Press Release

‘Repositioning of fair with strong trade element'

Cape Town Book Fair means business at LBF's Market Focus South Africa

South Africa is the Market Focus country at the London Book Fair (19 - 21 April 2010). It's an opportunity for the South African Publishing industry to showcase its rich diversity and to introduce this year's Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF) as an event "where books mean business," according to CTBF Director Claudia Kaiser.

A host of South African publishers and authors will be at the London Book Fair.

Kaiser said that this year's CTBF would be repositioning itself, "as a fair with a strong trade element. The fifth anniversary of the CTBF will be a celebration of its success with the public, but it will also be a repositioning of the event to include a strong trade and professional element. We invite all interested colleagues to attend our presentation on the CTBF at the Networking Area of the South African stand. Highlights of the fair will be presented, including the professional day with its exciting programme, as well as other innovative business tools."

Brian Wafawarowa the Executive Director of the Publishers Association of South Africa (PASA) said one of the strengths and growth points of this year's CTBF was "that there would be about 15 African publishers at the CTBF through a grant from the Goethe Institut South Africa. We want to establish the CTBF as the entry point into publishing in Africa and through the trade and professional programme acknowledge and engage visitors from the rest of the world and showcase the vast potential that exists for doing business in the African market."

Kaiser said the professional day on 30 July would be open to exhibitors and trade visitors, for example booksellers, librarians, institutional buyers, teachers, school principals among others.  The organisers will present on the spot seminars, e.g. on Rights Trading, Publishing in Africa, Digital publishing, a seminar for booksellers and other subjects.

"The organisers will also present matchmaking seminars for different target groups, one of them being a buyers/sellers meeting. Exhibitors are invited to stage their own professional programmes on that day as well: making the CTBF a place where publishers, booksellers and other trade exhibitors can send their staff to be trained and gain knowledge for free.

"If publishers want to meet potential clients and business partners, they should sign up for the matchmaking sessions - we have had tremendous success with these in the past - and great outcomes for the participants!" said Kaiser.

Other highlights for trade visitors will be the Rights and Business Lounge where participants will be able to conduct meetings in a business-like environment and in privacy. On top of this the CTBF will present an International Collective, where exhibitors from all over the world can register single titles, shelves or panels in order to test the market.

"The important thing is that there is tremendous value proposition in the African book market for the worldwide trade, we are looking forward to introducing potential visitors to these publishers at the London Book Fair," said Wafawarowa.

The CTBF website will also host a Book Titles List where publishers can list the titles they are exhibiting (from 2008 onwards). These will be promoted and distributed to all institutional buyers, libraries etc. so that they can plan their visit to the CTBF - in a professional, quiet atmosphere - on the professional day. A new feature at the fair will be "Book2Look" - a new marketing tool for books. Publishers can register their titles (published 2008 or later) on this special Cape Town Book Fair edition, in Book2Look they can upload reading samples of the titles as well as other information, create links to different book shops where the title can be ordered and bought.  Readers can recommend the books and the reading samples through facebook, twitter etc. to their friends.

"This year's CTBF is going to be a celebration of publishing, and of African publishing. We look forward to the South Africa market focus at the London Book Fair where we can show exhibitors and trade visitors what they can expect from the CTBF. It is also a great opportunity for South African publishers to market themselves and make contacts they can build on at the CTBF.

"Despite the strong trade element we are adding to the fair, it remains a great event for book lovers and the general public. The CTBF opens to the public from the 31 July to the 2^nd of August, and - like every year - the fair will present an exciting programme of events for readers, young and grown-up a like," said Kaiser.