
Dear Readers, Booksellers are the curators of our local community’s primary knowledge resources. This is more of a calling than a job. It is not for the faint-hearted nor those averse to risk. In fact, as with our compatriots on the front-lines of the war against Covid-19 in medical care casualty wards, few in this profession would be practising for the sake of self-enrichment. It is a higher desire than profit to educate our young, inspire our adults and exercise the minds of our aged. Our doctors depend on books, so too every facet of our lives is influenced by readership. If it were not so, every post-apocalyptic scenario would not depict freedom of speech and information as being essential […]

The Alliance for Academic Success sent a letter to the Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology, Dr Blade Nzimande, requesting for textbooks and learning materials to be classified as Essential products during the Covid-19 lockdown. In this letter the Alliance extend their understanding and support to the measurements taken to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve. They, however, requested and explained why the availability of textbooks and learning material to students are necessary and should be considered as Essential Products. [Read more]

Image: Evan Wise/Unsplash In light of rental obligations with no income realities, all SABA members are facing at the moment, SABA sent a letter to the Chair of the South African Real Estate Investment Trust (SA REIT) Association. SA REIT presented the retailers with a proposal suggesting they defer April and May’s rent and amortise it over the next 6 months. That means a rental increase of 33% for the next 6 months. SABA responded to SA REIT on behalf of all its members. [Read more]

The Library and Information Association of South African (LIASA), the Professional Body for Library and Information Services (LIS) in South Africa, remains in full support of our South African government and the efforts to address the worldwide SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We actively appeal to our members and the wider Library and Information Services sector to adhere to the current regulations and guidelines well knowing the impact on the sector and on its ability to continue providing information and reading services to communities. LIASA continues to assert the intrinsic value of reading and so this is a loss to us all. We note that in the easing of the national lockdown to level 4 that “educational” books only will become available for […]

PEN South Africa’s Open Letter to President Ramaphosa to allow the selling of books during Lockdown Stage 4 was signed by more than 3 000 people within 36 hours. Many prominent authors added their signatures to the appeal, including Nobel winner J.M. Coetzee, current Poet Laureate Wally Serote and other internationally renowned names such as Breyten Breytenbach, Damon Galgut, Zakes Mda and Deon Meyer. The letter expressed concern about the survival of the South African book trade, which was already under strain prior to the Covid-19 outbreak: “We as a country are at great risk of losing not only our booksellers, but our publishers too. We are concerned about the jobs that will be lost, as well as the loss […]

When President Ramaphosa announced the first lockdown due to coronavirus on 23 March, it was clear a book industry already under pressure would face extraordinarily difficult times. March sales figures were somewhat saved by the Christmas-like rush in the 3 days before lockdown started, but April loomed long and empty. Most bookshops and publishers were forced to cut April salaries by 20-30%, while staff had to work frantically from home to keep the wheels turning. Independent retailer Graffiti Books & Stationery in Montana, Pretoria, was hit with a double whammy when their shop was flooded during lockdown, causing damage of around R15 000. Publisher Pan MacMillan had to postpone their biggest publication of the year: Justice Dikgang Moseneke’s memoir. The SA […]

Initially, employers lodged claims under TERS by emailing a designated UIF email address. However, to simplify and expedite the application process, the UIF has recently developed an online portal to lodge claims under TERS. To assist employers in lodging a claim under TERS using the online application process, the steps to be taken are as follows: Step One: Go to Website Enter the URL https://uifecc.labour.gov.za/covid19 into any web browser. Step Two: Register as User Register as a user by clicking on the “Register” button which appears on the top left of the application system homepage. The employer will have to register as a user of the online platform by providing certain information such as, for example, the employer’s UIF reference […]

With lockdown eased to level 4 and hopefully continuing to open up, managers have to prepare for open up shop. Here are post-lockdown to-do list guidelines and suggestions. Permits, where applicable Deep clean premises (public facing surfaces, multiple times a day) Order sanitiser at doors (preferable single entry/exit) Masks/visors for staff (or see through Perspex screens mounted on counters) Contact-less payment methods Email receipts/ invoices Gloves for staff (difficult to handle money with gloves but OK for back office/receiving) Floor markings for queues (1 m spacing) Social distancing training for staff Thermal scanners to check temperature Covid-19 tests for staff (at Dischem) TERS claims Insurance Laminated poster of government rules where Public toilets are available, touchless sanitary equipment (soap dispensers, […]

Minister of Higher education, science and technology, Dr Blade Nzimande has again reiterated that eliminating corruption and maladministration in NSFAS is a priority. Placed under administration in August of 2018 when the scheme was on the brink of collapse, in a statement made in January 2020 it was revealed that five internal forensic investigations have been launched and four criminal cases have been opened, while a further 510 instances of alleged fraud have been handed to the Commercial Crimes Unit. It is significant that much of the fraud and corruption not only benefitted a few individuals but allowed external parties to gain inappropriate control over several institutions. The administrator has outlined the positive rationale behind no longer distributing a specific […]

Jacana Media, on 10 February, announced the departure of Blackbird Books from their portfolio, with publisher Thabiso Mahlape striking it out on her own from 13 March 2020. In Shay Heydenrych’s letter to the trade she expressed their sadness to see her go, but said they were ‘proud to see her fly!’ Mahlape studied publishing at Tuks before joining Jacana. ‘Maggie and Bridget are true book people,’ she stated in a recent Bookmark interview. ‘I couldn’t have worked anywhere else.’ The Blackbird imprint came into being when Mahlape needed more time at home with her child. Her first success was in 2015 with Piggy Boy’s Blues by Nakhane Toure, but it was Panashe Chigumadzi’s Sweet Medicine which truly put the […]

After the success of their first printed compendium, We Have A Game Changer: A Decade of Daily Maverick in November last year, online newspaper Daily Maverick announced plans to create a permanent book publishing division under the auspices of Ingeborg Pelser (pictured). Pelser has more than 20 years’ experience in publishing, having worked at David Philip, Jonathan Ball and Quivertree, and recently founded Flyleaf Publishing & Distribution in Cape Town. The imprint will be called Maverick 451, and will aim to rock the industry boat by paying its authors a higher percentage than the norm. According to Pelser, the Daily Maverick readership affords the publisher a unique channel to market and sell new titles, while its access to quality content […]

In a letter to bookshops on Tuesday 11 February, Real Books announced they will cease trade in early March 2020. Owner Helena Groeneveld started the distributor in 1988, before which she managed the flagship Exclusive Books store at Hyde Park. Real Books negotiated the rights for many excellent book and stationery lists over the years including Chronicle, Phaidon, Te Neues, Ten Speed Press, Peter Pauper and of course the hugely successful Moleskine range. The SA Booksellers Association would like to express their gratitude for the valuable service Helena and her team contributed to the trade over many years.

Melinda Ferguson (middle) with Eloise Wessels, Managing Director at NB Publishers (right) and Marga Stoffer, Publishing Manager at NB Publishers (left). The SA book trade was taken by surprise when NB Publishers announced the acquisition of MFBooks as one of their imprints. Melinda Ferguson explains how the match came about: ‘I am a publisher who thrives on connection. From the moment I met NB’s MD Eloise Wessels, Publishing Manager, Marga Stoffer, and Head of Non-Fiction, Erika Oosthuizen, as well as the rest of the team, I felt an affinity with the house, like I could really be part of the family. I also have a crazy work ethic and from the get-go I have been impressed by NB’s infrastructure and […]

Editor-in-Chief of New Frame, Richard Pithouse, and his team opened a not-for-profit bookshop in the hip Reserve Street, Braamfontein on 1 October. Managed and curated by a collective of eight individuals, the bookshop offers a selection of radical, leftist and Pan-African books at affordable prices. The Commune also serves as a reference library, coffee shop and gathering spot for like-minded readers.

Melrose Arch shoppers welcomed the reopening of Exclusive Books there on 31 October. The new store is located opposite FNB, close to Clicks, and is managed by experienced bookseller Alexia Frangiskakis. CEO Grattan Kirk: We are really excited to be back in the Melrose Arch Precinct. The feedback from customers, tenants and the landlord in anticipation of our reopening was that there was a ‘massive void’ left when we exited in 2016. Their support has been phenomenal and hence we expect the store to perform very well. The opening of the Melrose Arch store represents the 3rd store we have opened in the last quarter, in line with our growth strategy. We will also open a new store in Windhoek, […]

Iconic Pan-African specialist Bridge Books reopened their doors on Saturday 9 November at 95 Commissioner Street, right next to the historic Rand Club in Johannesburg. With an on-street shopfront and underground events venue, the much-loved indie promises an even better experience for Jozi bookworms than what they have grown accustomed to over the years. Bookseller Tshepo Masuku is positive that lower rentals, tourist footfall, and the proximity of Reya Vaya and Gautrain stations all bode well for future business. ‘Blank slate’ – Tshepo Masuku manning the shop on opening day