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World Cup fever has taken our minds,bodies, streets and country hostage (rightfully so) and will continue to do so for the next month. After the scenes from yesterday’s procession in Sandton and gatherings around the country, my heart beats yellow and green with a new sense of patriotism. It made me think that when on the precipice of crisis we retreat in a state of passiveness but when presented with the opportunity to unite and fire up spirits rather than arms we charge with new found purpose and for some brief moments declare ours a state of greatness. I hope that every visitor and even the mzanzi’s will indulge in all things home grown and brewed that our wonderful country has to offer. And perhaps some of them will pop into a bookshop and take home a new literary discovery.
The shortlist for the Sunday Times Literary awards is not a bad place to start looking for that treasure. They were announced this last weekend and feature some our finest writers who will compete for our most prestigious English literary prize. They are as follow:
Shortlist for Alan Paton (non-fiction) Award
Ways of Staying by Kevin Bloom (Picador Africa)
A Fork in the Road by André Brink (Harvill Secker)
Begging to be Black by Antjie Krog (Random House Struik)
The Honour to Serve by James Ngculu (David Phillip)
The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law by Albie Sachs (Oxford University Press).
Shortlist for the Fiction Prize
Summertime by JM Coetzee (Harvill Secker)
High Low In-between by Imraan Coovadia (Umuzi)
Saracen at the Gates by Zinaid Meeran (Jacana)
The Book of the Dead by Kgebetli Moele (Kwela Books)
Small Moving Parts by Sally-Ann Murray (Kwela Books).
The winners will be announced on the 24th of July
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