Meet the 2008 UJ Prize Winners
A few links and tidbits for those who haven’t got to know Richard de Nooy or Ceridwen Dovey yet.
Richard de Nooy
Winner of the 2008 R10 000 UJ Prize for best first book
- Winning book: Six Fang Marks and a Tetanus Shot, a novel published by Jacana
- Richard de Nooy @ BOOK SA
- Tasty 6FM&ATS carrot
- BOOK Chat comments and threads (click and browse for many multiple laughs)
- Book excerpt:
Amsterdam, 1985
The Grasshopper opened at noon, but even at that unlikely hour the regulars were there: two guys playing backgammon at a table, one at the pinball machine and one at the bar, reading a newspaper. As if they’d spent the night under dust covers, calmly waiting to be uncovered by Mahmoud in the morning.
They looked up like four friendly Labradors woken from their afternoon nap: eyelids heavy, lolling smiles, slow tail-wags. It would have been cruel not to greet them. They returned my nod and then settled back into their warm, dope-lined baskets.
Mahmoud was on the phone, as always. He cocked his head in concern when he saw me, then barked gruffly into the receiver and slammed it down. You didn’t need to speak the language to get the message. (How dare you call me just as my most esteemed client is entering my worthy establishment seeking to purchase my precious wares, you ditch-born son of a Casablanca whore!) He raised his eyes to heaven and tossed his head angrily at the phone, then reached across the bar and shook my hand.
Video: Richard de Nooy reads from his winning book
- Fuzzy? Not loading? Watch on BOOK SA TV
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Ceridwen Dovey
Winner of the R50 000 2008 UJ Prize for best book
- Winning book: Blood Kin, a novel published by Penguin
- Homepage
- Ceridwen Dovey @ BOOK SA
- Tasty Blood Kin carrot
- Book excerpt:
6 – His barber
I called my home the glass box. It meant I could never throw stones, just like the proverb warned. I designed containers for everything so that things could be neatly tucked away and not clutter the surfaces. In my bathroom drawer, I had customised compartments for my toothbrush, floss, facewash, deodorant, razor. In my bedroom cupboard I kept my caps and glasses colour-coded and had small hollows for each belt to fit into, once rolled. I’ve never liked lying down on my bed in my street clothes, even with my shoes off (I believe it pollutes my sleep), I always leave a window open at night, no matter how cold it is, and I can’t bear leaving my home for a long trip if there is any dirty linen or clothing in it. If I know I have to go away somewhere for a while, I lay out the clothes I’m going to wear, take off the clothes I’m wearing, put them in the washing machine with my sheets and walk around naked until it’s almost time to leave. That’s why I was naked when they took me: ready for my trip, about to put on my clean travelling clothes, and next thing there was a man in my laundry pointing a gun at me.
Videos: the author reads from her winning book
- Fuzzy? Not loading? Watch on BOOK SA TV
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- Fuzzy? Not loading? Watch on Big Think TV
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