Stepping inside the Book Circle Capital shop in Melville, Johannesburg, book lovers are immediately met by floor-to-ceiling shelves that are brimming with vibrant and colourful titles by authors from across the continent - from the latest popular fiction to weightier academic criticism. This independent bookshop prides itself on celebrating voices from across the continent, and it holds a vast collection of stories told by Africans, African-Americans, those from the African diaspora, and, of course, authors from South Africa. Book Circle Capital was founded in 2016 by Loyiso Langeni. His vision was to bring the magical world of books and stories to ordinary people - and the shop has gone from strength to strength ever since.
South Africa boasts one of the most established publishing industries on the continent and is home to many successful independent publishers such as Jonathan Ball Publishers, founded in 1976 to publish books by South African authors in addition to successful international titles. Global publishing house Pan Macmillan has an office in Johannesburg, and Penguin Random House has three offices in the country, in Pretoria, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Yet despite the entrenched position of these independent and international players, publishers in South Africa are still grappling with a fragile ecosystem that is plagued by obstacles including high production costs, infrastructure challenges and prohibitive shipping costs.
"South Africa has VAT on books, and that plays a huge role in pricing," says Kelly Ansara, marketing and publicity director of Jonathan Ball Publishing. "If books are being imported, like internationally published titles by authors such as Stephen King or Jodi Picoult, these books carry extra costs, like freight costs and foreign exchange."
The story is similar for books published within South Africa, with costs remaining high. "Print costs, including paper and material costs, are forever rising, and this plays a part in the final cost of the book," explains Ansara. "As printing and distribution costs get more expensive, the per-copy cost starts to creep up."