The 2012 Sunday Times Fiction Prize Longlist

Alert! The Sunday Times published the longlists for its 2012 literary awards at the weekend.
The richest one-off prizes in SA Lit, the Fiction Prize and Alan Paton Award come with cheques for R75 000 each.
This year’s Fiction Prize longlist comprises some thirty-nine titles published in 2011 – which will be whittled down to a handful when the shortlist is announced on Saturday at the Franschhoek Literary Festival.
Last year’s winner was Sifiso Mzobe, for Young Blood.
Click here for the 2012 Alan Paton Award longlist.
Without further ado, the 2012 Fiction Prize longlist (best of luck to Books LIVE members, linked to in bold!):
The Longlist
- The Lazarus Effect by HJ Golakai
- Shooting Angels by Christopher Hope
- Other People’s Money by Justin Cartwright
- Hyenas in a Place of Joy by Nhlanhla Maake
- Trackers by Deon Meyer
- Fallout by Sue Rabie
- The Colour of Power by Marie Heese
- Hear Me Alone by Thando Mgqolozana
- Cruel Crazy Beautiful World by Troy Blacklaws
- The Dancing and the Death on Lemon Street by Denis Hirson
- Planet Savage by Tuelo Gabonewe
- Lost Ground by Michiel Heyns
- Gallows Hill by Margie Orford
- Counting the Coffins by Diale Tlholwe
- Eve by Sandra Charles
- Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart by Finuala Dowling
- Canvas Under the Sky by Robin Binckes
- Bitter Pill by Peter Church
- Divine Justice by Joanne Hichens
- Snake by Tracey Farren
- Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso
- Solomon’s Story by Judy Froman
- Bad Blood by Amanda Coetzee
- A Year in the Wild by James Hendry
- 30 Nights in Amsterdam by Etienne van Heerden
- The Lies We Shared by Sarah Penny
- Onion Tears by Shubnum Khan
- Eddie Signwriter by Adam Schwartzman
- Rhumba by Elaine Proctor
- Dust Devils by Roger Smith
- Thula Thula by Annelie Botes
- Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes
- Bad Sex by Leon de Kock
- The Classifier by Wessel Ebersohn
- Things I Thought I Knew by Kathryn White
- History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
- Never Too Naked by Bambi Kellerman, with Pieter-Dirk Uys
- The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club by Lauren Liebenberg
- The Landscape Painter by Craig Higginson
Tymon Smith writes up the longlist for the Sunday Times:
Crime novels and thrillers are emerging as genres in which South African authors can explore issues both past and present
In a year when the literary merits and rising popularity of crime fiction in the local industry have provided a hot topic for debate on the internet and in the pages of newspapers and literary journals, it was unsurprising to find that this year’s longlist was dominated by crime novels and thrillers. These extended not only to South African stories but also to stories centred on African characters living in the country today. The judges felt that “it is clear, and perhaps for reasons we haven’t fully understood yet, that crime, the whodunit, is generating a feasible and readerly way of writing about the South African present, the question of politics, the complexities of race and class interests”.
The experiences of other African citizens also provided a wealth of material for local authors, both at home and abroad. The judges felt: “The most exciting development in South African letters today is the role of the foreigner, the alien, the despised African from beyond our borders who is now in our midst and who educates us on how to be human, by word or precept, and who lends to our vocabulary a language shot through with the kind of humanity and courage we still have to relearn.”
It was also heartening to see young authors competing toe-to-toe with their more established counterparts and to see the ways in which contemporary issues and concerns are becoming more important to local fiction writers as they try to navigate the maze of identities, histories and pressures of life in a fast-paced democratic post-apartheid South Africa.
While, as always, the judging panel congratulates local publishers for encouraging and nurturing new writing talent, there were concerns in some cases that a lack of attention to editing meant that several good ideas were not as well executed as they could have been and suffered as a result. Attention to editing will only help the industry as a whole in the long run, as it means that good ideas will be ably supported by excellence of execution, making it easier for these writers to compete on a level with those authors who have benefited from the advice of a patient and knowledgeable editor.
The local fiction market is a difficult place at the best of times and it is always encouraging to see that it continues to grow. In the words of the judges: “Good writing in this country must still carry something of a charge, and electricity, in relation to the extraordinary complexities of being South African at present.”
The Judges
MANDLA LANGA
Mandla Langa was born in Durban in 1950, studied for a BA at the University of Fort Hare but left following widespread student protests in 1972. He taught at a high school in KwaMashu in 1973/74 before going into exile in 1976. He has lived in Lesotho, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia, Hungary and the UK. In 1980 he won the pan-African Drum Magazine story contest and in 1991 he was awarded the Arts Council of Great Britain Bursary. He was deputy chief representative and cultural representative of the ANC in the UK and a weekly columnist for the Sunday Independent. He is the author of five books, including The Memory of Stones and The Lost Colours of the Chameleon, which won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for the Africa Region in 2009 and was shortlisted for The Sunday Times Fiction Prize. In 2007 he received the country’s National Order of Ikhamanga (Silver) for his literary, journalistic and cultural achievements. From 1999-2005 he chaired the Independent Communications Authority of SA. He chairs the board of MultiChoice Africa and co-chairs the board of Koketso Holdings.
IMRAAN COOVADIA
Imraan Coovadia was born in Durban and educated in the US and has lived in London, Melbourne, Boston and New York. He is the author of The Wedding, Green-Eyed Thieves and High Low In-Between, which won the Sunday Times Fiction Prize in 2010. Coovadia teaches creative writing at the University of Cape Town and his latest novel, The Institute for Taxi Poetry, was published last month by Umuzi.
SARAH NUTTALL
Sarah Nuttall is Research Professor in English at the University of Stellenbosch. She worked for 10 years at Wiser (Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research) in Johannesburg. She is the author of Entanglement: Literary and cultural reflections on post-apartheid and co-editor of Load Shedding: Writing On and Over the Edge of South Africa and Johannesburg – The Elusive Metropolis.
Book details
- The Lazarus Effect by HJ Golakai
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EAN: 9780795703195
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- Shooting Angels by Christopher Hope
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EAN: 9781848873698
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- Other People’s Money by Justin Cartwright
EAN: 9781408821695
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- Hyenas in a Place of Joy by Nhlanhla Maake
EAN: 9780620477758
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- Trackers by Deon Meyer
EAN: 9781444723663
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- Fallout by Sue Rabie
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EAN: 9780798152730
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- The Colour of Power: A story of Theodora, Empress of Byzantium by Marie Heese
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EAN: 9780798152808
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- Hear Me Alone by Thando Mgqolozana
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EAN: 9781431402496
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- Cruel Crazy Beautiful World by Troy Blacklaws
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EAN: 9781431402502
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- The Dancing and the Death on Lemon Street by Denis Hirson
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EAN: 9781770098763
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- Planet Savage by Tuelo Gabonewe
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EAN: 9781770097513
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- Lost Ground by Michiel Heyns
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EAN: 9781868424160
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- Gallows Hill by Margie Orford
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EAN: 9781868423958
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- Counting the Coffins by Diale Tlhowle
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EAN: 9780795702945
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- Eve by Sandra Charles
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EAN: 9780795703997
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- Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart by Finuala Dowling
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EAN: 9780795703201
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- Canvas under the Sky by Robin Binckes
EAN: 9781920143633
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- Bitter Pill by Peter Church
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EAN: 9781920137359
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- Divine Justice by Joanne Hichens
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EAN: 9780987005809
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- Snake by Tracey Farren
EAN: 9781920397388
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- Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso
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- Solomon’s Story by Judy Froman
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- Bad Blood by Amanda Coetzee
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- A Year in the Wild by James Hendry
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- 30 Nights in Amsterdam by Etienne van Heerden
EAN: 9780143528739
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- The Lies We Shared by Sarah Penny
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EAN: 9780143527459
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- Onion Tears by Shubnum Khan
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EAN: 9780143528470
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- Eddie Signwriter by Adam Schwartzman
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EAN: 9780143527404
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- Rhumba by Elaine Proctor
EAN: 9780857385086
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- Dust Devils by Roger Smith
EAN: 9781846687952
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- Thula Thula by Annelie Botes
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EAN: 9780624049241
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- Nineveh by Henrietta Rose-Innes
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EAN: 9781415201367
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- Bad Sex by Leon de Kock
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EAN: 9781415201527
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- The Classifier by Wessel Ebersohn
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EAN: 9781415201510
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- Things I Thought I Knew by Kathryn White
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EAN: 9781415201220
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- History of a Pleasure Seeker by Richard Mason
EAN: 9780753828427
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- Never Too Naked by Bambi Kellermann, with Pieter-Dirk Uys
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EAN: 9781770221789
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- The West Rand Jive Cats Boxing Club by Lauren Liebenberg
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EAN: 9781844086719
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- The Landscape Painter by Craig Higginson
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EAN: 9781770101005
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