Media24 Books Literary Awards

メディア24 ブックス文学賞

Annual South African literary awards hosted by Media24, comprising multiple categories. Targets books published by Media24 affiliate publishers, with prize money awarded to winners in each category.

Novel/FictionPoetryNonfictionChildren's literatureYoung AdultEnglish LiteratureAfrikaans Literature

Established: 0
Organizer: Media24
Category: Children's Literature, Fairy Tales, and Picture Books
Selection Method: Open call
Target: Open
Frequency: 1 per year
Announcement Period: around June
Status: Active

Description

Media24 Books Literary Awards (formerly Via Afrika Awards, previously Nasboek Literary Awards) is a suite of literary awards annually hosted by South African publisher Media24 (Naspers group). Eligible submissions are books published by Media24 Books affiliates (NB Publishers, Jonathan Ball Publishers, LuxVerbi-BM, NVA, Van Schaik Publishers, etc.). The awards consist of five main categories: W.A. Hofmeyr Prize (Afrikaans literature), Herman Charles Bosman Prize (English literature), Recht Malan Prize (nonfiction), MER Prizes (children's and young adult categories each), Elisabeth Eybers Prize (poetry), with each prize worth R35,000 (South African Rand). From 2004–2014, the Jan Rabie Rapport Prize was announced at the same event, and until 2010, the M-Net Literary Awards were also presented simultaneously. In 2020, criticism arose regarding the lack of diversity among judges and winners.

Prize

Main Prize: Prize money awarded to the winner in each category (R35,000 per category)
Cash Prize: 35,000 ZAR

Publicity from shortlist inclusion
Recognition at the awards ceremony

Selection

Selection Process

Stage	Judges	Pass Rate	Announcement
Eligibility verification	Verification of submission requirements (publication date, publisher, etc.) by publisher representatives and organizers	—	Eligible works advance to judging (typically no public announcement)
Shortlist selection	Category-specific judges (writers, academics, editors, etc.)	—	Shortlist published via Media24 and media outlets (e.g., around May)
Final judging and winner selection	Category judges or joint panel (e.g., 18 judges in total in 2020)	—	Winners announced at the ceremony and via Media24's official channels (e.g., around June)

Eligibility verification

Judges Verification of submission requirements (publication date, publisher, etc.) by publisher representatives and organizers

Announcement Eligible works advance to judging (typically no public announcement)

Shortlist selection

Judges Category-specific judges (writers, academics, editors, etc.)

Announcement Shortlist published via Media24 and media outlets (e.g., around May)

Final judging and winner selection

Judges Category judges or joint panel (e.g., 18 judges in total in 2020)

Announcement Winners announced at the ceremony and via Media24's official channels (e.g., around June)

Criteria

Literary excellence and quality of expression
Innovation and boundary-pushing qualities (especially W.A. Hofmeyr Prize)
Depth of research and originality (nonfiction categories like Recht Malan Prize)
Quality of visual expression and harmony with text in children's and illustrated books (MER Prizes)
Overall quality as a published work (editing, proofreading, design)
Eligibility: Must be published by a Media24 affiliate publisher

Application Tips

Dos

Confirm in advance that the submitted work was published by a Media24 affiliate publisher
Thoroughly proofread and edit the book, and prepare submission materials properly
Submit in a format suitable for the relevant category (English/Afrikaans/children's books, etc.)
Clearly convey the work's uniqueness and contributions in the summary or recommendation letter

Don''ts

Do not submit incomplete or insufficiently proofread manuscripts
Do not submit works from publishers or editions that do not meet eligibility requirements
Do not infringe copyrights, such as by imitating others' works

From Judges

Emphasis on literary polish and clarity of expression
In nonfiction categories, depth of research and source reliability are crucial
Children's books are evaluated on harmony between text and illustrations, and suitability for the target age group