These are the writers in the 2025 Stellenbosch Woordfees Short Story Collection

Twenty-two stories were selected for inclusion in the tenth Stellenbosch Woordfees Short Story Collection. This includes short stories by the award-winning poets Jolyn Phillips and Lynthia Julius, whose sister Sisca Julius also made it into the collection.

“Every year, my fellow judges, Valda Jansen and Marius Swart, and I read the approximately fifty stories on the shortlist with great anticipation. What themes have the writers come up with this year? Will the entries be as good as those from the previous year? And the answer is yes—so much so that it was difficult to choose between all the candidates. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to each of the 23 writers who made it into the collection, and a big thank you to everyone who took the time to enter. We appreciate your hard work!” says Suzette Myburgh, convener of the judging panel.

The collection always carries the title of the Woordfees theme. This year it is Deel (Share), which ties in with the festival’s celebration of 25 years of storytelling, art, culture, and expression.

“Stories are the heartbeat of the Woordfees, which began as an all-night celebration of Afrikaans literature in 2000. The EasyEquities Writers’ Festival remains the heart of the festival, which has grown into one of the largest arts festivals on the continent. With this competition, we attract more top writers each year, and the quality of this year’s entries speaks to the great strides we’ve made with the competition over the past ten years,“ says Saartjie Botha, director of the Stellenbosch Woordfees.

We received 329 entries this year. The overall winner will be announced at the Collection launch during this year’s Stellenbosch Woordfees. The winner will receive a grand prize of R30 000 with the compliments of EasyEquities, who have been supporting the festival since 2022 as name sponsor of the EasyEquities Writers’ Festival. Every author included in the bundle will receive R5 000, as well as an EasyEquities investment account with R500 to invest.

”At EasyEquities, we are proud to once again be the title sponsor of the Writers’ Festival this year. We do this not only because we love books or because our clients are smart, curious people (although that’s true). We do it because we believe that stories matter. And that writers – the people who dare to give words to ideas, experiences, and possibilities – are essential to a society that wants to grow. To write is to give meaning. To read is to enter the worlds of others. And to share stories is to convey something human, something powerful – something that can transcend time, place, even language,” says Carel Nolte, Head of Marketing at EasyEquities.

”At EasyEquities, we help people write their own financial stories. Stories of insight, of confidence, of possibility. Stories that start with a small investment, a first step, and then slowly but surely gains momentum. But without imagination, without language, without storytellers – none of that would be possible. That’s why we believe writing stories builds future stories. We say thank you to every writer who dares, who reveals, who sharpens words into something meaningful. And thank you to the Woordfees team, who time and again prove that culture and creativity are core assets in any forward-thinking society. Enjoy the conversations, the bookshelves, the challenges, and the beauty. And may you, while you are here, be inspired to keep writing your own story.”

The publication of the volume was made possible with support from PEN Afrikaans.

The authors included in the 2025 Stellenbosch Woordfees Short Story Collection, in alphabetical order, are:

Anna-Bet Stemmet

Daneel Jantjies

Daniël Lötter

Donovan Greeff

Frederik de Jager

Gerrit Rautenbach

Herman Jonker

Ivor Swartz

Jaco van der Merwe

Jan Vermeulen