SA needs to build a culture of reading for everyone
WHAT was your own personal journey to the world of writing and publishing? Why are books important to you?
My journey started with a book. Reading helped me to round out my understanding of how human beings interact with the planet, which sparked my interest in writing. In fact, I soon came to understand that readers make better writers. So books are important to me because they help me expand my knowledge about the world. They also help me be a better writer. A recent global study placed South African literacy levels as the worst in the world, with eight out of 10 Grade 4s being unable to read for meaning in any language. Are there any good examples of industry leaders responding to this huge national challenge?
The recent PIRLS results were shocking. Perhaps this has the potential to galvanise a national effort to finally deal with what is essentially a national crisis. The Nal’ibali reading for pleasure campaign as well as the FunDza Literacy Trust are very important interventions to build on – take a look at their work and free resources online. However, to build a culture of reading, South Africa needs business and government to get on board on a massive scale to make sure that books are available to each and every household.
What will it take to get SA reading for enjoyment, not just for school? It has to do with what the publishing industry puts out in the market. Readers want to see themselves in stories, and even better if the stories are well told. I’m excited by content that’s relevant locally but with themes that resonate universally.
You’ve said before that there’s huge potential in the South African market. Are there any special interest gaps you have identified and what kind of material is proving a success with these?
In 2010 Cover2Cover Books identified what we termed the “township teen” as big gap in the market. Apart from school textbooks, no one was writing for this large and exciting demographic. That translates to millions of teenagers not reading for pleasure because no one was writing for them. That same year we launched our flagship series
which is set in a fictional township high school. It has been a major hit, with thousands of previously reluctant readers now being hooked on the 10 titles in its series. We are inundated with feedback from high school teachers and librarians, whose students just can’t get enough. The formula is simple: the kids see themselves in the characters, the plots are pacey, there is tension and drama, and the stories are well-written.
We intend to scale up in 2018, working with our partner, the FunDza Literacy Trust, to set up more township and rural reading clubs so we can get many more of our books to South African teens. You’ve even been using social media to promote literacy through mobile reading clubs. Can you tell us a little about how you’re combining hard copy books and virtual worlds to get readers engaged?
FunDza runs “library on the mobile” programme. Because many young people are hooked on their mobile devices, what better way to bring them books and stories than on their favourite platform?
National Read Aloud Day is on February 1 and there is a range of exciting initiatives planned. How can people get involved? Nal’ibali will go big on February 1 with a campaign to get South Africans to read aloud to one million children with the #WRADChallenge2018. I encourage everyone to take part in the campaign by going to
downloading the free story especially written for the day by Zukiswa Wanner and pledging to read it to children on February 1. It’s available in a range of South African languages, too.
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