South African, Msobe wins Soyinka Literary Prize

Sifizo Msobe's Young Blood

Sifizo Msobe, a South African beats Nigeria’s Prof Adimora Ezeigbo and Bridget Pitt of Zimbabwe to the Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa 2012. 

Msobe’s book titled Young Blood, won the writer $20,000 prize during the grand finale held at the ceremony held at the Civic Centre, Lagos yesterday night.

Ezeigbo’s is Roses and Bullet and Pitt’s The Unseen Leopard were the two other nominees that lost out.

 Mzobe was born in Umlazi Township, Durban, where he also went to school. After attending St Francis College, he studied Journalism at Damelin Business Campus in Durban.
  He works for a community newspaper in Durban as a journalist.
  

Published by Kwela Books in 2010, Msobe’s Young Blood won the prestigious Sunday Times Literary Award for best fiction The book is about organised crime set in Umlazi, Durban’s biggest town.

 The author, a first timer, attended St Francis College, and studied Journalism at the Damelin Business Campus in Durban.

 He recalls how his earliest writing memory dates back to when he was 13. 

Sifizo Msobe

  He says while doing Science subjects in high school, “ I read a lot of history books and had an affair with words”. 

 His debut, Young Blood appeared in the January 2011 issue of the ‘O’ Magazine, among the 'Top 20 Books of the Summer'.  The book was among only four thrillers that were chosen worldwide to make this notable list.  Young Blood was also listed in the “Sunday Independent's Top Ten Books Of 2010".

.

.