The University of Johannesburg Prize for South African Writing (UJ Prize) in English is pleased to announce the winners for both the Debut and the Main Prize categories.
This follows a rigorous adjudication process, in which five judges drawn from three universities evaluated a wide range of books published in 2025. This year’s adjudication panel was comprised of the following members:
- Prof Nedine Moonsamy (Chair), University of Johannesburg
- Prof Sikhumbuzo Mngadi, University of Johannesburg
- Prof Marzia Milazzo, University of Johannesburg
- Prof Rebecca Fasselt, University of Pretoria
- Dr Wisani Mushwana, University of Cape Town
The UJ Prize is open to published South African works in English across genres. This has been an exciting year for the prize. The winners have been selected from a large number of remarkable entries in both categories.
Commenting on the process, Prof Nedine Moonsamy, Chair of the Judges, remarked, “The quality of submissions was exceptionally high and offered a reassuring view of the contemporary South African literary landscape. As usual, we have read across genres to select our winners.”
The 2026 UJ Prize winners are as follows:
Debut Prize Winner:
The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women by Michelle Kekana
The judges were unanimous in their decision that The Fragile Mental Health of Strong Women is a striking debut worthy of this year’s award. The novel offers a raw and refreshing portrait of Black South African women with luminous, experimental profundity.
Main Prize Winner
This year, one work emerged as the uncontested main prize winner:
Griefseed by Malika Lueen Ndlovu
Combining poems, reflections, essays, and images, Malika Ndlovu’s Griefseed is an extraordinary collection on grief that moves, empowers, and ultimately heals.
Jury member Marzia Milazzo said, “Ndlovu reminds us that grief must be expressed and invites us, as she writes, to ‘Let the wound weep.”
All three nominees in each category will receive certificates of recognition. Congratulations to the winners and the nominees.
