Cape Town Book Fair 2007 updates

AWARD CEREMONIES AT THE BOOK FAIR:

Two prestigious literary award ceremonies will take place at the Cape Town Book Fair this year, which will run from June 16-19 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

The Sunday Times Literary Awards, comprising the Alan Paton Non-Fiction Award and the Sunday Times Award for fiction, are awarded annually for exceptional writing in English by South African authors. Each award carries a prize of R50 000, and will be presented at a gala event attended by local and international writers and publishers.

Last year's fiction prize was won by young Capetonian author Andrew Brown, who scooped the award for his gritty crime novel, Coldsleep Lullaby. The non-fiction award was shared by two writers covering the same topic - Edwin Cameron's Witness to Aids and Adam Levin's Aid Safari. Both books detailed the experience of HIV/Aids from a contemporary and personal perspective.

While the short-list of nominees for the 2007 awards has yet to be announced, speculation on possible contenders has included Marlene van Niekerk for Agaat, Imraan Coovadia for Green-Eyed Thieves, and Shaun Johnson for The Native Commissioner. However, the field is still wide open ...

The other major award presentation will take place during the Opening Ceremony of the book fair on June 15. The Freedom to Publish Prize of the International Publishers' Association (IPA) is an annual award which "recognises a person or an institution that has made a notable contribution to the defence and promotion in the freedom to publish anywhere in the world". The IPA, established in Paris in 1896, represents the publishing industry via 76 national, regional and specialised publishers' associations in 63 countries.

HEALTHY DEBATE:

Due to the success of last year's book fair, which attracted over 26 000 visitors and featured 313 events on the activities programme, an even larger schedule of debates, discussions, readings and lectures has been planned for 2007. Top authors, academics and publishers will take part in the four-day programme, which is being designed to cater for everyone from trade professionals to children.

Academically-compelling discussions on subjects such as the "dumbing down" of intellectual discourse, African scholarship, and the impact of geographic boundaries on academic output have been scheduled. The release of pivotal research on the pricing of books in the country as well as the reading habits of young people in South Africa will be showcased. The fair will also provide a forum for the discussion of publishing and book development on the continent of Africa.

Local and international authors will be launching their books, reading from them, and signing them, covering genres as diverse as graphic novels, biographies and cookery. Already confirmed on the list are best-selling authors Marion Keyes and Anthony Horowitz, as well as 2006 Man Booker winner Kiran Desai.

The theme of this year's fair, "More than Black on White" will provide the context for a variety of workshops and presentations, while several Book Collections, focusing on topics such as Nelson Mandela, Science Fiction and Wine will form a central focus of the programme.

Organisers are aiming to feature at least 333 events on the 2007 programme.

BIGGER AND BETTER:

The second Cape Town Book Fair will occupy double the space of the inaugural event, taking up 10 000 squares metres of space in the Cape Town International Convention Centre during June 2007.

Based on the popularity of the first fair, which hosted 418 exhibitors from 36 countries and attracted 2000 international trade visitors, the business of books will be even bigger and better this year, promise the organisers. Most of the original exhibitors have already signed up for space, with new participants registering daily.

Organisers will be taking precautions to ensure that visitors are not disappointed, such as making sure that top authors present in larger rooms. The popular Children's Zone, which attracted several thousand young people in 2006, will be expanded to accommodate the expected increase in crowds.While visitors to the fair will pay a nominal entrance fee, all the events on the book fair programme are free. Organisers are advising visitors to arrive at least half-an-hour before each scheduled event is due to start in order to secure a seat.