Winner of the City Press/Tafelberg Nonfiction Award 2019 announced

City Press and Tafelberg are proud to announce that the winner of the City Press/Tafelberg Nonfiction Award for 2019 is Nandipha Gantsho for her manuscript, Throw Madam from the Train.

Tafelberg received over 120 entries and of those the shortlisted titles include:

• Throw Madam from the Train by Nadipha Gantsho, which addresses the ideas of identity, race and the evolution of the education landscape in South Africa;
  
  
• Requiem for a Joller by Harry Kalmer, about the life story of Afrikaner anti-apartheid activist Marius Schoon;
  
  
• At the chalk-face by Sara Black, which looks at the struggles within the education system as she outlines her first-hand experience as a maths teacher;
  
  
• Dennis Brutus by Tyrone August, the biography of the poet and political activist;
  
  
• Patient 12A by Lesedi Molefi, about his first-hand experience battling mental illness.

In the end, and after a tough debate, the choice came down to two titles: Throw Madam from the Train by Nandipha Gantsho which addresses the ideas of identity, race and the evolution of the education landscape in South Africa; and Patient 12A by Lesedi Molefi, about mental illness and the stigmas that often go with it.

Both these fresh literary voices address issues which are extremely pertinent to South African society.

The winner, Throw Madam from the Train, was chosen for its writing style, depth of insight, and its contributions in highlighting issues in the vital field of education.

Previous winners of the City Press/Non-fiction award are:
2016 Sizwe Mpofu-Walsh – Democracy and Delusion, published in 2017;
2013 Don Pinnock – Gang Town, published in 2016;
2012 Maria Phalime - Postmortem, published in 2014 and shortlisted for the Alan Paton Award.

City Press and Tafelberg, an imprint of NB Publishers, are in partnership to invest in non-fiction authors. The award is given to an author to fund the research and writing of a non-fiction book on a subject of importance in the South African context.

• Article provided by NB Publishers