Trevor Noah wins another prize, this time from SA booksellers

SA comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah

SA comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah has millions of fans around the world but did you know he is also a favourite among booksellers? Picture: Mario Anzuoni/Reuters

Published Oct 1, 2020

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Cape Town - SA comedian and host of The Daily Show Trevor Noah has millions of fans around the world but did you know he is also a favourite among booksellers?

Noah was indisputably the overall winner at this year’s SA Book Awards, receiving the highest number of votes for the child adaptation of his best-selling autobiography Born a Crime.

On receiving the news he said “This book was my blood, sweat and tears. It was my family’s story and my country’s story”.

As well as the being the overall winner, Noah also won the Children’s Prize.

He said: “Writing a book was a very scary experience but turning the book into a book specifically for kids was even more scary because children have a very short attention span if your book is boring!”

Noah went on to thank all the kids who read the book, the parents who read the book with their children and the teachers who recommended the book to their students.

He also praise South African authors, saying they have the most amazing and inspirational stories to tell, encouraging them to continue writing them down so they can be shared with the rest of the world.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the winners of this year’s SA Book Awards were announced on Thursday as part of a special virtual Ceremony hosted by SABA, sponsored by Nielsen Book and supported by PASA.

Over the last 20 years the awards have recognised books written and published in South Africa, as voted for by South African booksellers, and recent winners have included Sam Beckbessinger, Jacques Pauw and Sally Andrew.

This year a record number of booksellers voted for their favourite titles, in three categories, from a shortlist of bestselling titles published in South Africa and written by South African authors, as measured by Nielsen BookScan South Africa in 2019.

The Adult Fiction prize was won by Jackie Phamotse, a self-published author, for her book Bare: The Cradle of the Hockey Club. Phamotse described winning the award as an honour, thanking everyone who has supported her over the years.

The Adult Non-Fiction prize was won by Pieter du Toit for Stellenbosch Mafia. Du Toit thanked the booksellers and book dealers for all their hard work ensuring that books are available to the South African public, also praising them for continuing to encourage reading and the pursuit of writing.

The shortlist for SA Book Awards 2020 – Adult Fiction Title were:

* Death on the Limpopo by Sally Andrew

The shortlist for SA Book Awards 2020 – Adult Non-Fiction Title were:

* Dit proe soos huis by Herman Lensing

* Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashul by Pieter-Louis Myburgh

* Betting on a Darkie by Mteto Nyati

* Stellenbosch Mafia by Pieter Du Toit

The shortlist for SA Book Awards 2020 – Children’s Title (Fiction and Non-Fiction):

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