The 2012 Sunday Times Alan Paton Award Longlist
Alert! The Sunday Times published the longlists for its 2012 literary awards at the weekend.
The Alan Paton Award for non-fiction is accomapanied by the Fiction Prize – and both are accompanied by R75 000 cheques for the winners, making them the richest one-off prizes in SA Lit.
This year’s Alan Paton Award longlist sees over forty titles competing for the big gong – which was won last year by Ronnie Kasrils, for his memoir The Unlikely Secret Agent.
The shortlist will be announced on Saturday at the Franschhoek Literary Festival.
Click here for the 2012 Sunday Times Fiction Prize longlist; and scroll away for this year’s Alan Paton hopefuls. Good luck, especially, to Books LIVE members, linked to in bold:
The Longlist
- Sometimes There is a Void by Zakes Mda
- Barbarism in Higher Education by Nhlanhla Maake
- Pinky Promise by Pierre Croquet de Rosemond
- My Father, My Monster by McIntosh Polela
- Politics in My Blood by Kader Asmal and Adrian Hadland, with Moira Levy
- The First President: A Life of John Dube by Heather Hughes
- The Shadow World by Andrew Feinstein
- The Devil in the Detail by Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren
- Diepsloot by Anton Harber
- Touch, Pause, Engage! by Liz McGregor
- Little Liberia by Jonny Steinberg
- The Proteas by Neil Manthorp
- Hemispheres by Karen Lazar
- Killing Kebble by Mandy Wiener
- Tutu: The Authorised Portrait by Mpho Tutu and Allister Sparks
- Come Back to Portofino by James Bourhill
- Attuned Leadership by Reuel Khoza
- An Inconvenient Youth by Fiona Forde
- Paper Sons and Daughters by Ufrieda Ho
- Lifeblood by Alex Perry
- South African Odyssey edited by Marcia Leveson
- The Boers in Angola: 1928-1975 by Nicol Stassen
- Prophet Without Honour by FA Mouton
- A South African Censor’s Tale by Kobus van Rooyen
- Battle Scarred by Anthony Feinstein
- David Kramer: A Biography by Dawid de Villiers and Mathilda Slabbert
- Grape by Jeanne Viall, Wilmot James and Jakes Gerwel
- Cities with ‘Slums’ by Marie Huchzermeyer
- Germany’s Genocide of the Herero by Jeremy Sarkin
- South Africa Pushed to the Limit by Hein Marais
- Byleveld by Hanlie Retief
- Stones Against the Mirror by Hugh Lewin
- Eating from One Pot by Sarah Mosoetsa
- Metal That Will Not Bend by Kally Forrest
- Stranger at Home by Ashlee Neser
- The African National Congress and the Regeneration of Political Power by Susan Booysen
- A Living Man from Africa by Roger Levine
- Defining Moments by Marius Barnard and Simon Norval
- The Unexploded Boer by Erich Rautenbach
- Challenging Beliefs by Tim Noakes, with Michael Vlismas
- Missing & Murdered by Alan Morris
Tymon Smith writes up the longlist for the Sunday Times:
This year’s entries reveal a more critical examination by contemporary writers of the notions of truth and memory
The longlist for the non-fiction award always presents a difficult task for the judges, who have to balance the issues explored in the books with the need for a mode of expression that highlights excellence of writing and conveys ideas in a clear and accessible manner.
This year’s list reflects a society grappling with a number of multi-layered problems that, according to the judges’ report, “cannot be simply reduced to ‘the legacy of apartheid’ anymore, and a group of writers committed, in the main, to presenting and confronting these issues in ways that unravel their complexities and discover their nuances, forcing us to acknowledge particularly difficult problems.”
At the same time the longlist is mixed both in terms of substance and quality and there were, as ever, many books that the judges felt could have benefited from a more rigorous editing process. Several of the titles submitted, while often reflecting rich research processes, did not convey their findings in ways that keep readers interested or that speak meaningfully to society beyond their immediate focus.
There were also several books that the judges felt, “creatively contribute to a ‘re-memory’ (a term coined by Toni Morrison in her book Beloved) of our collective past, making certain silences in our history speak and animating otherwise stick figures in an expected and predictable march.”
While some of the judges were disappointed by the lack of quality, book-length contemporary reportage titles and a lack of focus on difficulties facing everyday South Africans, they were impressed by the ways in which “many of the books also pay attention to the very act of writing, experimenting with styles and techniques in very self-conscious ways, drawing attention to the position of the authors, the power-laden nature of the writing process and related relationships, and the effects or products of the written work on real people and real situations.” This is a good thing, as it reflects a more critical examination by contemporary writers of notions of the truth and memory.
As always, in spite of some reservations, the longlist for the award continues to demonstrate the rich, diverse and generally healthy state of non-fiction in the country today and reading these titles has proved a rewarding experience full of surprises and fascinating insights into our collective psychology as a nation.
The Judges
ANTONY ALTBEKER
Antony Altbeker is a researcher and writer. Since 1994, he has worked in government, at universities and for a variety of think tanks. He is the author of three best-selling works of narrative non-fiction – The Dirty Work of Democracy: A year on the streets with the SAPS (2005) shortlisted for The Alan Paton Award, A Country at War with Itself: South Africa’s crisis of crime (2007), and Fruit of a Poisoned Tree: A true story of murder and the miscarriage of justice (2010). Altbeker is married with three children, lives in Joburg and runs the popular dinner-booze-and-book club at the Troyeville Hotel.
PRISHANI NAIDOO
Prishani Naidoo is a writer, researcher and lecturer in the Department of Sociology at Wits University. She is co-editor of the New South African Review and author of a number of academic and popular essays on a wide range of issues. Before joining Wits, she co-founded the research collective RED (Research and Education in Development). She has a long history of activism, beginning in the early 1990s, when she joined the ANC western areas branch in Durban. She has a BA with majors in sociology and English, and an honours degree in comparative literature. After university, Naidoo, along with others, helped found the Anti-Privatisation Forum (APF) in Joburg. She was awarded her PhD in 2011, focused on struggles for basic services in post-apartheid SA.
PETER HARRIS
Peter Harris practised law for many years at Cheadle, Thompson & Haysom. In the early 1990s, he was seconded to the National Peace Accord, after which he headed the Monitoring Directorate of the Independent Electoral Commission for the 1994 election responsible for the freeness and fairness of the election. He returned to law and also consulted internationally for the UN in various countries around the world. He currently heads a large management consultancy. Harris is the author of In A Different Time, winner of the Alan Paton Award in 2009, Jenny Crwys-Williams’ Book Club Book of the Year for 2009
award and winner of the South African Booksellers Choice Award 2009. His third book, titled Birth about a conspiracy to stop the 1994 election was published in November 2010.
Book details
- Sometimes there is a Void: Memoirs of an Outsider by Zakes Mda
Book homepage
EAN: 9780143527442
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Pinky Promise by Pierre Crocquet de Rosemond
Book homepage
EAN: 9780986985034
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Babarism in Higher Education: Once Upon a Time in a University by Nhlanhla Maake
EAN: 9780620477741
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- My Father, My Monster by McIntosh Polela
Book homepage
EAN: 9781431401604
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Politics in My Blood: A Memoir by Kader Asmal and Adrian Hadland, with Moira Levy
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770099036
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The First President: A Life of John Dube by Heather Hughes
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770098138
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The Shadow World: Inside the Global Arms Trade by Andrew Feinstein
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868423323
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The Devil in the Detail: How the Arms Deal Changed Everything by Paul Holden and Hennie van Vuuren
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868423675
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Diepsloot by Anton Harber
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868424214
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Touch, Pause, Engage! Exploring the Heart of South African Rugby by Liz McGregor
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868423095
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Little Liberia: An African Odyssey in New York by Jonny Steinberg
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868423828
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The Proteas: 20 Years, 20 Landmark Matches by Neil Manthorp
EAN: 9780987005816
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Hemispheres: Inside a Stroke by Karen Lazar
EAN: 9781920397241
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
eBook options – Download now!
-
eBook: Hemispheres by Karen Lazar
eBook type: PDF
EAN: 9781920397951
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
- Killing Kebble: An Underworld Exposed by Mandy Wiener
EAN: 9781770102453
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Tutu: The Authorised Portrait by Allister Sparks and Mpho A Tutu
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770101401
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Come Back to Portofino: Through Italy with the 6th South African Armoured division by James Bourhill
EAN: 9781920143565
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Attuned Leadership: African Humanism as Compass by Reuel Khoza
Book homepage
EAN: 9780143528197
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- An Inconvenient Youth: Julius Malema and the ‘New’ ANC by Fiona Forde
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770101975
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Lifeblood: How to Change the World, One Dead Mosquito at a Time by Alex Perry
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770101463
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Paper Sons and Daughters: Growing up Chinese in South Africa by Ufrieda Ho
EAN: 9781770101685
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
eBook options – Download now!
-
eBook: Paper Sons and Daughters: Growing up Chinese in South Africa by Ufrieda Ho
eBook type: ePub
EAN: 9781770102064
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
- South African Odyssey: The Autobiography of Bertha Goudvis edited by Marcia Leveson
EAN: 9781770101029
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The Boers in Angola, 1928–1975 by Nicol Stassen
EAN: 9781869193959
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
eBook options – Download now!
-
eBook: The Boers in Angola, 1928–1975 by Nicol Stassen
eBook type: PDF
EAN: 9781869194925
Download this eBook at LittleWhiteBakkie.com
- Prophet without Honour: FS Malan – Afrikaner, South African and Cape liberal by FA Mouton
Book homepage
EAN: 9781869194147
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- A South African Censor’s Tale by Kobus van Rooyen
EAN: 9781869194154
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Battle Scarred: Hidden Costs of the Border War by Anthony Feinstein
Book homepage
EAN: 9780624053743
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- David Kramer: A Biography by Dawid de Villiers and Mathilda Slabbert
Book homepage
EAN: 9780624048473
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Grape: Stories of the Vineyards in South Africa by Wilmot James, Jakes Viall Gerwel and Jeanne Viall
Book homepage
EAN: 9780624049388
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Cities with ‘Slums’: From informal settlement eradication to a right to the city in Africa by Marie Huchzermeyer
EAN: 978191989539
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Germany’s Genocide of the Herero: Kaiser Wilhelm II, His General, His Settlers, His Soldiers by Jeremy Sarkin
Book homepage
EAN: 9781919895475
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- South Africa Pushed to the Limit: The Political Economy of Change by Hein Marais
Book homepage
EAN: 9781919895406
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Byleveld: Dossier of a Serial Sleuth by Hanlie Retief
Book homepage
EAN: 9781415201435
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Stones Against the Mirror: Friendship in the time of the South African struggle by Hugh Lewin
Book homepage
EAN: 9781415201480
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Eating from One Pot: The Dynamics of Survival in Poor South African Households by Sarah Mosoetsa
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868145331
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Metal That Will Not Bend: The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa 1980-1995 by Kally Forrest
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868145348
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Stranger At Home: The Praise Poet in Apartheid South Africa by Ashlee Neser
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868145379
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The African National Congress and the Regeneration of Political Power by Susan Booysen
Book homepage
EAN: 9781868145423
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Defining Moments by Marius Barnard, with Simon Norval
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770221543
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- A Living Man from Africa: Jan Tzatzoe, Xhosa Chief and Missionary, and the Making of Nineteenth-Century South Africa by Roger Levine
EAN: 9780300125214
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- The Unexploded Boer by Erich Rautenbach
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770221659
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Challenging Beliefs: Memoirs of a Career by Tim Noakes, with Michael Vlismas
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770224599
Find this book with BOOK Finder!
- Missing and Murdered: A Personal Adventure in Forensic Anthropology by Alan Morris
Book homepage
EAN: 9781770223615
Find this book with BOOK Finder!