On 12 March 2020, Professor Brian Willan won the award for Best Non-Fiction Biography for his book titled Sol Plaatje: A life of Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje 1876-1932 at the 5th Annual Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Awards 2020 ceremony.
The Awards – hosted by the National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) was held at the Square in Constitutional Hill, Johannesburg where HSS scholars and academics gathered to honour and celebrate the exceptional contributions to the humanities and social sciences by academics, curators and artists based at participating South African universities.
The Awards aim to recognise and celebrate those intellectual and creative scholars of the HSS community from South African universities and independent artists from participating universities whose contributions often go unnoticed.
Shortlisted amongst seven other outstanding Non-Fiction Books, Prof Willan’s biography exceptionally articulates Plaatje’s remarkable life and the obstacles he had to overcome.
SPU Creative Writing in African Languages Lecturer Sabata-Mpho Mokae states that “It takes a historian who was invested many years in research to write a biography as detailed as this one. Willan relates Plaatje’s story with such amazing skill that this biography is a pleasure to read. It is as detailed as it is beautifully written in accessible language.”
SPU congratulates Prof Willan on this outstanding achievement!
