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 Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. 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 gra ...

. 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. {, class="wikitable" !align="center" colspan="1" , , , align="center" colspan="2" , English Prize , , align="center" colspan="2" , Afrikaans Prize , - !align="center", Year , , Recipient , , Title , , Recipient , , Title , - , 1996, ,

Sarah Ruden Sarah Elizabeth Ruden is an American writer of poetry, essays, translations of Classic literature, and popularizations of Biblical philology, religious criticism and interpretation. Early life Sarah Ruden was born in Ohio in 1962 and raised i ...

, , ''Other Places'', , , , , - , 1995, , Margaret McCord, , ''The Calling of Katie Makanye'', , , , , - , 1994, , , , , , Karel Schoeman, , ''Hierdie Lewe'' , - , 1993, , Nelson Mandela, , ''

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, , ''The Beautiful Screaming of Pigs'', , , , , - , 1991, , , , , , John Miles, , '' Kroniek uit die Doofpot: Polisieroman'' , - , 1990, , Nadine Gordimer, , '' My Son's Story'', , , , , - , 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 19 ...

, , 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 John Maxwell Coetzee OMG (born 9 February 1940) is a South African–Australian novelist, essayist, linguist, translator and recipient of the 2003 Nobel Prize in Literature. He is one of the most critically acclaimed and decorated authors in ...

, , Life and Times of Michael K , ,

Breyton 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 ...

, , ''(YK): Die vierde bundel van die ongedanste dans'' , - , 1982, , André Brink, , '' A Chain of Voices'', ,

Elisabeth Eybers Elisabeth Françoise Eybers (26 February 1915 – 1 December 2007) was a South African poet. Her poetry was mainly in Afrikaans, although she translated some of her own work (and those of others) into English. Eybers was born in Klerksdorp, ...

, , Bestand , - , 1981, , Nadine Gordimer, , ''

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, ,

, , ''

Waiting for the Barbarians ''Waiting for the Barbarians'' is a novel by the South African writer J. M. Coetzee. First published in 1980, it was chosen by Penguin for its series '' Great Books of the 20th Century'' and won both the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and Geo ...

'', , No award , , , - , 1979, , Nadine Gordimer, , ''

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 Sout ...

'', , D.J. Opperman, , ''Komas Uit 'N Bamboesstok'' , - , 1978, , André Brink, , ''

Rumours of Rain ''Rumours of Rain'' (Afrikaans: ''Gerugte van Reen'') is a South African novel by André Brink, published in 1978. It was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. It is set on a South African farm during apartheid. Plot summary Martin, the narrator, a ...

'', ,

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, ,

, , ''

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 ...

'', ,

, , 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, , ''

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, , ''Apartheid and the archbishop: The life and times of Geoffrey Clayton, Archbishop of Cape Town'', ,

, , Kruis of Munt , - , 1972, ,

Sheila Meiring Fugard Sheila Meiring Fugard (born 1932 in England) is a writer of short stories and plays and the ex-wife of South African playwright Athol Fugard. Personal history Born in Birmingham, England in 1932, Sheila Meiring moved with her parents to South A ...

, , ''The Castaways'', , Karel Schoeman , , Na die Geliefde Land , - , 1971, , Jack Cope , , The Rain Maker , ,

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 , , , ,

, , ''Kouevuur'' , - , 1968, , Siegfried Stander, , ''The Horse'', ,

, , ''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'', ,

, , ''Die huis van die dowe'' , - , 1966, , Thelma Gutsche, , ''No Ordinary Woman'', ,

Henriette Grové Hester Henriette Grové(née Venter) (September 26, 1922 - December 15, 2009) was a South African writer of African origin. She was married to the literary critic A.P. Grové. She is best known for her short stories and her plays. She is one o ...

, , ''Jaarringe'' , - , 1965, ,

Godfrey LeMay Godfrey Hugh Lancelot Lemay (1919–2012) was a tutor and Emeritus Fellow at Worcester College, University of Oxford, and a former Dean of History at Worcester College. His focus area was modern British history. Born in South Africa, LeMay's fami ...

, , ''British Supremacy in South Africa, 1899–1907'', , André Brink, , ''Olé'' , - , 1964, , Alan Paton, , ''Hofmeyr'', ,

, , ''Een vir Azazel'' , - , 1963, ,

, , ''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 ''The Bull from the Sea'' is the sequel to Mary Renault's ''The King Must Die''. It continues the story of the Greek mythology, mythological hero Theseus after his return from Crete. Plot introduction The story is a retelling of the life of m ...

'', ,

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'', ,

, , ''Bekende onrus'' , -

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

Past winners (incomplete list)

See also

Notes