Authors Refiloe Moahloli and Jaco Jacobs win Exclusive Awards
By CityLIfe Arts Writer
Pan Macmillan is delighted to announce that Refiloe Moahloli has won the Exclusive Books IBBY SA Picture Book Award for Writing, for We are One. The Afrikaans edition, Ons is Een, translated by Jaco Jacobs has won the Translation Award,” says the publisher of educational, Fiction and Non Fiction books.
The Exclusive Books IBBY SA Awards are held every two years and award a writer, illustrator and translator of the best children’s picture book or illustrated book for young people published in South Africa. IBBY SA is a non-profit organisation that aims to promote international understanding through children’s books. Exclusive Books is a proud sponsor of the awards.
We are One is a comforting and lyrical book about friendship and ubuntu that celebrates our differences and similarities. Besides English and Afrikaans, it is also available in isiZulu (Simunye), isiXhosa (Sibanye) and Sesotho (Re ntho e le nngwe).
Upon receiving the award, Moahloli said, ‘It feels extra special to win an award for this one. Significant. The principles of ubuntu addressed in We are One are fundamental to who I step into the world with the intention of being. To recognise the sacredness of a human being, including the self. And therefore, express kindness and care when relating to self and others, so as to not cause harm.
This story of kindness has travelled some, and has further still to go. My hope as it journeys is that it resonates with those who meet it.
I am grateful to Exclusive Books and IBBY SA for the wonderful recognition. These awards are a beautiful way to feed back to all of us who worked on this book, that we may continue stepping joyfully doing the work that we love. And that the work that we love matters.’
Jacobs commented, ‘It was a privilege to translate Refiloe’s beautiful ubuntu book into Afrikaans. Ons is Een is a wonderful celebration of our humanity and the things that bind us, presented in a child-friendly package. This book deserves to be shared in as many languages as possible.’