Literati the world over are busy pencilling the six shortlisted titles for the Man Booker prize down on to-read lists. At least one is sure to appear in your stocking this Christmas. The publishers of the happy few will have sent out new orders for vastly inflated print runs, anticipating the heightened demand. “And herein lies the reason why we have the prize. It is the publisher’s answer to the persistent grumble that fiction is in its death throes, something that has been a regular and common strand to accompany this art form for the past couple of centuries, but more prevalent with the rise in digital publishing,” writes Stacy Gills about the importance of literary prizes on Tech Central. Publishings Bastion against the Death of the Novel

When Mervyn Sloman and Ben Williams planned to add a new literary festival to the South African calendar, they hoped for 60 events with 15 international authors and local talent, but in it’s fifth year the Open Book Festival will have over 100 events in 2015, featuring over 100 of the best local and international authors. The festival attracts the largest number of international authors compared to any festival of its kind in South Africa and 2015 will be no different, with 21 international authors already confirmed. Sloman says festival-goers can look forward to a wealth of stimulating and entertaining experiences. One of the main purposes of the festival is to encourage a love of books and reading and this is done throughout the year through two projects: the stocking of libraries at underprivileged schools and a mentoring project which nurtures the interest students in Cape Town have in writing. The vision of the festival is to build a love of reading and books among the youth of Cape Town and to be an international festival with an audience and authors from around the world whilst still showcasing some of South Africa’s best writing talent. We spoke to well-known South African author C.A. Davids who will be attending her second Open Book Festival this year. Carol-Ann has an MA in Creative Writing from UCT and currently works as a writer and editor. Read more

The National Further Education and Training (FET) Literature Catalogue has been developed, approved and sent to provinces. After due consultation, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) has decided that Grade 11 must be implemented in 2016, Grade 12 in 2017 and Grade 10 in 2018. Read more

The first half of 2015 in the trade sector has been one of colouring books and more colouring books, albeit ever more expensive colouring books as the Rand plummeted from R18 to the British Pound on January the 1st to R19 by the end of June. Deon Meyer kept local spirits high with yet another mega seller, Ikarus while the banting craze inspired by Prof. Tim Noakes continued unabated. Job cuts and store closures at CNA caused tremors across the trade. We waved goodbye to the Kalahari brand, faced an existential dilemma in the wake of the Franschhoek furore, got our hopes up when Marlene van Niekerk was shortlisted for the Man Booker International Prize and finally gave a sigh of relief when E.L. James provided welcome respite amidst continued loadshedding woes. Read more

Libraries have seen better days. As the economy suffers and revenues decrease the harsh reality is that goods and services get cut. Libraries have not escaped this and with libraries not being the most vocal or noticeable goods and services they are easy targets. The digital intrusion is gaining traction especially in the academic market and the traditional bookseller is finding it difficult to get a foot hold in this market and it is designed mostly to run from source to end user with very little room for the middleman which is the bookseller. A brief summation of the state of libraries is given. Read more