Michiel Heyns, Henrietta Rose-Innes and Hugh Lewin are on the Sunday Times fiction and non-fiction shortlists. The shortlist for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize was announced on the 12th May 2012 at the Franschhoek Literary Festival.
The fiction list features Henrietta Rose-Innes (Nineveh), Yewande Omotoso (Bom Boy), Adam Schwartzman (Eddie Signwriter), Michiel Heyns (Lost Ground) and debut novelist HJ Golakai (The Lazarus Effect).
The shortlist for the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award was announced on the same evening and this year sees six titles on a shortlist usually limited to five. The list includes Andrew Feinstein (The Shadow World), Anton Harber (Diepsloot), Jonny Steinberg (Little Liberia) , Mandy Wiener (Killing Kebble), McIntosh Polela (My Father, My Monster) and Hugh Lewin (Stones Against the Mirror).
The winners of each prize, awarded last year to Ronnie Kasrils for The Unlikely Secret Agent and to Sifiso Mzobe for Young Blood, will be announced at an awards ceremony in Johannesburg on 21 June.
Praise for LOST GROUND:
Also shortlisted for Herman Charles Bosman Prize 2012
'The
short review of this book is simply this: it's remarkable ...It's hard
to know how Michiel Heyns does it - he is part magician, part juggler
and fine linguist.' --Jane Rosenthal, Mail & Guardian
'A whodunit with a difference…The surprising end is the cherry on top. Read this book.' -- Dries Brunt, The Citizen
'The
style is a remarkable combination of erudite and accessible. How many
writers can achieve that?…Razor-sharp satire…It's wildly entertaining,
and I suspect that it will delight a very wide range of readers.' --
Maya Fowler, book.co.za.
Praise for NINEVEH:
'A
gripping, thrilling allegory of a troubled nation, NINEVEH is executed
with wit, panache, precision and something that I can only call wounded
love for the country the author calls her home.' -- Neel Mukherjee,
author of A LIFE APART
'This is a thought-provoking, densely imagined work of fiction in which no detail is out of place. It is a seamless and unusual blend of different modes of writing - the comic, the gothic and the social realist. It will appeal to any reader willing to ask questions and probe beneath the surface of our familiar urban reality.' -- Rob Gaylard, Cape Argus
'This wonderful novel may be about dysfunctional families and pestilence but it's loaded with sly, dark humour and would make a great comedy film. You can't help loving the Grubbs clan with all their faults and the depiction of Nineveh as some kind of biblical theme park adds an element of magical realism. A hugely entertaining read from this talented SA writer.' -- Willem Moeller, YOU Magazine
Praise for STONES AGAINST THE MIRROR:
'Written with incredible grace and insight.' -- Ivan Vladislavic
'Hugh Lewin's astounding new book titled STONES AGAINST THE MIRROR tells the most touching story of two intimate friends who decide to join the fight against apartheid in the 1960s. What the beautiful story of these two men demonstrates is that it is still possible to find forgiveness, healing and reconciliation before it's too late . . . This is by far the best book written and published in 2011, and I would be very surprised if it did not win the Alan Paton award for non-fiction in 2012.' -- Jonathan Jansen, The Times
'Hugh Lewin weaves a powerful tale, showing a master craftsman at work... a deeply moving memoir' -- Nalini Naidoo, The Witness