Winner snatches victory on the last day

Nomandla Ndwandwe who had recently moved to Mondeor in Johannesburg from Empangeni, in Kwa-Zulu Natal became the overall winner of the 2014 Caxton Creative Writing Competition after entering for the competition on its last day of entries.

Speaking after the prize-giving ceremony held at the University of Johannesburg Bunting Road Campus, Nomandla said, “On the one side, I am shocked by the fact that I won after entering for on the last day of the competition. At the same time I am not shocked because I believe that I can write.”

Nomandla is looking forward to a year filled with possibilities; she recently applied for an internship with Caxton Local Newspapers and hopes to be one of the Caxton Editorial Cadets for 2015.

Not only does she have the bragging rights for winning the 2014 Caxton Creative Writing Competition, she also walks away with an Alcatel One Touch POP 7 Tablet.

High School Category winners Tasmiyah Laher, Elizabeth Burns and Sinaed Hovelmeier each won themselves a shopping voucher, which they are sure to enjoy during the festive season.

Head of Caxton Creative Writing Competition, Malcolm Maifala said, “This competition is about ‘reaching for your dreams’, something I personally believe each writer should strive for.”

Maifala believes the project is achieving its mandate each year. In an interview with UJ FM he said, “We do not necessarily measure the success of this competition on a year to year basis, we are mainly looking at a long term achievement, and I am glad to say that each year we are seeing how this competition is making a difference.”

According to Maifala the competition is made successful by the partnership Caxton has entered into with Alcatel One Touch South Africa and Brandfluent SA.

Brandfluent SA has not only come on board from a marketing perspective, with MD Bryony van Zyl being part of the judging panel for the second year running, the company has pretty much become one with the project.

“At Brandfluent SA, we are an integrated marketing agency, so we work with different types of communication which use some form of copy and content creation.

“In this competition, I am involved as a judge and I absolutely love the talent that is coming out of this competition. Compared to last year, we have had a far more diverse set of entrants and a lot more entries,” van Zyl explained the role the company is playing.

From a personal point of view, Alcatel One Touch Southern Africa Country Manager Ernst Wittmann is passionate has what he describes as ‘a pet hate for shortened words’.

He says, “Not only are getting involved by giving away amazing tools for future writers, but I am very particular in terms of the way words are spelled.”

From an Alcatel One Touch perspective, being able to assist potential talent in South Africa is something phenomenal for us.

“It is about incentivising people to go out and enjoy what they do. So whatever you enjoy doing, it great when companies can assist in the progression that you go into,” said Wittman in an interview with UJ FM.

“From a telecommunication perspective, our lives revolve around social media. Therefore our products are empowering the youth with tools that keep them connected at all times.”

To see who made it to the top 10 of each category and the judges’ comments visit the Caxton Creative Writing Competition website.