Trevor Noah has millions of comedy fans around the world, but he is also a favourite among booksellers.
The South African comic was the unanimous overall winner at this year’s SA Book Awards, receiving the highest number of votes for the child adaptation of his best-selling autobiography Born A Crime.
On receiving the news he said: “This book was my blood, sweat and tears. It was my family’s story and my country’s story.”
As well as being the overall winner, Trevor, 36, also won the Children’s Prize.
The Daily Show host said: “Writing a book was a very scary experience, but turning the book into a book specifically for kids was even more scary because children have a very short attention span if your book is boring!”
He went on to thank all the kids who read the book, the parents who read the book with their children and the teachers who recommended the book to their students.
Trevor also praised South African authors, saying they have the most amazing and inspirational stories to tell, encouraging them to continue writing them down so they can be shared with the rest of the world.
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, the winners of this year’s SA Book Awards were announced yesterday as part of a special virtual Ceremony hosted by SABA, sponsored by Nielsen Book and supported by PASA.
Over the last 20 years, the awards have recognised books written and published in South Africa, as voted for by South African booksellers.
The Adult Fiction prize was won by Jackie Phamotse, a self-published author, for her book Bare: The Cradle of the Hockey Club.
The Adult Non-Fiction prize was won by Pieter du Toit for Stellenbosch Mafia.
Trevor went up against Die Groot Jaco Jacobs Storieboek by Jaco Jacobs, Zackie Mostert by Jaco Jacobs and Yes Yanga! by Refiloe Moahloli.