The Bookseller.com

5th July 2008

Gary Cummiskey is founder, editor, and publisher of independent South African publisher Dye Hard Press.

Coming up short

09.05.08

In 1998, a curious incident took place in South African publishing. Writer and editor Chris van Wyk had met with a Danish organisation called South African Contact, which suggested compiling an anthology of short fiction by local writers reflecting their responses to the relatively new democracy. 

Van Wyk contacted a number of writers, the stories were compiled, the writers were paid . . . and then the anthology couldn't find a publisher in South Africa. It was in fact first published in Danish as Opbrud, by AKS/-Hjulet in 2000, and finally released here as Post-traumatic by independent publisher Botsotso in 2003.

Post-traumatic sold about 600 copies—which is excellent for a title from an independent publisher—but its history is indicative of the negative response towards publishing short fiction in South Africa.

We don't see many books of short fiction published here, and when they are, they tend to be anthologies and hardly ever individual collections. For example, each year Jacana Media publishes an anthology of short fiction related to the Caine Prize for Writing in Africa. There is the occasional Century of South African Stories-type anthology, usually aimed at a university syllabus. A relatively new imprint, Oshun, which specialises in women's writing, has produced a few (themed) anthologies of short fiction, and recently Penguin SA published Don't Tread on My Dreams, a posthumous collection of short fiction by Dora Taylor from the 1950s.

Whether one talks to publishers, bookstores or distributors, the answer is always the same: there is no market for short fiction in South Africa. But Botsotso editor Allan Kolski Horwitz feels that this is part of a mindset that is just too ready to write off the genre.

"There is a definite problem regarding the publishing and selling of short fiction despite a very rich tradition in South Africa," Horwitz says. "Publishers are openly hostile and proclaim the impossibility of selling short fiction. As usual, the bookstores do not make an effort, so it lies in the doldrums."

A similar view is taken by Arja Salafranca, a short story writer who has won two awards for fiction. She stresses the need for publishers to create the market. "Until about 10 years ago," Salafranca says, "there was barely a market for local novels. There were a few coming out, but mainly by established writers. However, publishers took a gamble and now many local novels are being published and read by South Africans. We need to take a similar approach to short fiction. A few local magazines have started publishing short fiction again, and the genre is proving to be popular with readers."

But will publishers be prepared to take that risk? I hope so, but my suspicion is, as was the case with Post--traumatic, that it will be an indie that leads the way.

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