Jewish female authors on literary award list

PETA KROST MAUNDER

“I woke up on Sunday morning to find a lot of Facebook messages and alerts saying that The Season of Glass had been longlisted,” says Rahla Xenopoulos, who recently emigrated to the United States. “I was sad not to be in Cape Town, but my brother and sister-in-law were staying at us for Pesach and it was nice to be together.”

Says Nechama Brodie, “I saw someone post about it on Twitter. They included a picture, and I saw my book cover there.”

And Mandy Wiener says, “I found out on Twitter like I find out about most things, to be honest. I know it was printed in the Sunday Times, but I generally look at the headlines on social media and see what’s trending before I get a chance to go through the newspapers on a Sunday. Funnily enough, I actually saw Nechama’s post on Twitter, and that’s how I knew about it.”

Xenopoulos’s book The Season of Glass, Brodie’s novel Knucklebone, and Wiener’s Ministry of Crime: An Underworld Explored were celebrated in this newspaper when they launched a year ago. Now, all three are in the running for South Africa’s top literary award.

As to how they feel about having their book on this list, Xenopoulos says, “This is the first really ‘Jewish’ book I’ve ever written. I wrote it because I wanted to learn more about the diversity, history, and spirituality of Judaism. I think that given the rising horror of anti-Semitism in South Africa and the world, it is particularly meaningful for me that this book, being unashamedly Jewish, is accepted and recognised.”

Wiener and Brodie have had books on the list before, but says Wiener, “It’s always great to have your work recognised, and to be on a list such as this one is a lovely accolade. I’m very fortunate to have had two of my three previous books shortlisted for the Alan Paton [Award] and I’m grateful to be in the running again.”

Says Brodie, “Being on the Sunday Times list is great. Two of my non-fiction books, The Joburg Book and Rule of Law with Glynnis Breytenbach, have been longlisted for the Alan Paton [non-fiction] before, but this is the first time I have been included as a fiction writer, which is a wonderful thing.”

Just what would it mean to win the award?

Says Xenopoulos, “It’s funny, my husband walks out the front door, and someone somewhere throws an award at him. He’s that guy. Myself, not so much. I never even won the egg-and-spoon race at school. I’m super surprised that it is on the list, but really, I’m not expecting much more.”

“I would love to win it this time around,” says Wiener. “But there are other fantastic authors and books on the longlist this year, so it will be a real challenge. I do think that awards are so subjective. It depends what the panel’s criteria is, so it’s all relative. Still holding thumbs though!”

Says Brodie, “I think it would be great to see genre fiction take the prize. South African writers are writing some excellent, unusual stories that touch on sci fi, fantasy… and we’re the perfect location for a detective thriller. I need to catch up on reading more of the long list – I have Imraan [Coovadia] and Sue [Grant-Marshall’s] books – before I can tell you who I think should win. But it’s lovely to see such a rich mix of fiction being produced here.”

But, they would all agree with Xenopoulos in that the joy is in the writing. “It’s lovely to have something like this recognised, but writing is about being on a journey to learn more, to explore foreign lands and people,” she says. “To listen to and to tell stories. I fiercely believe in the process of writing. Lists and launches are fun, but they’re not what will get me through the arduous hours of writing.”