The South African Booksellers Association and Publishers’ Association of South Africa Annual General Conference 2018

South Africa’s flagship book industry event is set to happen on 28 and 29 August at Wanderers Club in Illovo north of Johannesburg.  Booksellers and publishers of South Africa gather at co-joined Annual General Meetings (AGM) to discuss topical issues in various sectors of the book industry.

“The two day conference is a gathering of key players in the business of bookselling. It is a time for all of us to celebrate our successes, share our concerns and collaborate in finding solutions.” explains Guru Redhi, President of the SA Booksellers Association (SABA), which organises the AGM with the Publishers’ Association of South Africa (PASA).

“The relationship between SABA and PASA is complementary within the book value chain as the publishers create and distribute, while the booksellers retail the books; one cannot exist without the other” says Redhi.

The premise behind the two AGMS happening at the same time and in the same place is to create an enabling environment where discussions can promptly happen with the relevant parties to bring about a swift plan of action.

“The AGMS are co-located to encourage PASA and SABA members to strengthen their business relationships in the book value chain,” says Mpuka Radinku Executive Director of PASA.

A much-anticipated part of the conference programme is the Sefika Awards & Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award on the evening of 28 August. The event acknowledges and celebrates booksellers and the role they play in promoting literacy and a culture of reading by producing and selling quality books in South Africa.

The following categories form part of the bookseller’s awards:

• Academic bookseller of the year
• Education bookseller of the year
• Library supplier of the year
• Trade bookseller of the year (chain stores)
• Trade bookseller of the year (independent)

Publisher’s awards that will be elected are:

• Academic publisher of the year
• Education publisher of the year (large)
• Education publisher of the year (small)
• Trade publisher of the year

Winners are selected through a voting process which enables Publishers to select the best among Booksellers and in turn Booksellers choose the winners among Publishers.

The evening culminates with the most coveted accolade, the Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award. The award is bestowed upon a local author for a South African published book that booksellers most enjoyed selling or that sold so well that it made a difference to the bottom line of booksellers across the country.

Last year’s winner was Born a Crime and other stories by Trevor Noah, published by Pan Macmillan in South Africa.  The book is a memoir of Trevor’s path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show in New York which all began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison.

The short-listed books for 2018 are 90 Rules For Entrepreneurs, published by Tracey McDonald Publishers, which is based on Marnus Broodryk’s business experiences with insights from his friends and fellow entrepreneurs.

Two Jonathan Ball Publisher titles also made it into this year’s shortlist, Redi Tlhabi’s Khwezi – the story of four courageous women who interrupted Jacob Zuma’s victory address at South Africa’s heated municipal elections, and Thandeka Gqubule’s No Longer Whispering To Power – the story of the South African people’s attempt to hold power to account through the Office of the Public Protector.

Steve Biko’s I Write What l Like has also made it into the final five. The title features the writing of this famous activist and Black Consciousness leader before his untimely death in detention at the age of 30. Biko was instrumental in uniting Black Africans in the struggle against the apartheid government in South Africa.

Lastly, President’s Keepers by investigative journalist Jacques Pauw rounds off the shortlist. This bestselling book, published by Tafelberg Publishers, exposes a secret at the heart of Jacob Zuma’s compromised government.

The short list was created through a nomination process by SABA booksellers and the winner is selected through votes from booksellers for a specific author/title.

The Sefika Awards & Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award event is per invite only.  Media accreditation requests can be sent to maiyo@nativeworx.co.za.