They’re not light “airport” reads, but that’s one of the places you’ll find them, piled in great stacks that, by all accounts, need to be replenished pretty smartly by bookstore staff.
Mark Gevisser, Andrew Feinstein and William Gumede are the leaders of the pack, with sales of their books a remarkable 20 to 30 000 each.
“Books about the state of the nation and local political figures are not just winning prizes and critical acclaim, they are also the surprise new bestsellers,” writes Nosimilo Ndlovu in an article about this bestselling nonfiction sub-genre, the political read.
This news must surely bring a smile to the team at Jonathan Ball – which at a perfunctory glance seems to have cornered half the market for the genre. (The latest title from the Jonathan Ball stable is Tony Leon’s On the Contrary – which had a queue of buyers waiting for autographs that stretched right out the door at the book’s launch earlier this week.) This is not to say that other publishers haven’t made good; everyone’s getting in on the act:
Although publishers say political books have always done well in South Africa, they note a fresh peak of interest in the past five years. Jeremy Boraine, the publishing director at Jonathan Ball Publishers, says: “Given the political divisions among the ANC, people are looking for answers, people have a need to know what’s going on.”
Glenn Cowley, head of the University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, agrees. “South Africa is in a season of political doubt, so a good political analysis book will sell.”
Writers and publishers are hard at work trying to keep up with consumer demands. The latest offering comes from the former DA leader and seasoned opposition figure, Tony Leon. Leon’s self-penned political memoir, On the Contrary, was launched last month. Sunday Times journalist and author Fred Khumalo’s Mshini Wami, (Penguin) is also keenly awaited. Retail response to Feinstein’s After the Party has been so good, a revised edition is due early next year.
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