The Value of Small and Micro Publishers

Small and micro publishers contribute to the world of books in important ways. They take risks and publish genres (poetry, short story collections and plays, for example) which bigger publishers are often wary of; they also publish mostly debut authors by offering them an entry point into the world of publishing.  Successfully promoted authors often go on to be published by the bigger publishing houses.

One such small publisher is Modjaji Books which has been around for 12 years. The publisher has travailed some challenging times and now has a fairly big list of published authors. A recent debut novel was Yewande Omotoso’s Bom Boy which went on to win awards and was short-listed for the debut Etisalat Prize. Omotoso is now with international publishers and has an agent to promote her work globally.

Modjaji came into being because founder, Colleen Higgs decided to start publishing the work of women. As a passionate and opinionated reader, she wanted to promote the writing of women writers in southern Africa.

Colleen Higgs commented, “I’ve achieved my goal of publishing the work of other women; it has been exciting, exhilarating and frightening. Part of my motivation was because of what I experienced as a writer of poetry and short fiction, and as a woman writer. I knew what obstacles I was dealing with.”

A particular book that kick-started Modjaji as a company was Tracey Farren’s novel Whiplash, published in 2008. In 2017 it came out as a movie, which went on to win awards and praise. As luck would have it in 2016, there was an Oscar winning movie called Whiplash, so they had to change the title to Tess for the movie tie-in edition of the book.

“When I first read Whiplash I felt as though I had stuck my finger into an electric socket. Tracey’s voice was strong and powerful and like nothing I had ever read in South Africa before. She was writing from the point of view of a young woman down on her luck, working as a street prostitute in Muizenberg. Even though the book is gritty and in parts tough to read, it is a “feel better” read – it changes the reader and brings us to awareness of the lives of others that we may have ignored. It is also a riveting, page-turning novel, full of feeling and heart” said Higgs.

Higgs shared that it was not an easy sell into stores, as many bookshops felt their customers would not be comfortable reading books like this. In spite of this, Whiplash was shortlisted for the prestigious Sunday Times Fiction Award in 2009. A shift has since happened in booksellers’ and publishers’ views about what sells in the SA market.

Modjaji books had the opportunity to publish the book because it was turned down by all the other publishers. Tracey has now written her third book, which Kwela is publishing this year, 2019. The rights to Snake, Tracey’s second novel have been sold to Catalyst Press in the United States of America, for publication in 2020 and Modjaji is proud that it played a part in the career of a gifted South African writer.

“We take risks on manuscripts we believe in. Our books are set in or give a flavor of contemporary life in southern Africa. Our books contribute to a sense of place, of here, in southern Africa now, think Love Interrupted by Reneilwe Malatji or Do Not Go Gentle by Futhi Ntshingila, and To the Black Women We All Knew by Kholofelo Maenetsha.

Our books offer characters, situations, contexts and place within which local readers can see themselves. Our books explore troubling issues, but also imagine new ways of being in the world, and tell us more about the world we live in, and open doors into the worlds of others with whom we live, here I’m thinking of Whiplash/Tess, Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso and Grace by Barbara Boswell, also A Person My Colour – by Martina Dahlmanns,” concluded Higgs.

Modjaji titles increase awareness of women’s lives and experiences, question assigned roles, and examine issues such as women’s health, sexualities and psychologies: for example Karen Lazar’s Hemispheres, Beverly Rycroft’s missing, Michelle Hattingh’s I’m the Girl Who Was Raped and Trifonia Melibea Obono’s La Bastarda.

Modjaji Books is a tiny fish in a smallish pond, yet it has made an impact on the continent and internationally as a feminist publishing house. Modjaji has opened the door for writers and new publishing ventures. Many others players are publishing the kinds of books that at first were only published by Modjaji. A shining example is Blackbird Books, with a focus on black writers, many of them women, who ordinarily would probably not have been noticed 12 years ago.

Modjaji is a trailblaizer in its own right and has paved the way for several new poetry presses – in particular, Uhlanga, Dryad and imphepo press thanks to the pioneering work that Modjaji Books did in publishing over 40 poetry titles since 2007. Publishing can be seen as an ecosystem, and the more diverse it is, the healthier it is.