The Dinaane Debut Fiction Award â formerly the European Union Literary Award â is a South African literary award, open to permanent residents or citizens of South Africa and other southern African countries. The prize was first given in 2004 and was renamed in 2015. The word âÂÂdinaaneâ means âÂÂtelling our stories togetherâ in Setswana.
The prize is an initiative of the Jacana Literary Foundation (JLF), a not-for-profit organisation that seeks to promote and foster excellent writing from southern Africa, in partnership with Johannesburg-based publisher Jacana Media. External funding allows the JLF to publish and disseminate literature that might not otherwise be commercially viable.
The competition accepts debut, unpublished works of fiction (novel or novella). Authors must not have had a work of fiction formally published prior to the award. Self-published authors may apply, provided that the work has only been published online. Although the entries must be primarily in English, Jacana welcomes innovative writing that captures the multilingual African landscape. The winner is awarded R35 000 and a publishing contract from Jacana Media. In addition, the Kraak Writing Grant is awarded to an entrant whose manuscript showed great promise. The grant is valued at R25,000 and is dedicated to the memory of writer and human rights activist Gerald Kraak.
Other projects currently administered by the JLF are: