By Darren Gilbert
MCed by stand-up comedian, Kurt Schoonraad, the evening was a sweet but short affair.
Mphuka Radinku, executive director of the Publishers’ Association of South Africa (PASA) gave the opening welcome before handing over to Guru Redhi, president of the SA Booksellers’ Association, who kicked off the evening with the first few awards.
In the
Academic Publisher category, Juta & Company took home the prize. Pearson Education SA was named the best
Education Publisher (Large) while Berlut Books was awarded best
Education Publisher (Small).
David Clayton of Novus Print Solutions, one of the sponsors of this year’s event, was then given the honour of announcing the best
Trade Publisher. The winner for 2016 was Penguin Random House.
Chairperson of PASA, Brian Wafawarowa, was introduced next by Schoonraad to hand out the
Booksellers’ Awards.
The best
Academic Bookseller for 2016 was announced as Van Schaik Bookstore. In the
Education Bookseller category, Boeke 24/7 took home the prize, while Caxton Books was named as the
Library Supplier for the past year. In terms of the
Trade Bookseller (Chainstores), Exclusive Books came out tops while Cape Town-based The Book Lounge was acknowledged as the best
Trade Publisher (Independent).
Exclusive Books MD, Benjamin Trisk, took to the stage next to present awards to four local legends in the bookselling trade. The presentation was sponsored by Exclusive Books. Trisk paid tribute to Maureen Hargraves of Hargraves Library Suppliers, Henrietta Dax of Clarkes Bookshop, Fleur Mcfarlane of Exclusive Books, and Peter Adams of Adams Books.
The main award of the evening, the
Nielsen Booksellers Choice Award, came after dinner.
The six titles up for the award were Paige Nick’s
Death by Carbs, published by Bookstorm; Deon Meyer’s
Ikarus, published by Human & Rousseau; Irma Joubert’s
Immer Wes, published by Lapa Publishers; Zakes Mda’s
Little Suns, published by Umuzi; Sally Andrew’s
Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery, also published by Umuzi; and Panashe Chigumadzi’s
Sweet Medicine, published by Jacana Media.
Hazel Kenyon, head of Publisher Account Management: Nielsen Book Research UK, took to the stage to announce the winner. This year, 165 votes were cast from 44 stores across South Africa, making it one of the most successful years in the history of the awards.
Following a few short pleasantries, Kenyon announced Sally Andrew as the winner of the
Nielsen Booksellers’ Choice Award for 2016 for her debut novel,
Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery. Incidentally, the second novel in the series will be launched in October of this year.
Andrew said; “I’m so very honoured to win this prize. You booksellers are my heroes, along with librarians. But because of people like you, and publishers, and librarians, and writers, we get to read. Reading entertains us; educates us; challenges us; transports us to places and ideas that we have never visited before.”
“Reading opens out hearts and uplifts our spirits. So I thank you, not just for an award, which is wonderful, but for the very gift that you give us. I am so very honoured to be part of the six of us who were nominated. I am also very grateful for Fourie Botha, who is here tonight. He is my publisher and one of the very first to believe in my writing. I am very grateful to him and Umuzi for taking me on. And my agent, Isobel Dixon. With them, my book wouldn’t have been able to wriggle on to the bookshelves.”
Andrew was followed by the vice president of the SA Booksellers Association, Mohamed Kharwa, who ended off the evening and thanked everyone for coming.
For more information, visit
www.sabooksellers.com.