A Dying Art

Never before has the art of writing been under such threat. With people spending all of their time in front of computer screens, and very little of it buried in a book, writers are having a very hard time indeed! And reading and writing are so important for the development of a society. People help shape the world through what they read: writing can act as a catalyst for revolutionary change, it can put pressure on governments, it can open people’s minds – it can let people dream! So now more than ever it’s so important to recognise those individuals who are keeping the art of writing alive, and to encourage African authors to write in their native tongues so as to make reading accessible to more people. Now in its ninth year, the South African Literary Awards “celebrate literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems, philosophies and art as inscribed and preserved in all the languages of South Africa”.

Congratulations to all of the recipients of the 2014 South African Literary Awards, and in particular our KZN authors, Sihle Khumalo and Makhosazana Xaba, who won the ‘Creative Non-Fiction’ and ‘Nadine Gordimer Short Story Award’ respectively.

Leave a Comment