A partnership that could offer important new opportunities for writers, small publishers and book distributors has been launched by African Narratives (AFNA) and the Bookshop Association of South Africa (BASA). A memorandum of understanding has now been thrashed out between the two organisations and will be signed in May 2015. AFNA, organisers of the country’s first Indie Book Fair for independent publishers held in Johannesburg in March, is a not-for-profit entity committed to the development of a thriving local literature in SA. BASA is also a not-for-profit entity which already has 173 members including 120 black-owned SME bookshops across the country. ‘You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to realise the potential of such a partnership,’ says AFNA board chairperson, Gail Robbins. AFNA is developing a programme that will include membership-based lobbying power for independent writers, small publishers and distributors; NQF-rated training courses; subsidised publishing opportunities in exchange for author involvement in distribution, and a comprehensive national distribution network for small publishers and independent authors. BASA is seeking a greater share of the book and stationery supply to schools. This will bring greater financial stability to BASA bookshops, thereby generating a retail network in previously under-resourced urban and rural communities that will be of huge value to South Africa’s pursuit of a culture of reading and lifelong learning. It will also greatly improve on current supply systems which are susceptible to abuse and inefficiency Says Simon Mataboge, spokesperson for BASA and himself a bookshop owner: ‘This partnership is what we have been waiting for. It will greatly strengthen our efforts to place our bookshops at the service of the many communities that have so far been excluded from the massive rewards that books and reading can bring to individual lives.’ Co-operation between the two organisations will take …
WHO’S GOING TO WIN THE CRICKET WORLD CUP?
Predict correctly and you could win a free copy of a brand new cricketing novel THE CURSE AND THE CUP by Gaurav Bhalla has just been published and is being distributed by Porcupine Press The rules of the competition are simple: • Send us an email with your prediction before 19 March 2015, the date of the first quarter finals • The first five correct predictions will win a free copy of the book. This means that the earlier you make your prediction, the more chance you have of winning. About this ‘outstandingly original novel’ – thus described by Mark Nicholas, well-known cricket commentator. Here’s the plot: A curse is placed by the bereaved mother of a renowned black cricketing family who never represented their country during the dark days of apartheid. Has this curse been the cause of the Proteas’ failure to win a major cricketing trophy. As the mother lies dying, she appeals to her grandson to continue her curse. Will he honour her request and support the continuation of the hatred and desire for revenge that underlies the curse, or will he choose forgiveness? Will South Africa win the ICC 2015 World Cup, or will the curse continue its unbroken run? DON’T FORGET TO ENTER EARLY. Email address: admin@porcupinepress.cc.za Author: Charle de Klerk from Porcupine Press. More Info link: https://www.porcupinepress.co.za Twitter: https://twitter.com/Porcupine_PRESS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PorcupinePressPage?ref=hl Images: For high res version/s of One image/s please contact: Porcupine Press. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …
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Indie Book Fair announces Keynote Speaker
Here’s a coup for South Africa’s upcoming Indie Book Fair. Sarah Taylor, marketing manager at Troubador Publishing and editor of The Self Publishing Magazine, is to deliver the keynote address at 14:00pm on Saturday 21 March 2015. She will speak on ‘the expanding possibilities and freedom of self publishing’. The Troubador/Matador combination of British publishing imprints enjoys a distinguished international reputation. Troubador is a traditional commercial publishing house while Matador is a high quality self-publishing imprint. Sarah studied English and Journalism at De Montfort University, Leicester, and has more than seven years of publishing experience. She works with self-publishing authors daily to help them market their books and has given numerous speeches at industry events on a variety of self-publishing topics. Admission to Sarah’s address is free for people who have paid the basic admission fee of R10 to the Indie Book Fair. Author: Charle de Klerk from African Narratives. More Info link: http://https://porcupinepress.bookslive.co.za/blog/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ANarratives Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/African-Narratives/1533953003544292?ref=hl Images: For high res version/s of One image/s please contact: African Narratives. Sarah Taylor CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …
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IT’S EXACTLY FIVE YEARS SINCE THE LAUNCH OF PORCUPINE PRESS
November 2009: In a Johannesburg second-hand bookshop, Porcupine Press emerged from the shadows of its own modest past as a new-style independent publishing house. Its focus was unashamedly on quality, both on the covers and between them. Its focus was also on wider and wider distribution. Today, Porcupine Press is a significant player in the rapidly changing terrain of publishing. Commercial publishing appears to be increasingly concerned with finance rather than literature. At the other end of the spectrum, vanity publishers (some of the biggest are owned by some of the largest commercial conglomerates) have few qualms about churning out unedited and carelessly designed mediocrity. The middle ground is where the future lies. It will be a future radically different from the past. People are already talking about the democratisation of publishing, which will lead to a new vitality among writers and readers who have often been thwarted by limited publishing opportunities and inflated book prices. The future, we believe, will give rise to a new awareness of a vibrant local literature read by local readers, while at the same time not afraid of playing on the new digital world stage. In the past five years, Porcupine Press has published more than 80 titles, and has offered distribution services to hundreds of self-published authors. Porcupine Press in the process of opening a branch agency in Australia. Porcupine Press has launched a new imprint, African Narratives, which is controlled by a not-for-profit company whose avowed purpose is to support the growth of a thriving grassroots literature in South Africa. That’s quite an achievement for the first five years. The next five years could be revolutionary. Join Porcupine Press and African Narratives in the middle ground. That’s where the action will be. Author: David Robbins from Porcupine Press. More Info link: https://www.porcupinepress.co.za/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Porcupine_PRESS Facebook: …
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Porcupine Press:A NEW FACE AND A NEW SERVICE
There’s vanity publishing and self-publishing and independent publishing. But what’s the difference? Thanks to the technological revolution, it’s quite easy to lay out a few pages and add a few embellishments. Many companies offer such a service. They even add a cover derived from stock computer images and print a few boxes of books for you to keep in your garage. That’s vanity publishing. Other companies talk rather grandly about international distribution, which means they put your book on Amazon, etc., and then forget about it. International self-publishing companies regularly produce books of such inferior quality that South African bookshops won’t stock them. And most will not release the open files so that authors can produce a small edition for local distribution. There are two things that matter most when authors contemplate self-publishing. QUALITY and MARKETING. PORCUPINE PRESS has a reputation for both. The quality of Porcupine books enhances their chances of being stocked by the countries major bookshops. Porcupine offers wide national and international distribution. But unless these channels are supported by ACTIVE MARKETING, not much selling will take place. This is why PORCUPINE PRESS now offers a free marketing package to every book they publish or distribute. This is Charlé de Klerk. She’s joined the Porcupine team as our marketing specialist. You can contact her on admin@porcupinepress.co.za REMEMBER: QUALITY BOOKS AND FREE INDIVIDUALISED MARKETING – THIS IS WHAT YOU GET AT PORCUPINE PRESS. WE BELIEVE IN THE BOOKS WE PUBLISH AND DISTRIBUTE. Author: Charle de Klerk from Porcupine Press. More Info link: https://www.porcupinepress.co.za Twitter: https://twitter.com/Porcupine_PRESS Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PorcupinePressPage?ref=hl Images: For high res version/s of One image/s please contact: Porcupine Press. Charle de Klerk CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. …