SA PEN Interviews the 2011 PEN/Studzinski Literary Award Winners

James Whyle – 1st prize – “The Story”

PEN: How did you hear about the 2011 PEN/Studzinski Literary award and what motivated you to enter?

JW: I heard about it from a sailor called Pierre van Rooyen on a strange competitive writing website called Authonomy. I’d written a first draft of “The Story” some months before and I wanted to work on it and give it its chance in the world. I had my eye out for competitions because a short story competition seemed as good a bet as anything else. The PEN/Studzinski Award had no entrance fee, substantial prizes, stories were read without author names, and the winners were chosen by JM Coetzee. It seemed a long shot, but one that had to be taken.

PEN: Do have any plans regarding how to spend your winnings?

JW: The winnings have long since disappeared into the hole called the bond.

PEN: How do you think your win will change your writing life (or perhaps has already changed your life)?

JW: One cannot speak for the future, but the prize seems to be providing a crucial secure belay on a dangerously exposed first-route traverse out of television hack couloir onto the vertical ice fields of Mount Mystery.

PEN: What were your impressions of the winner’s announcement held at The Book Lounge, Cape Town, in May?

JW: Hilary Mantel writes very well about this. The announcement itself was startling. Margie Orford was a charming and gracious MC. Ben Williams has an extraordinary William Gibson jacket. The man is wired in. He takes pictures of you with his cell phone and the results appear instantly on the internet. In my case the results were appalling. It was all very warm and civilized but organizers should understand that these events are profoundly terrifying for the competitors who might need a large amount of whisky and soda and a holiday in Mozambique before they are alright again.

PEN: What are you working on at the moment?

JW: An edit of a novel, tentatively titled The Book, an academic essay on Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian which is in danger of causing me to fail an MA in creative writing, and a television series.

PEN: Who is your favourite “literary person” and why?

JW: I’m in a McCarthy phase. I have a strong reaction to writers. Doris Lessing was crucial in the 80s. After I read Mailer’s Ancient Evenings I stopped reading novels for a long time because they all seemed petty in comparison. I just read Mailer’s non-fiction and South African history and travel writers like Johnathan Raban and Sara Wheeler and mountain climbing books like Touching the Void and Into Thin Air. I crept back into fiction via Annie Proulx’s short stories. Then some good friends introduced me to McCarthy and I read Blood Meridian.

PEN: What are you reading at the moment?

JW: David Sedaris. It’s helping a lot.

PEN: Any other comment?

JW: I’m deeply grateful, Deborah, to you, and Margie Orford and JM Coetzee and SA PEN and John Studzinski. The PEN/Studzinski Literary Award is a wonderful institution and it is important that it continues to thrive and to discover and grow Southern African writers.

Beth Hunt – 2nd prize – “Heatwave”

PEN: How did you hear about the 2011 PEN/Studzinski Literary award and what motivated you to enter?

BH: I was told about the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award through a friend who sent me the link. Earlier, I had written a short story which I realised, if rewritten into a tapestry of events in the context of an African theme, would fit the PEN profile and with this in mind, I set about to enter the competition.

PEN: Do have any plans regarding how to spend your winnings?

BH: My winnings went into transforming the interior décor of my bookshop***. I also purchased some wonderful books plus two comfy armchairs for my home, beautiful plants and other luxuries. Just the other day I bought a stunning new bookcase.

PEN: How do you think your win will change your writing life (or perhaps has already changed your life)?

BH: Being placed in the top three of this award has had a huge impact on my writing life. Shortly after the event, a journalist interviewed me and I was featured in a copy of the local Hermanus Times newspaper. I received so many compliments and accolades from friends as well as from those abroad and even people I did not know. I felt quite famous! The acknowledgement of my writing by Nobel Laureate, JM Coetzee, has added value to my sense of self as a writer and inspired me to take my passion for creative writing seriously and to place far more focus on discipline than on procrastination!

PEN: What were your impressions of the winner’s announcement held at The Book Lounge, Cape Town, in May?

BH: I enjoyed the launch held at The Book Lounge and thought Margie Orford’s presentation was professional and engaging. I loved the line she shared with us on there being a glimmer of intelligence noted in her assignment under the university tutorship of JM Coetzee. This comment made the reality of being awarded second place in the competition that much more unbelievable for me. Back at the guest house that evening, and far too excited to sleep, I read James Whyle’s “The Story” and certainly thought it was a winning piece.

PEN: What are you working on at the moment?

BH: I am writing a novel about a group of women and their relationships. I am also working on three poems and write articles for a local bi-monthly magazine.

PEN: Who is your favourite “literary person” and why?

BH: I have two literary mentors. I was introduced to Sylvia Plath through her poem, “The Mirror” in my first assignment at UNISA. From that moment I would never look at the English language in the same way again. She has inspired me to find my own voice. Later, I discovered the Canadian Poet Laureate, Leonard Cohen, whose poetry, lyrics and prophetic vision have made an indelible impression on me. I seldom sit down to write without first inserting one of his CDs into my computer. The genius of both these literary icons has been the catalyst for embarking on my own journey in writing.

PEN: What are you reading at the moment?

BH: Recently, I picked up a copy of Allan C Weisbecker’s Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? A writer’s memoir and a tale of a lost surfer’s paradise which I am enjoying immensely, not only for the storyline but also for the valuable observations Weisbecker makes about the writing process and his own experiences in the world of publishing. His style is shockingly raw and he pulls no punches. I am also reading Selected Poems by Rita Dove (Poet Laureate of USA 1993-1995), Deena Metzger’s Write For Your Life, while daily dipping into The Philosophy Book by DK and The Atlas of Literature edited by Malcolm Bradbury.

PEN: Any other comment?

BH: I found the PEN/Studzinski Literary Award to be highly professional and considerate in its communication with writers. This has not been my experience with well known publishing houses. The competition is a wonderful opportunity for any writer on the African continent to take up the challenge, write well and strive for a short story to be showcased in this anthology. I was always encouraged by that last line penned to the emails I received “Write! Africa! Write!”

*** Ed’s Note: Hemingway’s Bookshop is situated in Harbour Road, Hermanus and specialises in out-of-print, Africana and unusual books but does cover most genres.

William Oostuizen – 3rd prize – “The Ticket”

PEN: How did you hear about the 2011 PEN/Studzinski Literary award and what motivated you to enter?

WO: I saw a link to it on the SA Writer’s College website. I had just been awarded 2nd prize in their annual short story competition, so I was ready to enter another competition.

PEN: Do have any plans regarding how to spend your winnings?

WO: Let’s just say it was spent with abandon.

PEN: How do you think your win will change your writing life (or perhaps has already changed your life)?

WO: It gave me tremendous confidence to write some more. And I would like to think that the endorsement will open doors for me with publishers. If someone like JM Coetzee had something good to say (albeit that he took care to qualify his comments) it should encourage publishers to take notice.

PEN: What were your impressions of the winner’s announcement held at The Book Lounge, Cape Town, in May?

WO: A fun affair – Margie Orford was a pleasure as MC and the big crowd was a real surprise. Mr Studzinski would have been pleased.

PEN: What are you working on at the moment?

WO: More short stories (I hope to submit a volume of short stories to publishers early next year) and a radio drama.

PEN: Who is your favourite “literary person” and why?

WO: My favourite authors are probably Paul Auster (his early work) and Raymond Carver for his short fiction. But Chechov and Steinbeck are not far behind.

My all-time favourite literary character must be Edward X Delaney of the Deadly Sin series, written by Lawrence Sanders during the seventies and eighties – brooding, hulking, perceptive, and methodical, with a fair dose of melancholy thrown in, he is the ultimate investigator.

PEN: What are you reading at the moment?

WO: Fiction – The Chalk Circle Man by Fred Vargas, translated into English from French. It is a very different type of detective fiction, and I’m not sure I will see it through to the end.

Non-fiction – I am grinding my way through A history of the Modern World by Paul Johnson. It brims with information to the point where one can become saturated after a single page. But it is a marvellous read.

PEN: Any other comment?

WO: Another big thank you to Messrs Studzinski and Coetzee!

(Image courtesy Books LIVE)