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Two prizes for debut SA wrtier

11.08.08

New York-based writer Ceridwen Dovey has picked up two South African literary awards in the same weekend. Dovey, who grew up in South Africa and Australia, won the 2008 Sunday Times Fiction Prize and the 2007 University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing for her debut novel Blood Kin (Penguin South Africa).

The Sunday Times judges described Blood Kin as "brilliantly conceived, and stylistically impeccable". Shaun de Waal, one of the judges of the 2007 University of Johannesburg Prize for Creative Writing, said the book was "an intriguing and stimulating novel in a 'fabular' style."

Alison Lowry, chief executive of Penguin South Africa, added: "Ceridwen is a writer of exceptional talent and skill. To have been awarded two literary prizes with this her debut novel is an achievement indeed. I couldn’t be more delighted for her and I feel privileged that Penguin SA was able to be instrumental in giving her a platform right at the beginning of her literary career." Dovey is currently doing a PhD in Anthropology at NYU in New York.

The book is published in the UK by Atlantic Books.

International Penguin South Africa Atlantic Books Prize

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