Novel Idea: The winner is…
Sam Wilson is South Africa’s first award-winning mobilist with a clear majority: 38.5% of the readers’ votes. Sam’s story “Prestige Animals” is a rollicking comedy adventure involving an animal smuggler, his reprobate brother, an angry badger and a crocodile-coveting drug lord. Packed with gags and cliffhangers, it kept Novel Idea readers hooked to their phones for their daily updates. Sam Wilson wins R8000, sponsored by Vodacom. Congratulations Sam!
“It was one of the most enjoyable writing challenges I can think of,” said Sam, “being asked to make a story that had to be unrelentingly entertaining.” Sam added, “All the stories were wonderful, and as snappy as you’d expect from such great writers.”
Here is a clip of just how Sam reacted when he was told the news:
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Video: Sam Wilson’s Happy Dance
- Fuzzy? Not loading? Watch on WombatSam TV
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The runner-up position was shared between “Ghost Girl” by Lauren Beukes, “Winona Forever” by Sarah Lotz and “City Fun” by Stephen Simm. They share R2000, from our sponsors Vodacom.
The stories are now available in full through Novel Idea (until the end of September 2008). To register, SMS the word NOVEL to 33879, follow the link to the WAP site, click on ‘new users register here’ and send through your cellphone number.
This Novel Idea pilot, which launched on 7 July 2008, has been groundbreaking in so many ways: it’s the first time short fiction has been specifically commissioned for delivery via mobile phones (as far as we’re aware, worldwide), it’s been a unique way to promote edgy professional South African writers (all originally published in print or as screenwriters) and it’s the first time original Afrikaans content has been published on mobile. The winning story was determined entirely by public vote, highlighting the interactivity and openness of the cellphone platform.
Literature and cellphones will keep mashing as mobile becomes more and more popular as an entertainment platform. Just a couple of weeks ago, Nielson announced that their recent research had shown that the mobile internet had reached “critical mass” this year (http://www.nielsen.com/consumer_insight/ci_story6.html).
And… We’ll be launching round 2 of Novel Idea before the end of the year. The line-up of exciting local authors will be announced shortly.
