The Current State of the South African Book Publishing Industry

The article takes stock of developments in the South African book publishing industry after its contraction during the early years of post-apartheid. It briefly sketches its survival mode during the period 1998-2003 and the prosperous era of 2004-2007. The main focus is on the current situation with specific reference to indicators of growth/decline: consumers, product and authorship, revenue, supply chain, ownership and employment. It concludes that the industry did grow in terms of the quantity of titles produced and in revenue. But it is still lacking in its vision of a multicultural/-lingual celebration of homegrown books, diversification on all levels and policy procedures to enhance the underdeveloped market.