The Big Read
How politics is shaking up the book industry
● South Africa’s book industry has gained traction on the back of a bumper political year and the trend is expected to continue as the 2019 national elections approach.
The industry had an estimated total income of R3.2billion in 2016, an increase of 17% on the previous year, with most of the value coming from educational publishing. There are about 150 publishing companies in South Africa, ranging from educational to trade and academic publishing.
Trade or commercial publishing, which covers fiction and nonfiction books, saw income grow by 7% in 2016 compared to the previous year, according to the 2016 Annual Publishing Survey released in January by the Publishers Association of South Africa.
Most local publishers say growth has been steady in the past five years, but last year the momentum accelerated, providing opportunities for them to keep developing books relevant to current affairs in South Africa.
Jacana Media, which aims to cater to the emerging tastes of local readers, said the political climate had driven growth.
The President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw, published by NB Publishers, which broke all booksellers’ records according to the South African Booksellers Association, is evidence of the growing interest in political nonfiction.
There has been an increase in the number of publishing companies in the past five years, but this does not necessarily mean increased competition in all genres as publishers specialise in types of literature.
But this gradually growing industry is not without its challenges. Traditionally, the global trend has seen fiction breaking sales records, but this has changed. South Africa’s readership, largely focused on nonfiction, is now in line with the global trend. In the UK, for example, fiction is facing a dwindling readership.
Mbali Sikakana, co-ordinator of the Jacana Literary Foundation, said: “Most book publishers have specific strengths that stand out more than others in their catalogues, whether this be nonfiction or children’s books. Given the varying sizes, company structures and business strategies, comparisons become difficult.”
She said one challenge of the past five years had been maintaining an acceptable level of fiction, given the slowing interest in the genre.
Modjaji Publishers, which focuses on publishing women’s and feminist works in southern Africa, said slow economic growth meant people were not spending as much on books and the whole industry had felt the pinch. Modjaji’s business has remained flat in the past five years, at 10 to 15 books published a year.
“For publishers who publish titles in English, we are competing against all the other titles in English in the world, so the competition is stiff,” Modjaji’s Colleen Higgs said. “And there is competition for reading time from the internet, social media and things like Netflix.”
The number of booksellers has steadily grown in line with market conditions in the past five years. Retailers such as Exclusive Books, Bridge Books, Book Lounge and Love Books, which sell a variety of fiction and nonfiction books, said there was still a relatively high number of sales in fiction, depending on the area.
Reading books is the fifth-favourite leisure activity for South Africans after listening to the radio, watching TV, DVDs and videos, shopping or going to the mall, and socialising at home.
Griffin Shea of Bridge Books, which has two stores in Johannesburg, said the reason local books were expensive compared to foreign ones was due to economies of scale. “The smaller the print run, the more expensive each individual book costs. For local literature, especially fiction and poetry, the total sales are often quite small.”
There was more government support for books and small bookstores abroad, where some pricefixing was imposed, he said.
African literature, which has taken off in the past two years, has been a game-changer for booksellers. Exclusive Books has begun marketing it as a specific genre due to the increased demand.
“There has been a dramatic increase in interest in authors from Africa and the African diaspora generally, which has been wonderful to see,” said Ben Williams, general manager of marketing at Exclusive Books. “Last year we published a pan-African writing catalogue that proved extremely popular in our stores, with sales of the associated titles more than doubling, almost overnight.”
Although 70% of the titles Exclusive Books stocks are published internationally, there was steady growth of sales of books published locally, he said.
Love Books owner Kate Rogan said her single store in Melville, Johannesburg, specialised in and had seen growth in children’s books, due to its position. This was “driven by parents seeking to ensure their children learn the fundamentals of reading”.
Traditional booksellers face disruption from online shopping, exemplified by Amazon. In response they are creating opportunities focused on lifestyle elements, such as book launches and readings, to encourage foot traffic in their stores.