Director of the Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF), Vanessa Badroodien, said she was 'over the moon' with the R1.5-million deal as it had given the inaugural Fair a 'powerful vote of confidence'.
The CTBF - a joint venture between the Publishers' Association of South Africa (PASA) and the renowned Frankfurt Book Fair - will host best-selling local and international authors as well as local and international publishers and press under the theme Celebrate Africa.
Johncom Media CEO and Sunday Times publisher Mike Robertson said the sponsorship offered the company an ideal opportunity to affirm its commitment to supporting the promotion of literacy in South Africa.
'The Sunday Times, through its Readright project and other initiatives, has also long been committed to supporting learning through reading. We see the Cape Town Book Fair as powerful vehicle to promote a culture of reading in South Africa. The event will also clearly contribute to the economic development of our publishing industry.'
Two years ago, the Sunday Times moved its annual literary awards - the prestigious Alan Paton Award for non-fiction and the Sunday Times Fiction Award - to Cape Town. The awards will now take place during the Book Fair.
'The literary awards will now take place on the Saturday night of the book fair so it made sense for us to build the relationship still further by giving financial support to what we believe is a vitally important initiative,' Robertson added.
Badroodien said that while there was a literary component to the CTBF, it couldn't be seen to be a 'dry, elitist academic event from which the ordinary reading public feel alienated'.
'Our intention is to stage a lively event that promotes a culture reading for reading's sake and highlights the many issues surrounding book development in South Africa, and Africa,' she said.
Badroodien added that forums at the CTBF would examine and explore the literary context of Africa. 'I see in this an opportunity to involve our neighbours closely through organisations such as the African Publishers' Network (APNET),' she said.
The publishing industry in Africa has seen imports and local publishing growing significantly. The book trade in South Africa is recording phenomenal growth rates due to a booming economy and increasing government commitment to education and literacy.
It is anticipated that the Cape Town Book Fair, being held from June 17-20 2006, will become an annual event generating unprecedented interest in African writing, reading and publishing.
