After lively debate, the judges agree on five titles that most reflect the prize's spirit and criteria, writes Tymon Smith

SOME frustrating editing, irritating idiosyncrasies and repetitive ruminations on the part of the authors of the entries for this year's Fiction Prize couldn't stop the judges from bringing a reassuring enthusiasm to their difficult task. Lively debates were engaged on all entries, each receiving a considered and equal opportunity to make it to the final five as the judges made their passion for local fiction evident. The five titles most reflect the spirit and criteria of the 10th edition of the prize.

JM Coetzee continued to demonstrate his mastery of craft and careful control with the third instalment of his boundary-pushing fictional memoirs in which a young biographer tries to uncover the story of his subject, the recently deceased writer John Coetzee, through the memories of those who knew him and the author's own diaries from 1972-1977.

Imraan Coovadia's third novel, taking a different direction from the gently comic explorations of his previous works, impressed the panel with its elegance and commitment to the exploration of middle-class Durban Indian communities and their struggles for identity and place in an all too quickly shifting democratic era.

Zinaid Meeran's debut novel also explored the world of local Indian communities, his story centering on a "curry Mafia princess" in Joburg and her tightrope walk between her different roles in a society trying to preserve its traditions in the face of encroaching materialism. Displaying a sophisticated, humorous style with an exceptional ear for dialogue, this European Union Literary Award winner was well received by the panel.

Kgebetli Moele's approach to the issue of HIV-Aids showed his development as a unique and rising talent and his second novel, The Book of the Dead. With a passion and anger that rises off the page, Moele continues to be a writer to watch.

Finally, poet and academic Sally- Ann Murray charmed and moved the panel with her debut novel, Small Moving Parts, about a young girl's childhood in working-class Durban during apartheid, a locale not often explored in local fiction. With a love of wordplay and a prose style full of delight in the possibilities of language, the book earned a fitting place on the shortlist.

With a choice of titles that reflect established and young voices and their contributions to the task of taking local fiction into the future, this year's shortlist is a proud demonstration of the literary strength of South African authors.

The Fiction-prize shortlist

• Summertime by JM Coetzee, Harvill Secker
• High low In-between by Imraan Coovadia, Umuzi
• Saracen at the Gate by Zinaid Meeran, Jacana
• The Book of the Dead by Kgebetli Moele, Kwela Books
• Small Moving Parts by Sally-Ann Murray, Kwela Books

What the judges said:

Victor Dlamini: Chairman of the Fiction Prize Judging Panel

"The shortlist for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize reflects the healthy state of South African fiction writing, as well as its diversity. None of the shortlisted books are alike in any way, neither in subject nor narrative style, yet they engage the reader fully, bringing a newness to South African fiction in ways that show our writers are exploring a rich well of sources - religion, family and community history, memory, sexuality, HIV - to weave fictional tapestries of the most compelling sort. The five novels are rewarding reads; they were the stand-out novels from the works in the longlist. As the panel of judges, we are pleased to announce them as the shortlist. Once again, South African fiction shows that it is in good hands as our fiction writers give us well-told South African fiction."