PEN Afrikaans<\/a>. <\/p>\n\nThe enthusiastic Suzette Myburgh, convener of the judging panel since the competition\u2019s inception in 2016, shared with the audience more about the selection process for this anthology, which over the past decade has become a literary institution and serves as a kind of yearbook through which Afrikaans writers reflect something of their time.<\/p>\n\n
Jordaan joked that she only started writing her winning story nine days before the deadline and couldn\u2019t stop talking about the endless support of her husband and her mother. Her husband had come to her rescue many times \u2013 once when she forgot a pot of peanuts on the stove and nearly burned the house down \u2013 while her mother has proofread everything she\u2019s ever written. \u201cThat poor woman has had to slog through so many stories!\u201d <\/p>\n\n
According to Jordaan, the protagonist, Max, had shown up a few months before the deadline, \u201cbut she just sat there and didn\u2019t want to tell me her story.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
\u201cSo I started listening to music that I thought gave her the vibe I wanted to capture on paper. It was the lyrics of Loreena McKennitt that made me realize \u2013 this is the story!\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Her experience as an immigrant in Antwerp was the major underlying inspiration. \u201cLike the protagonist, I was also worried when following the news, but remained hopeful that I would still be welcome abroad.\u201d <\/p>\n\n
Jordaan is overwhelmed by the prize and wants to buy herself a new laptop on which she hopefully will write many more wonderful short stories. <\/p>\n\n
This year\u2019s anthology, as well as those from previous years, are available for purchase at Exclusive Books and, during the Woordfees, also at the Exclusive Books Bookstore at Die Khaya. <\/p>\n\n
\u2013 By: Dianne du Toit Albertze <\/strong> <\/p>\n\nTarina Jordaan, winner of the 2025 Woordfees Short Story Competition. PHOTO: AB Jantjies <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"With Herschelle Benjamin as host in the Hofmeyr Hall in Stellenbosch, which was packed with writers and literature enthusiasts, Tarina Jordaan was announced on Saturday evening as the winner of the Stellenbosch Woordfees\u2019 tenth annual short story competition, selected from 371 entries. Jordaan receives a total of R30 000 courtesy of EasyEquities, and each writer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3683,"featured_media":82642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[309],"tags":[503,515,521],"class_list":["post-82655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-woordfees-en","tag-toyota-stellenbosch-woordfees-en","tag-stellenbosch-woordfees-short-story-competition"],"yoast_head":"\n
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