/ 27 August 2010

The book lives!

The book is not dead, says Jonathan Ball, managing director of Jonathan Ball Publishers.

The book is not dead, says Jonathan Ball, managing director of Jonathan Ball Publishers, and, despite factors such as the global recession and the rise of electronic publishing, it’s not going to die any time soon either.

“During my long career in publishing, I’ve heard people say at three different times that books were dying. But I don’t think they’re going to die. It’s all about competing for people’s leisure time. We’re competing with television, movies and music, but there’s a place for all these things,” he says.

“The electronic developments in publishing are going to be significant, I’m sure. In the United States last year, 3,9% of the book sales were electronic. I have a Kindle myself, but there will always be a place for books.

“Publishers in South Africa, like publishers everywhere, are suffering from the global recession but despite this the industry has actually been holding up amazingly well. The South African market remains a good market.”

Ball explains that the peculiarities of the reading market in South Africa reduce its capacity to purchase books.

“South Africa has its own unique book-publishing space. At the top there’s a layer of highly literate people, followed by people who read but don’t buy books, and then at the bottom people who can’t read at all. This means that the country’s capacity to buy books is much reduced.”

Ball says writers to look out for are Johnny Steinberg, Antony Altbeker, Margie Orford and Deon Meyer, “who’s just getting bigger and bigger with every book”.

He is excited about the upcoming M&G Literary Festival in Johannesburg: “I think that anything that brings public awareness to literature is a good idea.

The Franschoek literary festival, for example, was a very enjoyable occasion. I’d like to see a series of such festivals all around the country, like in England, where it’s become a really big thing.”