Nandipha Gantsho has been announced as the winner of the prestigious City Press/Tafelberg Nonfiction Award for her manuscript Throw Madam from the Train.

The biennial prize is awarded to a new or established writer who has already begun research into their selected field and hopes to secure a publishing contract with NB Publishers, as well as R120,000 to develop their book.

The award encourages work ‘across all aspects of nonfiction that offers relevance to the South African landscape’.

Tafelberg received over 120 entries for the prize this year.

 

 

The 2019 City Press/Tafelberg Nonfiction Award shortlisted titles included:

• Throw Madam from the Train by Nandipha Gantsho, which addresses the ideas of identity, race and the evolution of the education landscape in South Africa
• Requiem for a Joller by Harry Kalmer, about the life story of Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist Marius Schoon
• At the Chalk-face by Sara Black, which looks at the struggles within the education system as she outlines her first-hand experience as a maths teacher
• Dennis Brutus by Tyrone August, the biography of the poet and political activist
• Patient 12A by Lesedi Molefi, about his first-hand experience battling mental illness

 

• Find out more about the shortlisted titles and authors here

 

From Tafelberg:

In the end, and after a tough debate, the choice came down to two titles: Throw Madam from the Train by Nandipha Gantsho, which addresses the ideas of identity, race and the evolution of the education landscape in South Africa; and Patient 12A by Lesedi Molefi, a book about mental illness and the stigmas that often go with it.

Both these fresh literary voices address issues which are extremely pertinent to South African society.

The winner, Throw Madam from the Train, was chosen for its writing style, depth of insight, and its contributions in highlighting issues in the vital field of education.

 

Previous winners of the City Press/Non-fiction award are:

• 2016 Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh: Democracy and Delusion, published in 2017
• 2013 Don Pinnock : Gang Town, published in 2016
• 2012 Maria Phalime: Postmortem, published in 2014 and shortlisted for the Alan Paton Award

 

Other shortlisted candidates who have been published by Tafelberg include:

• Donna Bryson, It’s A Black/White Thing
• Liesl Louw-Vaudran, Superpower or Neocolonialist?: South Africa in Africa
• Sylvia Vollenhoven, The Keeper of the Kumm

 

 

Categories Non-fiction South Africa

Tags Awards City Press Tafelberg Nonfiction Award Harry Kalmer Lesedi Molefi Nandipha Gantsho NB Publishers News Sara Black Tafelberg Tafelberg Publishers Tyrone August