Call for Papers 1st Biennial IBBY Africa Conference

The travelling of stories: children’s literature and reading in and of Africa

Call for Papers

1^st Biennial IBBY Africa Conference

21-23 September 2011

Venue: Pigg’s Peak Hotel, Swaziland

Organised by the Children’s Literature Research Unit, University of South Africa on behalf of the IBBY Branches of Africa

Abstracts of not more than 250 words that address particular issues regarding reading and children’s literature related to Africa and the developing world are welcomed.

The following topics serve as suggestions:

The travelling of stories across borders and cultures

Children’s literature in translation

Folktales and imagination

Writing in indigenous/colonial/minority languages

Colonialism and post-colonialism in children’s literature

Traditional folktales and the modern tale

Cultural relevance of children’s books

The distinction between African children’s and adult books

Oral narratives and literary research

Converting oral literature into written literature

Literature for didactic purposes

The African diaspora and children’s literature

Reading across cultures

Library services for children

Reading in the information age

Comparative research in children’s literature and reading

Depicting reality in children’s books

Reading preferences of African children

Teaching children’s literature

Storytelling for young people

Publishing for children in the 2rd World

Closing date for submissions: 15 June 2011

Mail abstracts and direct enquiries to:

Prof Thomas van der Walt, CLRU, Department of Information Science, University of South Africa, PO Box 392, 0003 Pretoria, South Africa

Fax: +27 12 4293792

e-mail: vdwaltb@unisa.ac.za

ENGLISH ACADEMY AWARDS IN 2011 - Call for Entries

OLIVE SCHREINER PRIZE

The prize is awarded for original literary work in English. It is expressly intended as encouragement for a writer who has produced work of great promise, but cannot yet be regarded as an established novelist, short story writer, poet or playwright. It is conferred for excellence in prose, poetry and drama, and devoted to one of these categories each year. In 2011 it will be awarded for DRAMA.

Entries are invited for the prize from publishers and/or authors who have published plays during 2008, 2009 and 2010. Plays of two or more acts (alternatively, two one-act plays) which have been published and/or performed in South Africa by a recognized theatre group or company (amateur or professional) will be accepted. Radio and television plays are also eligible. The length of the stage plays should be such as to provide a substantial evening’s entertainment in the theatre; radio and TV plays should take up to approximately one hour (or two half hours) of viewing or listening time. Typescripts of plays which have been produced must be accompanied by all relevant details (where and when produced, name of producer and theatre company, copies of programmes and reviews, etc.).

SOL PLAATJE PRIZE

The prize is awarded for excellence in translation of a literary text of at least 1 000 words (except in the case of poetry which is, of necessity, exempt from the length criterion) in one of the other official South African languages into English. The English text must represent a reasonably accurate translation of the original, while standing as a well expressed literary text in and of itself.

The translation must have been published in 2009 or 2010. One published copy of the original work and one published copy of the translation must be submitted.

The purpose of the prize is to encourage effective mutual understanding in our multilingual country.

THOMAS PRINGLE AWARDS

The awards are for various achievements, attention being turned to three different categories each year. Below are the three areas for achievement which will be honoured in 2011:

• Reviews of plays, books, films, art exhibitions, radio or television programmes published in newspapers and magazines during 2011 (Ideally, a portfolio of work should be submitted).
• Poems in journals and magazines published in 2009 and 2010
• Articles on English in education and the teaching of English published in journals in 2009 and 2010.

Entries for these prizes are invited from editors of journals, magazines and newspapers as well as from individual authors. Entries published in online newspapers, magazines or journals are also eligible, as long as they were published within the years under review. Details of such publication must be provided.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Works submitted must have been written by a resident of a Southern African country and published in Southern Africa.

More than one entry by the same author may be accepted. There is no entry form. However, all entries must be accompanied by a covering letter listing the entries and providing the full contact details of the entrant.

Three copies of each entry must be submitted, excerpt in the case of the Sol Plaatje Prize (see specifications above). All entries must be sent to the Academy’s Administrative Officer at P O Box 124, Wits, 2050.

Works submitted will be acknowledged but cannot be returned.

Each winner will receive a cash prize and a certificate.

DEADLINES

Thomas Pringle Award for Reviews only – 30 June 2011

All other awards – 31 May 2011

For more information, please contact Naomi Nkealah on 011 717 9339 or at englishacademy@societies.wits.ac.za

PERCY FITZPATRICK PRIZE FOR YOUTH LITERATURE AND

The English Academy of Southern Africa is pleased to announce the winners of the above listed awards which were run in 2010.

PERCY FITZPATRICK PRIZE
Seven books were shortlisted for this award. These were:

The Billion Dollar Soccer Ball by Michael Williams (Maskew Miller Longman, 2009)
Dance of the Freaky Green Gold by John Coetzee (Tafelberg, 2008)
Daniel Fox and the Jester’s Legacy by Andy Petersen (Penguin, 2009)
Fuse by S A Partridge (Human & Rousseau, 2009)
Jesse’s Story by Fiona MacGregor (Maskew Miller Longman, 2008)
Sharkey’s Son by Gillian D`Achada (Tafelberg, 2008)
The Summer of Toffie and Grummer by Edyth Bulbring (Oxford University Press SA, 2008)

The award goes to Andy Petersen for Daniel Fox and the Jester’s Legacy (Penguin, 2009). The judges noted that ‘the novel is interesting, with engaging complex characters, an imaginatively constructed world and surprising plot twists’.

Honourable mention goes to Gillian D`Achada for Sharkey’s Son (Tafelberg, 2008) and to S A Partridge for Fuse (Human & Rousseau, 2009). Fuse was highly commended for its exploration of school violence, bullying and abuse, showing what might drive a bullied child to strike back, and Sharkey’s Son was described as a beautifully written novel, with an almost lyric feel to it at times.

Judges: Crystal Warren (Convener), Marike Beyers and Megan van der Nest


THOMAS PRINGLE AWARD (Short Story)
The following six stories were shortlisted for the award:

‘Buiten Street’ by Stephen Watson (New Contrast, Vol. 36 No 4 2008)
‘Arrested Development’ by Sandisile Tshuma (Words, Fourth Quarter 2008)
‘Help’ by Liesl Jobson (New Contrast, Vol. 36 No 2 2008)
‘Hannah Hunter Watson’ by Stephen Watson (New Contrast, Vol. 36 No 2 2008)
‘Strangers’ by Arja Salafranca (New Contrast, Vol. 37 No 4 2009)
‘Venus Crossing’ by Gail Dendy (New Contrast, Vol. 37 No 6 2009)


The award goes to Stephen Watson for ‘Buiten Street’. The judges were impressed by his discursive style and mastery of language and imagery. They noted that the story ‘captures the poignancy of the struggle we all go through to accept and understand the experiences that form us’.

Honourable mention goes to Sandisile Tshuma for ‘Arrested Development’. The judges described it as a ‘beautifully observed story of a journey – both literal and figurative’. They loved its “hustle, hassle, bustle and bluster” and felt that the images and noise came across beautifully.

Judges: Jo-Anne Richards (Convener), Hugh Hodge and Phakama Mbonambi

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Each award is a cash prize and an illuminated certificate. The Percy FitzPatrick Prize carries a cash value of R7 000 and the Thomas Pringle Award R2 000. The award ceremonies will be organised in due course in collaboration with the publishers.

For more information on English Academy awards, please contact Naomi Nkealah on 011 717 9339 or at englishacademy@societies.wits.ac.za. You can also visit the English Academy web site www.englishacademy.co.za.

Children's books a secure category

Judith Rosen writes in Publisher's Weekly that one of the chief findings of a joint study undertaken by Bowker/PubTrack and the Association of Booksellers for Children is that children’s books are a secure category in the marketplace and bookstores will continue to play a key role as a driver of sales.

While some of the statistics came as no surprise—women buy nearly 70% of kids' books and most purchasers fit solidly in the middle class in terms of income and education—others were more startling, including the fact that books ranked number one over all other media for the youngest kids. Click on the title to read the article.