– Wits University
You can now apply for the Achmat Dangor Literary Prize 2024. It is aimed at young authors of all genres who are currently studying or have completed their honours degree.
In honour of South African writer and activist Achmat Dangor, the Achmat Dangor Literary Prize aims to support a young, disadvantaged writer who has fallen into financial need.
This prestigious award enables the recipient to pursue a Masters in Creative Writing at Wits University and ensures that Dangor’s lasting legacy inspires new generations of literary talent.
The Achmat Dangor Literary Prize is open to young authors of all genres – poetry, fiction and creative non-fiction.
Click here to learn more about the application criteria and participation requirements. The application deadline is September 15, 2024..
The recipient will be announced in October 2024, Dangor’s birthday month, at a ceremony including readings of his works and an exhibition of archival materials.
The prize is awarded every two years and supports at least four students over the next eight years.
Achmat Dangor – South African, author, activist
Achmat Dangor’s career began in Johannesburg and continued through his studies at Rhodes University. His poetry collections, such as bulldozer (1983) and Private voices (1992) illuminated the brutal reality of racial segregation and social exclusion. His novels, including Waiting for Leila (1981), The Z Town Trilogy (1990) and the internationally acclaimed Kafka’s Curse (1997) dealt with themes such as alienation and identity. Bitter fruit (2003), a finalist for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award and the Man Booker Prize, explored the scars of post-apartheid South Africa.
In addition to his literary contributions, Dangor was a formidable activist. He was banned from the state from 1973 to 1978 for his anti-apartheid activities and was an important figure in organisations such as Black Thoughts, the Writers’ Forum and the Congress of South African Writers (COSAW).
His leadership has also extended to NGO roles including the Kagiso Trust, the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund and the Nelson Mandela Foundation, where he served as CEO from 2007 to 2013. He has also represented the Ford Foundation in Southern Africa and was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the South African Literary Awards (SALA) in 2015.
Ivan Vladislavić, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Creative Writing at Wits University and acclaimed author, says: “Achmat Dangor made an invaluable contribution to South African literary culture. Both deeply political and fiercely independent, he brought a wide-ranging, cosmopolitan flair to local issues and wrote some of the most provocative and challenging works in our literature, novels that convey a rich sense of life and a complex moral universe.”
He adds: “The Achmat Dangor Literary Prize, which gives a young author the opportunity to study and write, is a fitting tribute to Dangor, and the Department of Creative Writing is delighted to offer the winner a home.”
Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, lecturer in Creative Writing at Wits University and acclaimed poet, says: “Achmat Dangor was a literary pioneer who fearlessly tackled the dysfunction, violence and alienation of society through believable characters and authentic settings. He used his imagination to tell stories that felt true.” Dangor, like Mathews and Mattera, his esteemed contemporaries, brought the black experience into literature at a moment in history when it was literally forbidden for writers to write. It is an honor for our department to promote his legacy, because the world still needs that special poetry: a combination of compassion and courage, a literary scholar, and a great imagination.”
The Achmat Dangor Literary Prize is an important part of the Achmat Dangor Legacy Project (ADLP), which aims to preserve and celebrate Dangor’s life and work. The prize is awarded by the Department of Creative Writing in the School of Literature, Language and Media in collaboration with the Faculty of Humanities, Wits University.
