“Winning was a wonderful surprise,” said novelist Milton Schorr.
His very first novel Vreemde Vis the Afrikaans translation of his novel, Strange Fish, won the title Best Novel at last year’s South African (SA) Independent Publisher’s Awards as well as runner-up for best book overall.
Weslander previously reported on Milton Schorr’s debut novel Strange Fish set on the West Coast (“Actor writes local novel”, 26 August 2021). The book was translated by writer and poet Toast Coetzer. It took Schorr two years to complete Strange Fish and Coetzer five months to translate it.
Schorr said he was invited to submit the manuscript to the SA Independent Publishers Awards, which takes place at the Boekbedonnerd Festival in Richmond, Karoo every year.
“The manuscript was accepted and I travelled to the festival at the end of my IndieBookTour.”
Being a first-time novelist Schorr said he did not expect this win at all. “What made it extra special was that the ceremony took place on my birthday,” he said. “I took the win and the date too as huge motivation that what I’m doing is worthwhile. It’s priceless to get that sort of encouragement when starting a new venture.”
Coetzer said translating the text was a wonderful challenge. “It’s a mining process in which you go inside the mind of the author,” he said. “And Schorr’s mind is a deep place to get lost in. Vreemde Vis is universal. It’s a magical story that’s full of surprises.”
It will be available worldwide on June 17, with a 20% pre-order discount available via www.pilgrimspressbooks.com from Monday 30 May.
The novel will also be available in stores on the West Coast.
