‘The culture of reading is improving’
JOBURG – The South African Book Fair concluded on the afternoon of Sunday 8 September after three days of thought-provoking and lovely sessions.
Local and international authors and publishers converged on Constitution Hill from 6 September until 8 September for this year’s South African Book Fair (SABF).
The SABF programme manager Lorraine Sithole told the Midrand Reporter on 8 September that it had been a weekend of stories and celebrations.
She said Constitution Hill offered a lot of history, most of it was emotional, but the Book Fair programme held in the same place was a continuation of telling stories in a celebratory manner.
“We started on Friday with a great turnout. The Friday programme was dedicated to children and we had about 300 children from different schools in Gauteng,” she said.
They also collaborated with the National Children’s Theatre which brought its production, Mr Hare Meets Mr Mandela, adapted from the book by Christopher van Wyk, to entertain children.
“For the little ones, we had a magic tent. On Saturday and Sunday we had different sessions for all age groups,” she added.
Sithole said the fair showed the culture of reading in South Africa was gradually improving.
“It is evident by the number of publishers, especially black, young publishers that have come out.”
She indicated that although books are expensive, people were buying them, adding to the growing movement of young, black people who are reading.
“They demand stories which are about them, written for them and about areas in which they come from.
“Those books are selling because they are talking to people.”
Sithole said the culture of reading is improving and they were not giving up on getting the nation to read.
The SA Book Fair is one of many projects under the South Africa Book Development Council (SABDC) which works tirelessly throughout the year.
More than the Book Fair, SABDC also does advocacy work in which they run workshops for upcoming publishers and authors.
According to Sithole, for the nation to start reading, there is a need for the availability of material which speaks to the nation.
Sithole encouraged parents to read for their children and instil the culture of reading.
“When children finish their homework after school, read a paragraph for them, it doesn’t have to be the whole book but to get them into the habit of reading,” Sithole concluded.
Details: South African Book Fair
021 914 8626.
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