The Bookseller.com

7th September 2008

Gary Cummiskey is founder, editor, and publisher of independent South African publisher Dye Hard Press.

Three into one just about goes

02.07.08

The number of visitors to the third Cape Town Book Fair climbed by 1,000 on last year to 51,000 – a welcome increase, especially as the fair seemed to have got off to the slow start. This is encouraging, and so congratulations to fair director Vanessa Badroodien and her team.

The fair consists of three components: a trade fair for the publishing industry, a retail fair to the public (which started up only last year), and literary discussions and talks which can be enjoyed by writers and readers alike. This is a huge, challenging task which requires outstanding organisational skills, and it is hard to please everyone.
 
At the first book fair, poet Mzwandile Matiwana was wandering around with a cardboard placard reading: "Cape Town Book Fair is not fair". I assume he was protesting about the commercial nature of the fair. I know a writer who refuses to visit the fair because he feels the event and all it stands for is the exact opposite of creativity. In fact, a few writers who pitched up at the first fair had expected it to be a literary festival, and were disappointed to find it to be mainly a trade fair for commercial publishers – which, of course, it is. 
 
This year one publisher complained about the retail component, saying the fair should be more focused on the trade aspect. Personally I feel encouraged to see the public buying books like they're going out of fashion, but then again I didn't fork out thousands of rands for an exhibition stand as this guy had done.
       
Considering the commercial nature of the fair, it was encouraging this year to see a large number of visitors attending talks and discussions at the Isis X photographic exhibition stand, organised by independent publisher Botsotso. One woman told me she had found the interview with poet Kelwyn Sole on class content in contemporary writing to be the most engaging she had attended at the fair. Another visitor said that talks at the other (that is, commercial publisher stands) tended to fall short of expectations.
 
A huge challenge facing South Africa is to develop a book-reading culture, and events such as the book fair play a role in addressing the issue. This year's fair, for example, had a focus on children's literature, and there were quite a few stands devoted to comics and kiddies' books. There was also a fund-raising dinner this year, the proceeds of which went to literacy programmes.
 
But some question just how successful the fair's contribution actually is, especially when the event draws a mainly white middle-class audience. One writer told me that she felt that the fair – while an admirable, necessary event – "preaches to the converted". Another issue here is the cost of the fair – R40 per day (R160 over the four days) although Exclusive Books loyalty card holders can get in for free. There is also the cost of parking, and unless you bring your own sandwiches, there is the cost of (bland) food at the canteen or coffee shop. So it's not a cheap outing.       
 
Also this year, visitors had to book to attend discussions in the meeting rooms at the convention centre. This was necessitated by overcrowding that had occurred last year, which raised concerns about safety. But a problem was that you could only book on the day of the discussion, and the bookings sold out quickly. So, if you had wanted to attend a talk at 3pm, you would still have to arrive by about 9.30am to ensure you got a seat. Also, the procedure was not advertised beforehand, and I know of two people who arrived at about 10.00am the first day and were unable to attend talks in the meeting rooms because they were all already fully booked.
 
An issue about last year's fair was the huge number of discussions – 373 in all, and that a number of important ones often overlapped each other. This year there were more, 393, and even while I spent each day rushing from one event to another, I barely touched the tip of the iceberg.
 
So, one visitor suggested, how about spreading the fair over five days instead of four?  Good idea, but unless the organisers can pull out the magic wand, it's going to make things more expensive.

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