Litnet

The Ingrid Jonker Prize for English poetry

(First volume of poetry with ISBN)

Poets or their publishers are invited to submit entries for the Ingrid Jonker Prize for English poetry in 2024.

Please download and complete the entry form and return it, together with three copies of the first volume of poetry published in 2022 or 2023, which qualify for submission (according to the set of rules of the prize) to:

The Ingrid Jonker Prize Committee, c/o Prof Marius Crous, Department of Languages and Literature, Nelson Mandela University, South Campus Office 4-401, University Way, Gqeberha, 6031

Please courier the books – not via ordinary mail. Please email the completed entry form to marius.crous@mandela.ac.za

Criteria to enter:

• Only poets who have South African citizenship, or poets who are based in South Africa and have either permanent residency or refugee status, will be eligible for the Ingrid Jonker Prize.
• A poet who has already published a volume of poetry in Afrikaans may not then submit a collection in English, and vice versa. Translations will not be eligible for the prize either.
• If, however, a writer has already published in other genres (prose or drama), and then publishes a first English or Afrikaans volume of poetry, he/she will be eligible for the Ingrid Jonker Prize.

The closing date for submissions is 20 June 2024 – no late submission will be accepted. The shortlist will be announced in July. The prize winner will be announced at the end of July. Information regarding the awarding of the prize will be available at a later stage, most probably in September in Wellington.

Also read:

Press release from the prize committee: Winner of the Ingrid Jonker Prize for English poetry 2022