Jonny Steinberg wins top international prize for the book Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage
By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor
This will probably not surprise many of us who have followed academic and author Jonny Steinberg’s literary journey as he stands out as one of the most prolific writers whose books are written in a simple to read but quite complex narrative style. He has the ability to turn what appears to be a simple story of ordinary people, and not so ordinary into a cohesive and interesting story to read. His research is superb, writing style quite easy to navigate, and yet capturing the nuances of time and the ordinary into a complex web that cuts deep into what makes South Africa a complex society, particularly post apartheid contemporary South Africa.
And therefore the news that he has been awarded a prestigious award last week in the US, some would say, was something long coming his way.
The best selling South African author and scholar scooped the award for best biography for Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage at the National Book Critics Circle awards in New York last week. It is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the publishing industry.
Committee chair Elizabeth Taylor noted that “Steinberg’s deeply insightful, painstakingly researched Winnie and Nelson unmasks the Mandelas, sliding past their public mythos, and the simpler romantic narrative they told each other, to reveal the emotional labyrinth beneath. With its exploration of two radically different approaches to apartheid, this beautiful biography speaks movingly to present-day struggles for racial justice.”
On receiving the award, Steinberg said: “I’m really thrilled to receive this recognition. And I’m delighted, too, that an iconic South African tale is getting to a broader audience at a time when the cachet of the story of this country’s freedom struggle is waning.”
The National Book Critics Circle was founded in 1974 at New York’s legendary Algonquin Hotel by a group of the most influential critics of the day, and awarded its first set of honors the following year. Comprising more than 700 working critics and book-review editors throughout the country, the NBCC annually bestows its awards in six categories, honoring the best books published in the past year in the United States.
About the book
One of the most celebrated political leaders of our time, Nelson Mandela has been written about by many biographers and historians. But in one crucial area, his life remains largely untold: his marriage to Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.
During his years in prison, Nelson grew ever more in love with an idealised version of his wife, courting her in his letters as if they were young lovers frozen in time. But Winnie, every bit his political equal, found herself increasingly estranged from her jailed husband’s politics. Behind his back, she was trying to orchestrate an armed seizure of power, a path he feared would lead to an endless war.
About the author
Jonny Steinberg is the author of several books about everyday life in the wake of South Africa’s transition to democracy. He is a two-time winner of the Sunday Times Alan Paton Award, and an inaugural winner of the Donald Windham-Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes. Until 2020, he was professor of African studies at Oxford University. He currently teaches part-time at the Council on African Studies at Yale University’s MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies and is visiting professor at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) in Johannesburg.