A novel way of selling books
Interesting little excerpt from ENCA which quotes the SA Booksellers Association and profiles the most novel bookseller I have seen to date.
African writers in the news
Interesting piece on Publishing perspectives by Dennis Abrams about a new wave of African writers with an international bent.
he begins be quoting Felicia R. Lee from the New York Times: “Black literary writers with African roots (though some grew up elsewhere), mostly young cosmopolitans who write in English, are making a splash in the book world, especially in the United States. They are on best-seller lists, garner high profile reviews and win major awards, in American and in Britain. [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie], 36, the author of Americanah, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction this year, is a prominent member of an expanding group that includes Dinaw Mengetsu, Helen Oyeyemi, NoViolet Bulawayo, Teju Cole, Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor, Taiye, Selasi, among others.”
And while there was an earlier “wave” of African authors in the 1960s, this one, according to Lee, is different. There are more women authors, and, these authors’ stories “often reflect the writer’s experiences of living, studying or working elsewhere and are flecked with cultural references – and settings – familiar to Western audiences.” Read more here.
SA titles not on Amazon’s list.
When Amazon last week listed its 10 top-selling electronic books in South Africa for the past year, South African book titles were absent and some on the local literary scene struggled to understand why. Roxanne Henderson from the Times asked us to comment on the issue. See the full article here.
Is Publishing cool anymore?
“How can publishing compete with the allure of the tech companies? Do the tech companies scream “today” – even “tomorrow” – while publishing is still perceived as being stuck in “yesterday?” Does media portrayal of the publishing industry help or hinder? These were among issues raised at the London Book Fair’s third ‘Tech Tuesday” event last week, held in super cool Hoxton, a very funky area of east London, close to Old Street’s “silicon roundabout” where so many app companies are based,” reports Roger Tagholm in an insightful piece on Publishing Perspectives.
Attracting quality teachers to rural areas – incentives for educators
“Each year, the WCED places hundreds of new educators into vacant teaching posts around the province. However, when we analyse the applications for these posts most educators opt to apply for teaching posts in the urban areas. This makes it difficult for schools in rural areas to attract well qualified educators, especially those qualified to teach maths, science and languages,” states a release by the newly appointed Western Cape Minister of Education Debbie Schafer.
Read more
The final countdown to the 2014 South African Book Fair has begun
The annual South African Book Fair kicks off at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on Friday 13 June until Sunday 15 June, providing book lovers and casual readers with the opportunity to attend a literature experience of a lifetime. Send an email answering the following question to samantha@sabooksellers.com and stand a chance to win two complimentary tickets to this exciting event: Name three prestigious exhibitors that you can expect to see at the 2014 SABF Read more
Libraries of the Future
Numerous initiatives and events in March and April this year earned libraries around the world some well deserved time in the spotlight. Libraries have been integral parts of society since the advent of literacy almost 3,000 years ago and have gone through many metamorphoses over the years becoming less exclusive, more open to the community they serve and fostering literacy on all fronts. With so many developments in the digital publishing arena, libraries are undergoing yet another wave of change and it seems that as usual, they are being moulded into the places they need to be by the people that use them on a regular basis. Their needs and requests are being translated into new spaces of learning by the true advocates for literacy and custodians of knowledge; librarians.
The Franschhoek Literary Festival
The Franschhoek literary festival in Mid May this year was its usual feast of literary delights, presenting 170 authors, journalists and subject specialists in more than 100 events over three days. Literary enthusiasts enjoyed listening to many of South Africa’s best writers, all with new books.
“At the time of writing and before we receive the final figures which will include tickets sold at the festival itself, about 80% of the available tickets had been sold. What was unprecedented was the rate at which tickets sold in the first week or two after they became available – almost double the number that sold in the same period in 2013. This is a clear indication of the growing awareness and popularity of the festival,” deputy director Ann Donald told Bookmark.
The 2014 London Book Fair
The London Book Fair is an important event to meet global business partners and to negotiate distribution and market rights for the New Year. It is an event where you can meet players of both the global industry as well as emerging markets, drawing parallels back to home and taking the best offered for customisation to our own local market’s needs and culture. The focus of our meetings was very much on the digital space, and finding new and innovative ways to enhance data about e-books. It was clear that globally, publishers truly are embracing the e-book market. To date, e-books have mostly been digitised versions of printed books. But it is becoming clear that the difference between reading on printed pages and on screens is far greater than initially thought, which has in turn shaped new offerings from publishers – for example e-books with interactive video and audio elements.
Spritz it
Reading is becoming increasingly important in the knowledge economy, and remains the most effective activity for transforming information into knowledge.With the volumes of information that people are now required to make sense of on a daily basis, alternate means of digesting reading material are constantly being investigated. Speed-reading has long been a skill peddled by supposed experts, and recently a number of apps claiming to teach the technique have put it back in the spotlight. Most of us tend to read at about 200 – 400 words per minute. Speed-readers claim to hit around 1,000 – 1,700 words per minute. But the question remains: how good is their comprehension of the text and retention of the information when reading at this speed and can this skill really be used when reading books, or is it more of a news and information processing skill?
