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

******************************************************************************


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.