The Central News Agency Literary Award (CNA Literary Award, CNA Prize) was a major annual literary award in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. It was named for the
CNA chain of bookstores. Founded by Phillip Stein,
it recognised works in prose and poetry, and in both the
English language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...
and
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gr ...
.
The last award was presented in 1996,
although CNA later launched a "Book of the Year" award for popular bestsellers of any genre.
Zapiro and Wilbur Smith Make the CNA "Book of the Year" Shortlist Books LIVE
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Past winners (incomplete list)
This list is based on multiple sources that may contain errors.Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African anti-apartheid activist who served as the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was the country's first black head of state and the ...
, , ''Long Walk to Freedom
''Long Walk to Freedom'' is an autobiography credited to South African President Nelson Mandela. It was ghostwritten by Richard Stengel and first published in 1994 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, educatio ...
'', , Chris Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...
, , ''Moerland''
, -
, 1992, , Damon Galgut
Damon Galgut (born 12 November 1963) is a South African novelist and playwright. He was awarded the 2021 Booker Prize for his novel '' The Promise'', having previously been shortlisted for the award in 2003 and 2010.
Early life and education
Ga ...
, , ''The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs'', , , ,
, -
, 1991, , , , , , John Miles, , '' Kroniek uit die Doofpot: Polisieroman''
, -
, 1990, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great b ...
, , ''My Son's Story
''My Son's Story'' is the ninth novel by South African novelist Nadine Gordimer. It was written towards the end of the State of Emergency and first published in 1990. The very next year, Gordimer was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and th ...
'', , , ,
, -
, 1989, , Christopher Hope, , ''White Boy Running'', , , ,
, -
, 1986, , Etienne van Heerden
Etienne van Heerden, born 3 December 1954, is a South African author.
Biography
Van Heerden was born in 1954, six years after the official advent of apartheid. His mother was an English speaking mathematics teacher. His father, an Afrikaans speak ...
, , ''Ancestral Voices'', , , ,
, -
, 1985, , Ellen Kuzwayo
Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo (29 June 1914 – 19 April 2006) was a women's rights activist and politician in South Africa, and was a teacher from 1938 to 1952. She was president of the African National Congress Youth League in the 1960s. In 1 ...
, , Call me Woman , , T.T. Cloete
Theunis Theodorus Cloete (31 May 1924 – 9 July 2015) was a South African Afrikaans poet, Bible translator, essayist and academic. In the 1970s he was involved in the revision of the ''Afrikaanse Kerkgesange'' and later in the 1993 translation ...
, , ''Allotroop''[NB-Uitgewers: http://www.nb.co.za/authors/2338 {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160328085848/http://www.nb.co.za/authors/2338 , date=2016-03-28 ]
, -
, 1984, , Douglas Livingstone , , ''Selected Poems'' , , , Wilma Stockenström
, Monsterverse
, -
, 1983, , J. M. Coetzee, , Life and Times of Michael K , , Breyton Breytenbach, , ''(YK): Die vierde bundel van die ongedanste dans''
, -
, 1982, , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lero ...
, , ''A Chain of Voices
''A Chain of Voices'' is a 1982 novel by Afrikaans writer André Brink. The novel is a historical novel which recounts the roots of the apartheid system during the early part of the 19th century. The novel focuses on a slave revolt center in th ...
'', , Elisabeth Eybers , , Bestand
, -
, 1981, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great b ...
, , ''July's People
''July's People'' is a 1981 novel by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer. It is set in a near-future version of South Africa where apartheid is ended through a civil war. Gordimer wrote the book before the end of apartheid as her prediction ...
'', , Sheila Cussons
Sheila Cussons (9 August 1922 – 25 November 2004) was an Afrikaans poet. She was born on the Moravia missionary station near Piketberg, South Africa, and, after matriculating from Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool, studied fine arts at the Unive ...
, , Die Woedende Brood
, -
, 1980, , J. M. Coetzee, , '' Waiting for the Barbarians'', , No award , ,
, -
, 1979, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great b ...
, , ''Burger's Daughter
''Burger's Daughter'' is a political and historical novel by the South African Nobel Prize in Literature-winner Nadine Gordimer, first published in the United Kingdom in June 1979 by Jonathan Cape. The book was expected to be banned in South Af ...
'', , D.J. Opperman, , ''Komas Uit 'N Bamboesstok''
, -
, 1978, , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lero ...
, , '' Rumours of Rain'', , Elsa Joubert
Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert OIS (19 October 1922 – 14 June 2020) was a Sestigers Afrikaans-language writer. She rose to prominence with her novel '' Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena'' (The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena), which was tra ...
, , Die Swerfjare van Poppie Nongena
, -
, 1977, , J. M. Coetzee, , ''In the Heart of the Country
''In the Heart of the Country'' (1977) is an early novel by South African-born writer J. M. Coetzee. The book is one of Coetzee's more experimental novels and is narrated through 266 numbered paragraphs rather than chapters.
Plot
The novel is na ...
'', , Elisabeth Eybers , , Einder
, -
, 1976, , Anthony Delius , , Border , , Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux (13 June 1922 – 30 December 1989) was an Afrikaans writer and a member of the South African Sestigers literary movement.
Early life and career
Etienne Leroux was born in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape on 13 June 1922 as Stepha ...
, , ''Magersfontein, O Magersfontein!''
, -
, 1975, , Guy Butler, , ''Selected Poems'', , Anna M Louw , , Kroniek van Perdepoort
, -
, 1974, , Nadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognized as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great b ...
, , ''The Conservationist
''The Conservationist'' is a 1974 novel by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer. The book was a joint winner of the Booker-McConnell Prize for fiction. It is described as more complex in design and technique than Gordimer's earlier novels. ...
'', , Leon Rousseau, , Die Groot Verlange
, -
, 1973, , Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''.
Family
Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...
, , ''Apartheid and the archbishop: The life and times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town'', , Elisabeth Eybers , , Kruis of Munt
, -
, 1972, , Sheila Meiring Fugard, , ''The Castaways'', , Karel Schoeman , , Na die Geliefde Land
, -
, 1971, , Jack Cope
Robert Knox ″Jack″ Cope (3 June 1913 – 1 May 1991) was a South African novelist, short story writer, poet and editor.
Life
Jack Cope was born in Natal, South Africa and home-schooled by tutors. From the age of 12, he boarded at Durban Hig ...
, , The Rain Maker , , Elsa Joubert
Elsabé Antoinette Murray Joubert OIS (19 October 1922 – 14 June 2020) was a Sestigers Afrikaans-language writer. She rose to prominence with her novel '' Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena'' (The Long Journey of Poppie Nongena), which was tra ...
P G du Plessis
, Bonga
Siener in die Suburbs
, -
, 1970, , John McIntosh, , ''The Stonefish'', , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; born 16 September 1939) is a South African writer, poet and painter known for his opposition to apartheid, and consequent imprisonment by the South African government. He is informally considered as the national poet lau ...
, , Lotus
, -
, 1969, , No award , , , , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; born 16 September 1939) is a South African writer, poet and painter known for his opposition to apartheid, and consequent imprisonment by the South African government. He is informally considered as the national poet lau ...
, , ''Kouevuur''
, -
, 1968, , Siegfried Stander, , ''The Horse'', , Chris Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...
, , ''Duiwel-in-die-bos''
, -
, 1967, , Laurens van der Post
Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, (13 December 1906 – 15 December 1996) was a South African Afrikaner writer, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. He was noted for his interest in J ...
, , ''The Hunter and the Whale'', , Breyten Breytenbach
Breyten Breytenbach (; born 16 September 1939) is a South African writer, poet and painter known for his opposition to apartheid, and consequent imprisonment by the South African government. He is informally considered as the national poet lau ...
, , ''Die huis van die dowe''
, -
, 1966, , Thelma Gutsche
Thelma Gutsche (7 January 1915 – 5 November 1984) was a South African filmmaker, film historian, writer, and arts patron, referred to as "South Africa's most accomplished early cinema historian" by a later film scholar.
Early life and education ...
, , ''No Ordinary Woman'', , Henriette Grové, , ''Jaarringe''
, -
, 1965, , Godfrey LeMay, , ''British Supremacy in South Africa, 1899–1907'', , André Brink
André Philippus Brink (29 May 1935 – 6 February 2015) was a South African novelist, essayist and poet. He wrote in both Afrikaans and English and taught English at the University of Cape Town.
In the 1960s Brink, Ingrid Jonker, Etienne Lero ...
, , ''Olé''
, -
, 1964, , Alan Paton
Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels '' Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''.
Family
Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...
, , ''Hofmeyr'', , Etienne Leroux
Etienne Leroux (13 June 1922 – 30 December 1989) was an Afrikaans writer and a member of the South African Sestigers literary movement.
Early life and career
Etienne Leroux was born in Oudtshoorn in the Western Cape on 13 June 1922 as Stepha ...
, , ''Een vir Azazel''
, -
, 1963, , Laurens van der Post
Sir Laurens Jan van der Post, (13 December 1906 – 15 December 1996) was a South African Afrikaner writer, farmer, soldier, educator, journalist, humanitarian, philosopher, explorer and conservationist. He was noted for his interest in J ...
, , ''The Seed and the Sower'', , D.J. Opperman, , ''Dolosse''
, -
, 1962, , Mary Renault
Eileen Mary Challans (4 September 1905 – 13 December 1983), known by her pen name Mary Renault ("She always pronounced it 'Ren-olt', though almost everyone would come to speak of her as if she were a French car." ), was an English writer best ...
, , '' The Bull from the Sea'', , N.P. van Wyk Louw
Nicolaas Petrus van Wyk Louw (11 June 1906 in Sutherland, Cape Colony – 18 June 1970 in Johannesburg), almost universally known as N.P. van Wyk Louw, was an Afrikaans-language poet, playwright and scholar. He was the older brother of Afrikaans ...
, , ''Tristia: en ander verse voorspeleren vlugte''
, -
, 1961, , Siegfried Stander, , ''The Desert Place'', , Chris Barnard
Christiaan Neethling Barnard (8 November 1922 – 2 September 2001) was a South African cardiac surgeon who performed the world's first human-to-human heart transplant operation. On 3 December 1967, Barnard transplanted the heart of accident-v ...
, , ''Bekende onrus''
, -
See also
* Alan Paton Award
The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the South African weekly newspaper the ''Sunday Times''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' ...
* Amstel Playwright of the Year Award
The Amstel Playwright of the Year Award, an independent non-governmental prize, was launched in South Africa in 1978. It recognised South African playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is ...
* Hertzog Prize
The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature a ...
* W.A. Hofmeyr Prize
Notes
9 From the menu for the CNA Literary Awards for 1986
South African literary awards
South African literary events
Awards disestablished in 1996
1996 disestablishments in South Africa