- What led you to your directorship of the Cape Town Book Fair?
I've always written as part of all my previous positions, and I've always read and researched and developed campaigns around issues, whether it was voter education or health or gender issues. I would probably describe myself as an information junkie, and so the combination of where I've come from and where I see myself going has been encompassed in one position.
I applied for this position from a newspaper advert and regard the universe as acting in my favour - it was not advertised in a paper that I normally buy and I was not really in the market for a job.
By the time I got appointed I had three months of solid research under my belt - from book fairs in other parts of the world, to the publishing industry in South Africa, to the issues of reading and new authors … it's never felt like work!
- How does your directorship of the Cape Town Book Fair compare with your previous projects, such as the Cape Town Olympic Bid?
This is a great project to work on - it's arrived at a time in my life where I was reevaluating values and questioning the purpose of one's day … I had been in corporate South Africa, the NGO sector, a parastatal and two academic institutions as well as working for Vodacom.
Working on a book fair has been a challenge - but because the context and value of books are so pivotal in all our lives and so aligned to who we are and where we are at and so reflective of our society, I do feel as though I have been extremely fortunate in this position.
- The inaugural Cape Town Book Fair has progressed exceedingly well, with local as well as international interest - from France, Germany, China and Singapore. With over a month to go to the CTBF you've already sold out all your exhibition space. What does that mean for Cape Town and the book industry in South Africa?
I believe that the fair will boost an area of South African publishing that is showing amazing potential. It's an opportunity for publishers to promote their new talent to an extremely large audience. While local support for local authors is growing steadily, an occasion like the book fair takes it a step further, possibly opening doors that may normally take years to unlock.
- Now that all the exhibition space has been officially sold out, what is going to be keeping you and your team busy until June 17?
There is a saying that the devil's in the detail … We have 120 events over the four days; there are 7 000 shelves to be constructed and which we have to oversee; there are trade delegations all of whom need programmes and VIP assistance; there's an opening ceremony to organize … There are in excess of 200 authors attending. We are all here at 7 in the morning and we work 12-hour days and we work Saturdays. It's bigger than any of us thought.
- How has the CTBF programme balanced the business imperative of a trade fair with the cultural aspects and growing a culture of reading and learning in the community?
It's quite difficult, because one is effectively trying to stage two fairs at once. Most fairs are either trade only or festival only. We have attempted to get this right in the somewhat eclectic programme of events on offer to the public and the trade. We have created infrastructure for private meetings and we have established numerous networking opportunities.
- With all the international interest in the CTBF, what is being done to project Africa as a multilingual continent?
The reality is that globalisation does impact literature and I think that the Book Fair is a stage to engage in dialogue with regard to minority literatures. We are competing against the dominance (financially and perceptively) of the Euro-American publishing machinery and it is up to African publishers to discuss and clarify their position on this.
Magazines such as Granta have started the debate and it is now the role of voices in publishing to take this forward. The CTBF sees itself as providing the platform.
- Can you give us a taste of what can be expected from discussions dealing with the problems of publishing in Africa? And will there be forums where problems with regard to publishing in indigenous African languages will be discussed?
For this first fair, the African Publishers' Network will lead a discussion on publishing in Africa - Brian Wafawarowa of David Philip, New Africa Books is the originator of this topic.
We have a submission from academic publishers who will discuss the impact of mother-tongue South African languages on scholarly publishing in South Africa.
The reality is that there still is much discussion to be had on markets - and whether publishing in indigenous languages (not only from Africa) runs the risk of extinction given the powerful marketing machinery of the multinationals. It's about who defines the agenda at the end of the day.
- Which South African writers who don't publish in English will be featured in readings or discussions?
South African Publishers have defined their own programmes of readings and discussions - we have numerous submissions in Afrikaans, and of course we have the children's programme in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. There is Sindiwe Magona. The MNet Literature Awards will be held just prior to the Fair's opening and we are confident that Via Afrika will be featuring many of their authors.
The Little Prince will be launched in Zulu and Afrikaans and Rachelle Greeff will read. There is a small publisher from KwaZulu-Natal which will also be launching the traditional fairy tales as we know them into the South African indigenous languages.
Companies such as Maskew Miller Longman and Shuters will also launch wonderful new books into Xhosa and Zulu.
- How can the public attend the CTBF?
The public are welcome to attend - there are numerous readings and launches
which are open to all. Of course there is also the Kidszone
and the Story-telling Area aimed at children.
The exhibition itself is great - with comic shops and African-only bookshops and school suppliers, as well as the retail names we know. They can meet their authors and have them sign copies of their books.
(For more information visit the Cape
Town Book Festival website or click here
for the programme.)
- What has been the most rewarding part of the project to date?
Meeting some South African authors whom I would probably never be able to meet otherwise and being privy to who they are, what influences them and just enjoying the literary diversity that makes up this position.
Vanessa
Badroodien is the Director of the Cape Town Book Fair
Click here and subscribe to our fantastic free newsletter - for your
weekly cultural fix!