Literary award · South Africa · since 1914

Hertzog Prize

South-African award for literature, specifically in the Afrikaans language. Established 1914 in South Africa.

About Hertzog Prize

The Hertzog Prize (or Hertzogprys) is an annual award given to Afrikaans writers by the Suid-Afrikaanse Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns (South African Academy for the Sciences and Art), formerly the South African Academy for Language, Literature and Arts (Zuid-Afrikaanse Akademie voor Wetenschap, Letteren en Kunst). It is the most prestigious prize in Afrikaans literature. The prize was first established in 1914 as part of the Tweede Taalbeweging ("Second Language Movement"); its first winner was Totius for his 1915 poetry collection Trekkerswee (Trekkers' Grief). The prize is awarded in the categories of poetry, prose, and drama, and was previously awarded in the category of scientific writing.

From the Wikipedia article “Hertzog Prize”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
1998Elsa Joubert—
1977Wilma Stockenström—
1971Elisabeth Eybers—
1960Jacobus Daniël du Toit—
1953Maria Elizabeth Rothmann—
1917Jochem van Bruggen—
—Reza de Wet—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Hertzog Prize for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data