with the national Department of Arts and Culture and National Arts Council, invite South African writers to submit their work for the South African Literary Awards.

Background

The main aim of the South African Literary Awards is to pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as groundbreaking producers and creators of literature, while it celebrates literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems and philosophies and art as inscribed and preserved in all the languages of South Africa, particularly the Official Languages. The awards aim to become the most prestigious and respected literary accolades in South African literature.

Selections are made from published authors whose primary input is in imaginative writing. The work must demonstrate good linguistic presentation, the nation’s identity, the societal values, universal truths, and cultural aesthetics, contribution to social cohesion and nation building and transcendence of time.

General rules

§   The work must be original and fiction

§   The submissions must follow the criteria

§   The awards are not open to the stakeholders’ staff and their immediate families and the judges of the awards.

§   The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

§   Only South African official languages are considered

§   Nominations must be accompanied by an endorsement of the author and/or publisher

§   Ten copies of the book/publication must be submitted  

  Categories

  1. Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award (for writing in African languages in the RSA)

§   Only short stories are considered

§   No age restriction  

2. k. Sello Duiker Memorial Literary Award

§   The award is open to novels and novellas only

§   The work must have been published between 2007 and 2009

§   No age restriction

3. Posthumous Literary Award

§   The author will be judged on his/her overall literary achievement

§   The profile of the author and any supporting material must be submitted

§   No age restrictions

4. Lifetime Achievement Literary Award

§   The author must be 60-years old or above

§   The author will be judged on her/his outstanding work regardless of quantity and year of publication

§   The profile of the author and any supporting material must be submitted

5. Literary Journalism Award

§   The journalist must have made significant contribution  to the promotion and development of literature through writing about and analysing South African literature

§   The award includes print and electronic media

§    No age restriction

6. Literary Translators Award 

• Only the literary works translated by a South African on South African works of art will be considered
• All the literary genres are welcome.
• Both the original and translated copy must be submitted
• No age restriction

7. Poetry Award

• Only anthologies published by one author will be considered
• The work must have been published between 2007 and 2009
• No age restriction

8. First-time Published Author Award

Opening date for submissions: 7^th June 2010

Closing date for submissions:        6^th August 2010

For more information and submission forms please call the following numbers or download from the website given below:

The South African Literary Awards
Tel: 011-791 3585
Tel: 011-791 4102
Email: info@sala.org.za     Website: www.sala.org.za   

P.O Box 4488, Randburg, 2125.  Or 74 Mimosa Road, Randpark Ridge, 2165