More than R6million in exhibition space has already been sold by the Cape Town Book Fair, and more bookings are expected. This represents an exhibition area of more than 3 000m2, and a further 600m2 of space for various uses has now also been earmarked for use by the fair. All major South African publishing companies are exhibiting, and they are joined by a wide range of suppliers of ancillary items: educational equipment, electronic products, publishing services, stationery and the like.
Most international companies have opted to be represented at the fair by their South African subsidiaries or distributors and the organisers hope to attract a minimum of 10 000 members of the public.
But a disappointment is the failure of the Department of Arts and Culture to come up with the R1million contribution it previously committed. The fair is a joint venture of the Publishers Association of South Africa (Pasa) and the Frankfurt Book Fair. Frankfurt provided the seed capital for this venture, along with fair management training and marketing services. If and when surpluses are generated by the venture, it is probable that they will be channelled through a still-to-be-established non-profit company that will fund the development of literacy and reading in South Africa.
Fair director Vanessa Badroodien says the fair has been organised on a different basis from the well-known international fairs such as Frankfurt’s and London’s, which are predominantly rights fairs. South African publishers will be keen to sell rights to their books but, with realistic expectations of what may be expected in this regard, they will also be exhibiting in a show of support for the local book-publishing industry and in an attempt to foster a culture of reading. The size of the locally published trade market is not more than R230million.
As well as being a rights fair, it is also being positioned as a platform for the discussion of political and developmental issues related to publishing and as a festival to popularise the pleasure and benefits of reading.
Badroodien says three high-profile public discussions have been organised: to look at culture and imperialism, to look at the impact of mother-tongue education on scholarly publishing, and to look at reading as a basis for rationalism. At least 60 book launches will take place, as well as numerous poetry and prose readings.
A future development Badroodien would like to see is the sale of film rights for local books. She has received support for this initiative from London-based literary and film agent Julian Friedmann.
Badroodien is a self-confessed sceptic and speaks about the upcoming fair with diffident confidence well tempered by caution. Given the disappointments of Bookeish, the fair’s ill-fated predecessor, and the inevitable temptation to hype up an event with all the conspicuous virtue of motherhood and apple pie, it is comforting to know it is being managed by someone driven by performance, not promise.