Category Archives: Poetry prizes

Call for entries: English Academy Awards 2013

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The English Academy has put out a call for entries for its prestigious literature prizes. If you’re very, very serious about your poetry in South Africa, these are the awards to aim for. However, note that you cannot enter yourself. Your work must be entered by the editor of a journal. This is another reason it’s important to get even one poem in a magazine or journal. That way, you’d be in line for these wonderful awards.

Olive Schreiner Prize

The Olive Schreiner Prize is presented to honour new talent. It is conferred for excellence in prose, poetry and drama, and devoted to one of these categories each year. In 2013 it will be awarded for POETRY (an anthology by a single author) published and/or produced in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Sol Plaaitjie Prize

It is awarded for excellence in translation of a literary text of at least 1 000 words (except in the case of poetry which is, of necessity, exempt from the length criterion) in one of the other official South African languages into English. The English text must represent a reasonably accurate translation of the original, while standing as a well expressed literary text in and of itself. Translations published in 2011 and 2012 are eligible.

Thomas Pringle Awards

The awards are for various achievements, attention being turned to different categories each year. Below is the area for achievement which will be honoured in 2013: Education articles published in 2011 and 2012. Poetry in journals or magazines published in 2011 and 2012.

How to enter

The English Academy of Southern Africa invites entries for these prizes from Editors of Journals.

Entrants are asked to submit three copies of their entries to the Academy’s Administrative Officer at P O Box 124, Wits, 2050. Entries must be received by 31 May 2013. Works submitted will be acknowledged but cannot be returned. Each winner receives a cash prize and a certificate. For more information, please contact the Administrative Officer, Sebastian Matroos, on 011 717 9339 (weekdays 09:00-15:00) or at englishacademy@societies.wits.ac.za

 

African Poetry Book Fund, The Brunel University African Poetry Prize & Prairie Schooner’s Fusion

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I received some interesting news by email recently that you might find useful. It was sent from the Prairie Schooner, where the poet Kwame Dawes is editor: collaborations with African artists, poets, and publishers. Taken straight from the message:

…you might be interested in the establishment of the African Poetry Book Fund, which will allow African writers in English and in translation an unprecedented audience and place of publication.

In addition, we are announcing the Brunel University African Poetry Prize, in association with the African Poetry Book Fund. We also want to note an important collaboration “WOMB,” curated by our managing editor, Marianne Kunkel, and Batswana poet Tj Dema, featuring Batswana artists and poets in the Schooner’s literature and arts series entitled Fusion. …

You might also check out the APBF website: http://africanpoetrybf.unl.edu/?page_id=21 or the Brunel University African Poetry Prize website at http://africanpoetryprize.org.