UJ Prize

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Announcement of Winners for the 2023 UJ Prize.

Prize Winners poster

Morabo Morojele

Main Prize: Three Egg Dilemma

Jarred Thompson

Debut Prize: The Institute for Creative Dying

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) Prize for South African Writing, also known as the UJ Prize, is now open for submissions for books published in 2024. The UJ Prize is open exclusively to South African authors or foreign authors who have resided in South Africa for at least six months while writing their book.

The UJ Prize was established in 2006 for South African writers regardless of whether they have a connection with the university or not. The latest recipients of the prize are Morabo Morojele, awarded R75,000 as the main prize winner for Three Egg Dilemma, and Jarred Thompson, who received R45,000 for the debut prize with his novel The Institute for Creative Dying. Previous winners include C.A. Davids, Mandla Langa, Jacob Dlamini, Rešoketšwe Manenzhe, Gabeba Baderoon, and Zakes Mda, among others.

The UJ Prize is open to books published in English language and has two categories: the Main Prize and the Debut Prize. Publishers must specify whether they are entering for the Main Prize or the Debut Prize. The winning entry will join the illustrious list of prominent authors who have won the prize since its establishment in 2006.

 

Genre

The UJ Prize not genre specific – publishers can submit novels, short story collections, volumes of poetry, biographies or any form of creative fiction and non-fiction books. Our intention is to be as inclusive as possible and open opportunities to a wide variety of books with literary merit. We trust our panel of judges to do a fair and thorough evaluation of submitted texts and select the best books.

 

Important dates

  • Only books published in 2024 (1 January to 31 December 2024) may be entered.
  • The closing date for submissions is 28 February 2025
  • The shortlist will be announced not later than 31 August 2025

 

Not Qualifying Entries

The UJ Prize does not accept entries that are:

  • Unpublished manuscripts or self-published books
  • Books translated into English by someone other than the author
  • Not written by a South African author
  • Not written by a South African author or an author not resident in South Africa over the text’s construction and publication.
  • Not published during the 2024 calendar year

 

How to submit

Publishers are required to submit eight (8) copies of each title they want to enter for the award along with the attached UJ Prize Entry Form. The UJ Prize Entry Form must be signed by both the publisher and the author and enclosed in the same package with the submitted books. Publishers who wish to submit entries for the UJ prize for works published in 2024 should send all submissions to the address below:

 

By courier

Ms Dikeledi Seranyane

University of Johannesburg
English Department
B-Ring 713
Kingsway Road
Auckland Park
Johannesburg

Tel. 011-5592063

Closing Date

The Closing date for submissions for 2024 is 28 February 2025.

For media enquiries and more information, please contact the UJ Prize coordinator,

Dr Siphiwo Mahala via email: siphiwom@uj.ac.za