2021 Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards: Conversations with Shortlisted Nonfiction Writers

Curating the nonfiction interviews for the inaugural 2021 Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards this year has been such a great pleasure. This was partly because I got to enjoy reading three wonderful, engaging and unique pieces, and partly because I got to talk and delve deeper into them by conversing with the skillful hands, minds and hearts behind them: Natasha, Frowin, and Ndakolute.

What is particularly exceptional about this shortlist is not only how genuine the three skillfully crafted pieces are, or how they make the reader feel like part of the experiences told in them, but also how they are all the first personal pieces by these three writers to be submitted and shared with the whole world. This is an experience that they testified to have empowered them and made them desire to share more personal stories, while encouraging others to do the same with their own stories.

This shortlist is also a testament to the hard work the editors of the magazine have been doing in both supporting Namibian creative workers as well as showcasing them and their craft to the world.

Conversations with the writers shortlisted for the nonfiction category of the 2021 Bank Windhoek Doek Literary Awards will be shared here, at Africa in Dialogue, a day at a time, from the 25th to the 27th of November 2021.

Below are the names of the shortlisted writers in the nonfiction category, as well as the titles and links to their amazing pieces:

Frowin Becker — Is There A Doctorate In The House?

Ndakolute Ndilula — Auralgraph: Spice In The Wind.

Natasha Uys — Ouma Sofie’s Gold.

These interviews were conducted prior to the announcement of the winners. Read about the winners of the awards here.