The Central News Agency Literary Award (CNA Literary Award, CNA Prize) was a major annual literary award in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. It was named for the
CNA chain of bookstores. Founded by Phillip Stein,
it recognised works in prose and poetry, and in both the
English language
English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...
and
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...
.
The last award was presented in 1996,
although CNA later launched a "Book of the Year" award for popular bestsellers of any genre.
Zapiro and Wilbur Smith Make the CNA "Book of the Year" Shortlist Books LIVE
/ref>
Past winners (incomplete list)
This list is based on multiple sources that may contain errors.Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
, , ''Long Walk to Freedom
''Long Walk to Freedom'' is an autobiography by South Africa's first democratically elected President Nelson Mandela, and it was first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 yea ...
'', , Chris Barnard, , ''Moerland''
, -
, 1992, , Damon Galgut, , ''The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs'', , , ,
, -
, 1991, , , , , , John Miles, , '' Kroniek uit die Doofpot: Polisieroman''
, -
, 1990, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...
, , '' My Son's Story'', , , ,
, -
, 1989, , Christopher Hope, , ''White Boy Running'', , , ,
, -
, 1986, , Etienne van Heerden, , ''Ancestral Voices'', , , ,
, -
, 1985, , Ellen Kuzwayo , , ''Call Me Woman'' , , T.T. Cloete, , ''Allotroop''[NB-Uitgewers]
Authors
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328085848/http://www.nb.co.za/authors/2338 , date=28 March 2016
, -
, 1984, , Douglas Livingstone , , ''Selected Poems'' , , , Wilma Stockenström
, Monsterverse
, -
, 1983, , J. M. Coetzee
John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...
, , '' Life and Times of Michael K'' , , Breyton Breytenbach, , ''(YK): Die vierde bundel van die ongedanste dans''
, -
, 1982, , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...
, , '' A Chain of Voices'', , Elisabeth Eybers
Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English.
Eybers was born in Klerksdorp ...
, , Bestand
, -
, 1981, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...
, , ''July's People
''July's People'' is a 1981 novel by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer. It is set in a near-future version of South Africa where apartheid is ended through a civil war. Unlike Gordimer's earlier work, the novel was ignored by the apartheid ...
'', , Sheila Cussons , , Die Woedende Brood
, -
, 1980, , J. M. Coetzee
John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...
, , '' Waiting for the Barbarians'', , No award , ,
, -
, 1979, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...
, , '' Burger's Daughter'', , D.J. Opperman, , ''Komas Uit 'N Bamboesstok''
, -
, 1978, , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...
, , '' Rumours of Rain'', , Elsa Joubert, , Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena
, -
, 1977, , J. M. Coetzee
John Maxwell Coetzee Order of Australia, AC Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, FRSL Order of Mapungubwe, OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African and Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator. The recipient of the 2003 ...
, , '' In the Heart of the Country'', , Elisabeth Eybers
Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English.
Eybers was born in Klerksdorp ...
, , Einder
, -
, 1976, , Anthony Delius , , ''Border'' , , Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux (born Stephanus Petrus Daniël le Roux; 13 June 1922 – 30 December 1989) was an Afrikaans writer and a member of the South African Sestigers literary movement.
Early life and career
Etienne Leroux was born in Oudtshoorn in ...
, , ''Magersfontein, O Magersfontein!''
, -
, 1975, , Guy Butler, , ''Selected Poems'', , Anna M Louw , , Kroniek van Perdepoort
, -
, 1974, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...
, , '' The Conservationist'', , Leon Rousseau, , Die Groot Verlange
, -
, 1973, , Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Wa ...
, , ''Apartheid and the archbishop: The life and times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town'', , Elisabeth Eybers
Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English.
Eybers was born in Klerksdorp ...
, , Kruis of Munt
, -
, 1972, , Sheila Meiring Fugard, , ''The Castaways'', , Karel Schoeman , , Na die Geliefde Land
, -
, 1971, , Jack Cope , , ''The Rain Maker'' , , Elsa Joubert
P G du Plessis
, Bonga
Siener in die Suburbs
, -
, 1970, , John McIntosh, , ''The Stonefish'', , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; 16 September 193924 November 2024) was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of ...
, , Lotus
, -
, 1969, , No award , , , , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; 16 September 193924 November 2024) was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of ...
, , ''Kouevuur''
, -
, 1968, , Siegfried Stander, , ''The Horse'', , Chris Barnard, , ''Duiwel-in-die-bos''
, -
, 1967, , Laurens van der Post, , ''The Hunter and the Whale'', , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; 16 September 193924 November 2024) was a South African writer, poet, and painter. He became internationally well-known as a dissident poet and vocal critic of South Africa under apartheid, and as a political prisoner of ...
, , ''Die huis van die dowe''
, -
, 1966, , Thelma Gutsche, , ''No Ordinary Woman'', , Henriette Grové, , ''Jaarringe''
, -
, 1965, , Godfrey LeMay, , ''British Supremacy in South Africa, 1899–1907'', , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lerou ...
, , ''Olé''
, -
, 1964, , Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Wa ...
, , ''Hofmeyr'', , Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux (born Stephanus Petrus Daniël le Roux; 13 June 1922 – 30 December 1989) was an Afrikaans writer and a member of the South African Sestigers literary movement.
Early life and career
Etienne Leroux was born in Oudtshoorn in ...
, , ''Een vir Azazel''
, -
, 1963, , Laurens van der Post, , ''The Seed and the Sower'', , D.J. Opperman, , ''Dolosse''
, -
, 1962, , Mary Renault
Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was a British writer best k ...
, , '' The Bull from the Sea'', , N.P. van Wyk Louw, , ''Tristia: en ander verse voorspeleren vlugte''
, -
, 1961, , Siegfried Stander, , ''The Desert Place'', , Chris Barnard, , ''Bekende onrus''
, -
See also
* Alan Paton Award
* Amstel Playwright of the Year Award
* Hertzog Prize
The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature ...
* W.A. Hofmeyr Prize
Notes
9 From the menu for the CNA Literary Awards for 1986
South African literary awards
South African literary events
Awards disestablished in 1996
1996 disestablishments in South Africa