06 July 2016 Volume :4 Issue :30

UKZN Academic Wins Sunday Times Literary Award

From left: Alan Paton award winner Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola; Sunday Times Editor, Mr Bongani Siqoko; Dr Nkosinathi Sithole and Advocate Thuli Madonsela.

UKZN’s School of Arts academic Dr Nkosinathi Sithole has won the 2016 Barry Ronge Sunday Times Fiction Award for his debut novel Hunger Eats a Man.

Sithole received the accolade and a R100 000 cash prize at the 2016 Sunday Times Literary Awards function in Johannesburg.

Sithole, who has a PhD in English Studies and lectures at UKZN, said: ‘I want to say thanks to the many people who made Hunger Eats a Man possible. Sadly, these are the people who are suffering, the people who are living in poverty. I think, right now, that maybe I should be dedicating the award to them but I know they would rather have the money than the dedication.

‘There are no words to describe what I am feeling right now, and what I felt when I was announced the winner. It was amazing, unbelievable. I am very grateful and humbled. While I am happy that my first novel has won this prestigious award, I also see it as a very big challenge for my next book. I know that it will be judged against Hunger Eats a Man, and that is now a really worrying challenge.’

He advised other emerging South African writers to ‘keep on writing and rewriting. Don’t censor yourself and don’t expect to write an award-winning novel. In other words, don’t set your standards too high. You can always polish your work later on.’

At the event, Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela congratulated all the writers in the Sunday Times Literary Awards, saying their writing showed courage.

Sithole’s book, which is available in both isiZulu and English, is set in the village of Ndlalidlindoda (translated as Hunger Eats a Man) in KwaZulu-Natal and highlights the ongoing plight of many rural South Africans and the power of a community working together to bring about change.

The Acting Dean and Head of the School of Arts, Professor Donal McCracken, said: ‘The literary, creative and performing arts are the soul of any university, so we are especially delighted by the news of this award. Dr Sithole’s achievement illustrates that within academia there is a relevant consciousness of society, its concerns and its problems?. Dr Sithole is to be warmly congratulated.’

Sithole urged everyone to read his book as he believes it is relevant to the situation in South Africa. ‘It is written in a humorous tone so that it does not become too bleak as it deals with disturbing facts about our lives,’ he said.

The book is available from all major bookstores and online stores for R230.

Melissa Mungroo

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