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2017 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize longlist

by Jennifer on Apr 3rd, 2017

Published in the Sunday Times

 


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Announcing the longlists for the most prestigious annual literary awards, the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, in association with Porcupine Ridge.

This is the 17th edition of the Sunday Times fiction prize, named for Barry Ronge, the arts commentator who was one of the founders of our literary awards. The criteria stipulate that the winning novel should be one of “rare imagination and style … a tale so compelling as to become an enduring landmark of contemporary fiction”.

Nkosinathi Sithole was awarded the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize for his book, Hunger Eats a Man, published by Penguin Books. The winners of the 2017 Alan Paton Award and Barry Ronge Fiction Prize will each receive R100 000.

Read:

 

The Barry Ronge Fiction Prize Judges

Rehana Rossouw (chair) Rossouw has been a journalist for three decades and is a commissioning editor at Business Day. She has a masters degree in creative writing from the University of the Witwatersrand. She has taught journalism and creative writing at Wits, the University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism. Her debut novel, What Will People Say?, was published by Jacana in 2015. It was shortlisted for the Etisalat Prize for African Fiction in 2015.
 
 
Africa Melane
Melane is the host of the Weekend Breakfast Show on CapeTalk. He is also an ambassador for LeadSA, an initiative of Primedia Broadcasting and Independent Newspapers. Melane studied accounting at the University of Cape Town and did articles at PwC. He then went on to teach a professional development course to first-year students in the faculty of health sciences at the University of Cape Town. Melane is the chairman of MODILA, a trust that offers educational programmes to provide training in design, innovation, entrepreneurship and art studies. He also serves on the board of Cape Town Opera, Africa’s premier opera company.
 
Kate Rogan
Rogan is the owner of Love Books, an independent book shop in Johannesburg. Rogan has a degree in English from the University of Cape Town and a post-graduate degree English (Hons) from Stellenbosch University, where she studied under Michiel Heyns. She started her working life as a copywriter at 702, then moved into publishing where she was a commissioning editor at Zebra Press in its early days. She moved back to radio as a producer and for many years produced The Book Show for Jenny Crwys-Williams. In 2009 she started Love Books.
 

Chairperson Rehana Rossouw remarks on the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize longlist:

“South African authors are spoiled for choice. Their local stories are stitched into a tapestry of a landscape ranging from tropical heat to dusty dorps. The longlist this year contains titles that weave the land and the people into compelling tales. Some authors deal with historical dispossession and despair; others discover the magic hidden in thick foliage and stark dustlands. All the authors examine the essence of a people propelled by a dream and led astray by dreamers — some with deft touches and others with scream-with-laughter satire. Crime remains a distinct theme but there’s always love; often sweet and sometimes twisted. It is going to be a struggle this year to choose one winner from a list that contains works by writers presenting their country in words that strike at the heart and linger on the synapses.”

Without further ado, the longlist (scroll down for titles):

Our Fathers
Our Fathers, Karin Brynard (Penguin Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Like It Matters
Like It Matters, David Cornwell (Umuzi)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Long Wave
The Long Wave, Tom Dreyer (Penguin Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The God Who Made MistakesThe God Who Made Mistakes, Ekow Duker (Picador Africa)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In the Maid's Room
In The Maid’s Room, Hagen Engler (Jacana Media)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Travels With My Father
Travels With my Father, Karen Jennings (Holland Park)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Printmaker
The Printmaker, Bronwyn Law-Viljoen (Umuzi)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Nwelezelanga
Nwelezelanga: The Star Child, Unathi Magubeni (Blackbird Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Namaste Life
Namaste Life, Ishara Maharaj (Modjaji Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Yearning
The Yearning, Mohale Mashigo (Picador Africa)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Who Killed Piet Barol?
Who Killed Piet Barol?, Richard Mason (Orion)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Period Pain
Period Pain, Kopano Matlwa (Jacana Media)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Little Suns
Little Suns, Zakes Mda (Umuzi)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Midwinter
Midwinter, Fiona Melrose (Little, Brown)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pleasure
Pleasure, Nthikeng Mohlele (Picador Africa)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Hamba Sugar Daddy
Hamba Sugar Daddy, Nape `a Motana (Jacana Media)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Agents of the State
Agents of the State, Mike Nicol (Umuzi)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Woman Next Door
The Woman Next Door, Yewande Omotoso (Chatto & Windus)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Outside the Lines
Outside the Lines, Ameera Patel (Modjaji Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Bone Meal for RosesBone Meal for Roses, Miranda Sherry (Head of Zeus)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Peculiars
The Peculiars, Jen Thorpe (Penguin Books)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Safest Place You KnowThe Safest Place You Know, Mark Winkler (Umuzi)
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Book details

Cats: Fiction, South Africa
Tags: 2017 Barry Ronge Fiction Prize, Africa, Agents Of The State, Ameera Patel, Awards, Blackbird Books, Bone Meal for Roses, Chatto and Windus, Corsair, David Cornwell, Ekow Duker, English, family drama, Fiction, Fiona Melrose, Hamba Sugar Daddy, Head of Zeus, International, Jacana, Jen Thorpe, Johannesburg, Jonathan Ball, Karin Brynard, Kopano Matlwa, Like It Matters, Little Suns, Mark Winkler, Midwinter, Mike Nicol, Miranda Sherry, Modjaji, Mohale Mashigo, Nape a Motana, News, Nthikeng Mohlele, Our Fathers, Outside the Lines, Pan Macmillan, Penguin, Period Pain, Pleasure, Richard Mason, South Africa, Sunday Times, Sunday Times Awards, Sunday Times Books LIVE, Sunday Times Fiction Award, The God Who Made Mistakes, The Long Wave, The Peculiars, The Safest Place You Know, The Woman Next Door, The Yearning, Thriller, Times Live, TL RSS, Tom Dreyer, Umuzi, Who Killed Piet Barol?, Yewande Omotoso, Zakes Mda
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