A young author from Zikhovane village near Tsomo in the former Transkei has been shortlisted for a Caine prize for African Writing.
Lidudumalingani Mqombothi, the only South African among the five writers nominated for his short story Memories We Lost, is in the running alongside Nigeria’s Lesley Nneka Arimah and Tope Folarin, Zimbabwean writer Bongani Kona and Kenyan author Abdul Adan.
Previous South Africa Caine prize winners include Wole Soyinka and JM Coetzee.
Mqombothi said the news of his achievement came at a time he was not on the best of terms with his writing and believes it will be the boost he needs.
“The Caine Prize is the biggest award for short stories from Africa, at least one with the most interest, so this is important in allowing my writing to be fa miliar with a wider audience.
“It is a little overwhelming to be shortlisted and I am quite honoured to have made the shortlist,” he said, adding that his publisher Two Dogs, a division of Burnet Media, and the editor of the anthology, Joanne Hichens, entered him into the competition where the winner stands to take home over R200000.
He added: “Finishing anything one writes, even if it is later deleted and never gets published, is an achievement on its own.”
He said the short story was about mental illness, but that other themes come into play in the way that all stories have layers to them.
He said this was either incidental or as a result of the story needing them.
“The story was not inspired by one thing. It was a succession of things, conversations with friends, things I was reading at the time, the memory of how mental illness is spoken about and dealt with in the villages,” he said.
Mqombothi said he remembers agonising over what the title of the story should be.
“But in the end sense won over the other titles which were a little obscure and even ridiculous. Forgetting, erasing and altering memory is at the centre of the story.”
The 30-year-old, who has published non-fiction work online, said that growing up he was convinced that he would be a radio personality.
He studied Versatile Broadcasting at Border Technikon but later found writing and filmmaking. He then started writing poetry and went to film school.
Mqombothi said he had no desire to enter the literature industry, but that “I am simply interested in writing stories that I think deserve to be written or come to me and share them. I have no other agenda, only to write and share.” — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
SA writer on Caine shortlist
Lidudumalingani Mqombothi, the only South African among the five writers nominated for his short story Memories We Lost, is in the running alongside Nigeria’s Lesley Nneka Arimah and Tope Folarin, Zimbabwean writer Bongani Kona and Kenyan author Abdul Adan.
Previous South Africa Caine prize winners include Wole Soyinka and JM Coetzee.
Mqombothi said the news of his achievement came at a time he was not on the best of terms with his writing and believes it will be the boost he needs.
“The Caine Prize is the biggest award for short stories from Africa, at least one with the most interest, so this is important in allowing my writing to be fa miliar with a wider audience.
“It is a little overwhelming to be shortlisted and I am quite honoured to have made the shortlist,” he said, adding that his publisher Two Dogs, a division of Burnet Media, and the editor of the anthology, Joanne Hichens, entered him into the competition where the winner stands to take home over R200000.
He added: “Finishing anything one writes, even if it is later deleted and never gets published, is an achievement on its own.”
He said the short story was about mental illness, but that other themes come into play in the way that all stories have layers to them.
He said this was either incidental or as a result of the story needing them.
“The story was not inspired by one thing. It was a succession of things, conversations with friends, things I was reading at the time, the memory of how mental illness is spoken about and dealt with in the villages,” he said.
Mqombothi said he remembers agonising over what the title of the story should be.
“But in the end sense won over the other titles which were a little obscure and even ridiculous. Forgetting, erasing and altering memory is at the centre of the story.”
The 30-year-old, who has published non-fiction work online, said that growing up he was convinced that he would be a radio personality.
He studied Versatile Broadcasting at Border Technikon but later found writing and filmmaking. He then started writing poetry and went to film school.
Mqombothi said he had no desire to enter the literature industry, but that “I am simply interested in writing stories that I think deserve to be written or come to me and share them. I have no other agenda, only to write and share.” — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos