The South African Literary Awards (SALA) have been awarded annually since 2005 to exceptional South African writers. They "pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as ground-breaking producers and creators of literature" and celebrate "literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems, philosophies and art."
The Awards are open to work in all of South Africa's
eleven official languages, and they may include posthumous honours.
Since 2005, the number of awards has multiplied — there are now fourteen categories, recognising a variety of literary forms. There are categories for children’s literature, youth literature, literary journalism, novels, poetry, creative non-fiction, debut works, and literary translation; and two named awards, the K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award (for novelists under the age of 40) and the Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award. Lifetime achievement is recognised in the Poet Laureate Prizes and the Lifetime Achievement, Posthumous, and Chairperson’s Awards.
SALA was founded by the wRite associates in partnership with the South African
Department of Arts and Culture
The Department of Arts and Culture was until 2019 a department of the South African government. It was responsible for promoting, supporting, developing and protecting the arts, culture and heritage of South Africa. The heritage sites, museums and ...
.
Since 2012, the awards have been given at the annual Africa Century International Writers Conference.
The inaugural conference was hosted by the
University of the Free State
The University of the Free State is a multi-campus public university in Bloemfontein, the capital of the Free State (province), Free State and the judicial capital of South Africa. It was first established as an institution of higher learning in ...
in 2012, supported by the
SABC. As of 2021, the winner in each category received R30 000, and the National Poet Laureate received R100 000.
Poet Laureate Prizes
National Poet Laureate Prize
*
Mazisi Kunene
Mazisi (Raymond) Kunene (12 May 1930 – 11 August 2006) was a South African poet best known for his translation of the epic Zulu poem '' Emperor Shaka the Great''. While in exile from South Africa's apartheid regime, Kunene was an active suppo ...
(2005-2006)
*
Keorapetse Kgositsile (2006-2018)
*
Mongane Wally Serote
Mongane Wally Serote (born 8 May 1944) is a South African poet and writer. He became involved in political resistance to the apartheid government by joining the African National Congress (ANC) and in 1969 was arrested and detained for several m ...
(2018-present)
Regional Poets Laureate Prize
* Ronelda Kamfer, Afrikaans (2021)
* Themba Patrick Magaisa, Tsonga (2021)
The Regional Poet Laureate Prize was awarded for the first time in 2021. The prize is intended to guide the selection of future National Poet Laureates.
K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award
The K. Sello Duiker Memorial Award, named for the South African novelist
K. Sello Duiker
Kabelo Sello Duiker (13 April 1974 – 19 January 2005) was a South African novelist. His debut novel, '' Thirteen Cents'', won the 2001 Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best First Book, Africa Region. His second novel, ''The Quiet Violence of Dre ...
, recognises novels and novellas by authors under the age of 40.
The age limitation was not in place in the Award’s early years.
Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award
The Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award, named for the South African novelist and short story writer
Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writin ...
, recognises short story collections by a single author.
Novel Award
Creative Non-Fiction Award
First-Time Published Author Award
The First-Time Published Author Award is open to works of all genres whose authors who have not been published before in any genre.
Poetry Award
Children's Literature Award
The Children's Literature Award recognises works of fiction for children by adult authors.
Youth Literature Award
The Youth Literature Award recognises works of fiction written for readers aged 12 to 18.
Literary Journalism Award
The Literary Journalism Award recognises those who, through print or electronic media, "have made a significant contribution to the promotion and development of South African literature through writing, commentating, advocating and critiquing."
As of 2007, it was sponsored by the ''
Sowetan
''The Sowetan'' is an English-language South African daily newspaper that started in 1981 as a liberation struggle newspaper and was freely distributed to households in the then apartheid-segregated township of Soweto, Johannesburg, Gauteng Pr ...
'' and the
SABC.
Literary Translators Award
The Literary Translators Award is open to South African literary works, or literary works translated by a South African, of any genre.
It was awarded for the first time in 2008.
Posthumous Literary Award
The Posthumous Literary Award is awarded on the basis of an author's "overall literary achievement."
Chairperson's Literary Award
The Chairperson's Literary Award is awarded at the discretion of the Chairperson of the SALA Advisory Board.
Lifetime Achievement Literary Award
The Lifetime Achievement Literary Award is awarded to authors over the age of 60 on the basis of their "overall literary achievement."
References
{{Reflist
South African literary awards
Fiction awards