The Cape Flats has always had talented storytellers and these writers have been recognised by Shofar Books at a special awards ceremony held over the weekend.
The first Cape Flats Literary Awards was held on Saturday at the Krystal Beach Hotel in Gordon’s Bay where Shofar Books, aka Tshienda Publications based in Kuils River, hosted the prestigious event.
Ninety local authors from Cape Town, Paarl and Gqeberha were nominated.
The winners included Strandfontein’s Stanley Jacobs from Cape Flats Stories, who won the award for Best Novel in Afrikaaps, Michelle Ohlsson from Mitchells Plain who won a Contribution to Literary Arts award for her book Without A Trace: The Matthew Ohlsson Story, and Robyn le Roux, for her poetry collection Daddy Issues.
Stanley tells the Daily Voice: “I never expected this, it’s an exciting experience, this gives me the motivation to write again after I have been on a writing break. I’m blessed.”
Mom Michelle Ohlson says writing a book about her nine-year-old son Matthew who went missing in 1997 was a cathartic experience.
“Receiving this award is awesome, to be acknowledged for my book, is an overwhelming feeling. Haroldene worked on my book in 2021 and it was a milestone moment for me when I sent her the pages of my book and she turned it into something so amazing.”
Founder of Shofar Books, Haroldene Tshienda, says: “This initiative was birthed when I received an award at the Cultural Affairs Awards 2016/17 for Contribution to Literary Arts.
“I felt compelled to extend and grow this seed because I believe we have so much talent but we don’t always have the right person who can help us in the right direction.
“I have helped hundreds of self-published authors to publish their work. However, there’s not enough or almost no platforms to help them grow in literature.
“I have experienced and noticed literary artists are underpaid, overlooked, undermined and do not receive enough recognition for their talents and work.