
As people spend less and less time reading, something that’s so important for our development, events like the South African Book Fair (SABF) serve to remind us of all that books can achieve, and how important the publishing sector is when it comes to protecting and promoting indigenous languages and mother tongues.
With a host of local authors in attendance, the 2017 SABF was a great display of South African talent. Legendary authors such as Zakes Mda, and relative new comers such as Lauren Beukes and Nozizwe Cynthia Jele, showed the diversity of South African fiction authors, with non-fiction writer, Thando Mañana, talking about Being A Black Springbok and Sydda Essop hosting a cooking demonstration of traditional recipes from her book, Karoo Kitchen. Workshops on careers in publishing, how to turn your book into a film script, and different avenues for writers – such as the world of comic books – helped visitors explore everything the world of books has to offer!

Click here to read about the various authors that look part at this years South African Book Fair and here to learn more about National Book Week which aims to mitigate the findings of a 2007 study that revealed that less than 15% of South Africans read books.