The ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards are awarded annually to South African writers by the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

n weekly newspaper the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. They comprise the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Non-fiction and the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Award for Fiction, and are awarded for full-length non-fiction works and novels, respectively. Both winners receive R100 000.

Ivan Vladislavic Ivan Vladislavić (born 17 September 1957) is a South African novelist, essayist and editor. Vladislavić's style has been described as Postmodern literature, postmodern, innovative, humorous and unpredictable. He has won numerous awards includin ...

is the only person to have won both the fiction and the non-fiction award.

History of the Awards

Originally established in 1989, the Alan Paton Award was conferred annually for meritorious works of non-fiction. It aimed to reward books presenting "the illumination of truthfulness, especially those forms of it that are new, delicate, unfashionable and fly in the face of power," and demonstrating "compassion, elegance of writing, and intellectual and moral integrity." The award was named for

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'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Wa ...

, the famous South African author of ''

Cry, The Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher B ...

'' (1948). In 2001, a companion award for fiction was established, the ''Sunday Times'' Fiction Prize. The criteria stipulate that the winning novel should be one of "rare imagination and style... a tale so compelling as to become an enduring landmark of contemporary fiction." The prize was restructured in 2015 when fiction and non-fiction awards were brought together as the ''Sunday Times'' Literary Awards; the money for each prize was increased, from R75 000 to R100 000, and the Fiction Prize was renamed the Barry Ronge Fiction Prize in honour of Barry Ronge, a renowned South African journalist who was one of the founders of the awards. In 2020, there was a one-year hiatus due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic. However, the awards recommenced in 2021 with a new sponsor, CNA, a South African retail chain of stationery shops, and are now known as the ''Sunday Times'' CNA Literary Awards.Submissions for 2021 Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards now open"
/ref> This sponsorship arrangement followed the acquisition of CNA from "embattled" parent company Edcon in February 2020. In 2021, books published between 1 December 2018 and 1 December 2020 were eligible.

Fiction winners

Non-fiction winners

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunday Times CNA Literary Awards 1989 establishments in South Africa 2001 establishments in South Africa Awards established in 1989 Awards established in 2001 South African fiction awards Non-fiction literary awards South African literary awards