1. BACKGROUND

The National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS) is proud to announce the 9th Annual Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) Book, Creative Collection, and Digital Contribution Awards. These awards are made every year to honour the significant contributions of scholars to knowledge production and intellectual endeavours in South Africa. The awards honour outstanding, innovative, and socially responsive scholarship, creative as well as digital contributions that enhance and advance fields in the Humanities and Social Sciences. They recognise and celebrate members of the broader Humanities and Social Sciences community, in conversation with other fields of study, who are undertaking the necessary work of creating post-apartheid and post-colonial forms of scholarship, creative production, and digital humanities outputs. The awards highlight the profound societal impact of HSS and its capacity to shape our world.

They provide an opportunity to cast a celebratory limelight on those intellectual-creative workers whose work often goes unnoticed both in the academy and society at large. These include the tenacious authors and playwrights, the risk-taking poets and artists; and curators and publishers who ensure that we can all view and enjoy the final products of their work. The awards acknowledge and promote exceptional scholarly contributions in HSS.

Finally, the NIHSS 9th Annual HSS Book, Creative Collection, and Digital Contribution Awards will give life to the ideas expressed in the Humanities Charter to increase the recognition afforded to book and creative outputs; reposition these scholarly contributions as having public-value; and increase appreciation and the role they play in sustainable social cohesion and the re-imagining of the HSS.

2. ELIBILITY AND SUBMISSION

The HSS Book, Creative Collections, and Digital Contributions Awards Call for Submissions is open from 6 October 2023 with a submission deadline of 9 November 2023, 16:00 SAST. The Call will be circulated to printed press, academic institutions, publishers and university departments in the Humanities and Social Sciences. It is open to the following South African based academics and artists:

• Universities and independent publishers based in South Africa.
• Academics based or associated with South African universities, located in the broader Humanities and Social Science in conversation with other fields.
• Curators and artists of various forms of creative work, based in South African universities and/or independent artists linked to South African universities.
• Submissions to more than one category is acceptable.
• Submissions in any of the official South African languages will be accepted.
• Books must be published by South African based or associated publishers.
• Peer reviewed books that were published between November 2022 and October 2023 are eligible.
• Creative Collections that were produced between November 2021 and October 2023 will be accepted for consideration.
• The call is open to digital humanities contributions that were produced between November 2021 to October 2023.

3. AWARD CATEGORIES

The awards will include multiple award categories. A minimum of nineteen (19) Awards will be allocated falling within the following categories:

Books:

1. Non-Fiction category includes four (4) sub-categories:

1. Best Non-Fiction Monograph
2. Best Non- Fiction Edited Volume
3. Best Non-Fiction Biography
4. Best emerging author in the Non-Fiction

2. Fiction category includes six (6) sub-categories:

1. Best Fiction Single Authored Volume
2. Best Fiction Edited Volume
3. Best Fiction Novel
4. Best Fiction Short Stories
5. Best Fiction Poetry
6. Best emerging author in the Fiction category

Creative and Digital Contributions:

3. Creative Collection category includes six (6) sub-categories:

1. Best Public Performance (art festival, choreography, dance, theatre, puppetry)
2. Best Musical Composition/Arrangement
3. Best Visual Art (painting, sculpture, ceramics, jewellery, installation art, video art, sound art, mixed media to performance art, curatorial projects, art books)
4. Best Visual Biography
5. Best Exhibition
6. Best emerging artist/curator in the Creative Collections

4. Digital Humanities category includes three (3) sub-categories:

1. Best DH Visualization or Infographic
2. Best DH Project for Community Engagement
3. Best emerging artist/curator in the Digital Humanities

4. GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSION

• 1. BOOK AWARDS
• Peer reviewed books that were published between November 2022 and October 2023 are eligible.
• Four (4) physical copies of the book must be mailed or delivered to the NIHSS’ physical address. Upon submission, these will become the property of the Institute.
• Publishers and individuals will need to submit the following details online: personal and submission details of the author(s); motivation and any other supporting documents (i.e., peer review/ book review, etc).
• Applicants are required to submit a maximum of one submission within a category. Please note that the same submission cannot be resubmitted across other categories.
• 2. CREATIVE COLLECTIONS
• Creative Collections that were produced between November 2021 and October 2023 will be accepted for consideration.
• Four (4) physical copies of exhibition catalogues and/or CDs of musical compositions/arrangements must be mailed or delivered to the NIHSS’ physical address. Upon submission, these will become the property of the Institute.
• All submissions for Public Performance must be performative or conceived as artistic performance in nature.
• Performance must be scheduled and advertised public performances (available programme, posters, flyers, invitation cards of public performance to be included in submission). Musical score must show a high level of originality (CD’s to be included in submission). Exhibitions of work must be in reputable galleries or museums (visuals of artwork to be included in submission).
• Musical submissions must be full albums.
• Film/Play submissions must be full DVD.
• For visual arts submissions, while an entire catalogue or exhibition might be part of the selections, there should be at least up to six (6) images that are used to exemplify the motivation for consideration.
• With dance, theatre/choreography, there needs to be a full video and pictorial documentation six (6) images, that must be submitted with the application.
• Publishers and individuals will need to submit the following details online: personal and submission details of artist(s)/contributor(s); motivation and any other supporting documents (i.e., peer review, etc).
• Applicants are required to submit a maximum of one submission within a category. Please note that the same submission cannot be resubmitted across other categories.
• 3. DIGITAL HUMANITIES CONTRIBUTIONS
• The call is open to digital humanities contributions that were produced between November 2021 to October 2023.
• Four (4) CDs of digital content must be mailed or delivered to the NIHSS’ physical address. Upon submission, these will become the property of the Institute.
• Submissions should include a URL link of the digital content.
• Only contributions which have been created by members of the broader HSS community in conversation with other fields of study, used to develop and enhance HSS work, will be considered.
• Publishers and individuals will need to submit the following details online: personal and submission details of the artist(s)/contributor(s); motivation and any other supporting documents (i.e., peer review, etc).
• Applicants are required to submit a maximum of one submission within a category. Please note that the same submission cannot be resubmitted across other categories.

5. ADJUDICATION PROCESS

The selection awarded will involve a rigorous and transparent process. A panel of judges will adjudicate all submissions. The criteria used will include advancing and contribution to the broader Humanities and Social Sciences in South Africa; quality of content; originality, design, and social relevance.

6. AWARD CEREMONY

The annual awards ceremony will be hosted in an event that will celebrate the achievements of the awardees and also showcase the significance of their contributions in HSS.

7. VALUE OF AWARDS

Each award will be valued at R85 000.00 (Eighty-Five Thousand Rands only).

8. ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS WINNERS

Award winners will be announced at an annual awards ceremony in South Africa during March 2024.

9. DEADLINE FOR ENTRIES: 9 November 2023, 16:00 SAST

Application forms can be accessed at: https://gms.nihss.ac.za. Hardcopies must be delivered at:

National Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences (NIHSS)
HSS Book, Creative and Digital Collection Awards
2nd Floor, 24 St. Andrews Road
Parktown, Johannesburg 2193

All queries to be directed to: awards@nihss.ac.za