We are excited to announce the winners of our ‘60 Words’ competition. Held in conjunction with online literary platform LitNet, the competition gave budding writers the opportunity to be published on the back label of a limited edition wine series.

 The winners of the competition are Philip Nel for best English entry and Annami Simon for best Afrikaans story. Their conservation-themed micro-stories will be published on Leopard’s Leap 2010 Shiraz labels. The edition will be on shelves from June. In addition to being published, the winners also each receive a Mont Blanc pen and a case of this limited edition Leopard’s Leap wine.

 ‘Simon's Afrikaans micro-story, which is untitled, is lauded for the evocative way in which the African setting, along with the constellations of the Southern skies, is used as milieu for the ephemeral presence of the leopard,’ says judge Kerneels Breytenbach.

‘Nel’s poem, titled "Undistinguished Distinction" was chosen because of its poignant juxtaposition of an 'innocent' childhood experience of amazement and the chilling reality of man’s almost predatory instinct to hunt and kill that threatens so many endangered species’ says judge Erns Grundlingh. 

Leopard’s Leap’s CEO, Hein Koegelenberg, says, ‘Leopard's Leap is very proud to be associated with South African literature whether written by professional novelists or aspiring poets. 60 Words was an opportunity for all writers to express themselves in an innovative format and the response has exceeded our expectations in terms of quality and quantity. To all who took part we say congratulations and thank you."

You can read the winning entries on www.litnet.o.za