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Beth Le Roux

University of Pretoria, Information Science, Faculty Member

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I teach Publishing Studies and conduct research mostly in the area of Publishing History, particularly in South Africa and Africa more broadly. I am co-editor of the journal Book History.

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Anna Maria Tammaro

University of Parma

Alejandra B Osorio

Wellesley College

Kansas State University

Swansea University

University of Florida

Michaela Valente

Università degli Studi "La Sapienza" di Roma

Christopher Rundle

Università di Bologna

Universidad de Costa Rica

Thomás A S Haddad

Universidade de São Paulo

Daniel Hershenzon

University of Connecticut

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Papers by Beth Le Roux

Implementing constitutional language provisions through the Indigenous Language Publishing Programme

South African Journal of African Languages, 2017

The trade publishing sector in South Africa produces books primarily in English and Afrikaans, wh... more The trade publishing sector in South Africa produces books primarily in English and Afrikaans, which is not representative of the spread of languages spoken in the country. In particular, there are very few books published for general readers in the local African languages. The Indigenous Language Publishing Programme (ILPP) is a government-sponsored initiative that aims to improve this situation. This article assesses the impact and sustainability of the ILPP as an attempt to represent the official languages more equally in the publishing industry. Our study, based on an analysis of documents and interviews, found that the national language and book policies have not been well implemented, which is a failure in terms of reaching constitutional ideals. Moreover, despite the ILPP being an attempt at creating language equality, the initiative seems not to be sustainable because it is reliant on external funding. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is not willing to fund such a project on an ongoing basis, which puts the programme's longevity at risk. As a result, the ILPP's influence remains limited. The minority languages remain under-represented and this raises questions about whether there is in fact a viable market for books in all of the South African languages.

Concepts of Reading in South African Promotion Campaigns

Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, 2018

Amid ongoing concerns about the reading decline, the lack of a â€œreading cultureâ€ and children... more Amid ongoing concerns about the reading decline, the lack of a â€œreading cultureâ€ and children not reading enough, a variety of solutions are put forward, largely in the form of reading promotion campaigns. These campaigns are seldom sustainable, usually owing to sporadic funding. However, this paper considers whether another factor that affects the sustainability of such campaigns has to do with how they are conceptualised, and whether it is a mismatch between aims and outcomes. Working from a theoretical perspective of the social uses of literacy, the paper examines discourses around reading and how they reflect certain dominant ideologies, social meanings and values. Based on a content analysis of the main publicity, communications and speeches associated with some of the dominant reading promotion campaigns in South Africa, the paper examines the words and images being used to promote reading, and how these affect the evaluation of such reading campaigns.

Between the Cathedral and the Market: A Study of Wits University Press

University presses are often said to lie between the ‘cathedral’ and the ‘market’.1 What this mea... more University presses are often said to lie between the ‘cathedral’ and the ‘market’.1 What this means is that they have to balance the symbolic capital of knowledge production and the economic capital of commercial viability, to use Bourdieusian terms.2 South Africa’s four university presses now find themselves in this position, but historically they were not: cushioned by subventions, they did not compete with commercial publishers, and, at the same time, their role was more supportive and service-oriented than acquisitive or interventionist. In addition, the balance was complicated by a third pressure, which assumed overwhelming significance in this country: the political. The motivation of those opposing apartheid was neither profit nor prestige, but activism for the purpose of political change — a significant difference.

Book history in Africa: A historiography

e systematic study of the “history of the book” and the impact of print and writing in African c... more e systematic study of the “history of the book” and the impact of print and writing in African countries has not yet received widespread recognition as a discipline. In just the past two decades, levels of knowledge and interest in this field have grown. is essay aims to trace the trajectory of research carried out in the broad discipline of the history of the book in Africa. Evidence shows that an early interest in locally focused or national histories appears to have endured, although some scholars are now beginning to conduct trans-national and comparative studies. However, without more baseline studies of the origins and development of printing and publishing, a solid basis has not yet been laid for more far-reaching studies. Considerable gaps remain, so there is scope for further research on this continent.

Introduction: Print Culture in Southern Africa

Journal of Southern African Studies, 2018

Research into print culture studies in Africa has largely been dominated by histories of how Euro... more Research into print culture studies in Africa has largely been dominated by histories of how European missionaries, colonial administrators and traders brought the book and literacy to Africa, by what Isabel Hofmeyr describes as 'the idea of the imperial gift'.1 Indeed, Africa has been marginalised within the discipline of book history, and has been either omitted or assigned only the briefest mention in the major book history companions, dictionaries and readers, while histories of British publishers routinely overlook their profitable enterprises in Africa.2 As a result, a number of gaps and silences remain. This collection addresses some important issues that have been widely neglected; the focus here is on black southern African writing, publishing and readerships, in contrast with the often white-dominated narrative of print culture, even within African scholarship. Print culture holds important implications for questions of identity, nationality and colonial or postcolonial politics, and, as David Johnson states, there is a need for close attention to 'how "print, text and book cultures" have functioned and continue to function within South Africa's vastly unequal political economy'.3 Drawing together interdisciplinary research and diverse methodologies, this journal special issue encompasses a range of perspectives, including literary studies, anthropology, publishing studies, the history of the book, art history and information science. Many of the articles are based on previously unexamined archives and collections, for example authors', publishers' and state archives as well as oral history research. They are, thus, evidence-based * We would like to acknowledge the excellent support of the JSAS editorial board in the publication of this special issue, and our particular thanks go to Dennis Walder, the in-house editor of this volume, for his extensive help and constructive advice at every stage.

Annual book industry survey 2011

‘Unique perspectives on South Africa’: imagining South Africa through the Homebru book marketing campaign, 2002–2012

Critical Arts, 2014

Publishing South African scholarship in the global academic community

Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, 2015

South Africa's academic publishing history has been profoundly influenced by its colonial her... more South Africa's academic publishing history has been profoundly influenced by its colonial heritage. This is reflected in the publication of Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society (later, the Royal Society of South Africa) from 1878. Although the Society and journal sought to promote original research about South Africa, it was modelled after the Royal Society in London and formed part of an imperial scientific community. As the local higher education institutions grew more independent and research-focused, local scholarly publishing developed as well, with university presses playing an increasingly important role. The University of South Africa (Unisa) Press started publishing departmental journals in the 1950s, with a focus on journals that ‘speak to the student’, and it is today the only South African university press with an active journals publishing programme. As external funding declined and the country became intellectually isolated in the high apartheid ...

A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa

This publication has been typeset in the multilingual "Brill" typeface. With over 5,100 character... more

Visibility, Credibility, Prestige: Evaluating the Implications of Indexing African Journals

Start-up problems for a journal include attracting authors and building initial readership, but c... more Start-up problems for a journal include attracting authors and building initial readership, but challenges further down the line include building visibility and maintaining credibility. One of the key strategies in this regard is indexing. According to the literature, the main reasons for having a journal indexed or listed in an abstracting service relate to visibility, and to quality, in terms of credibility and prestige. In this paper, I will look at each of these in more detail. For concrete examples, I will draw upon my experience with indexing an interdisciplinary journal in the social sciences, Africa Insight, of which I am currently the editor. Our experience, in a nutshell, has been that getting the journal indexed does create more visibility, and that it certainly confers some credibility – but it has had little effect on the bottom-line of subscriptions and sales. Résumé Les problèmes de démarrage d'une revue consistent notamment dans les difficultés à susciter l'i...

South African crime fiction: sleuthing the State post-1994

African Identities, 2014

In this essay we demonstrate how the burgeoning field of South African crime fiction has responde... more In this essay we demonstrate how the burgeoning field of South African crime fiction has responded to the birth and development of a democratic, post-apartheid South African state. First, an overview of South African crime fiction in the last twenty years is presented. Then the essay presents an argument for South African crime fiction to be regarded as the 'new political novel', based on its capacity for socio-political analysis. In the following section, the genre-snob debate and the resurgence of such terms as 'lowbrow' and 'highbrow' are considered in relation to crime fiction and the role it plays in the socio-cultural arena of post-apartheid South Africa. We conclude with a comment on the significance of popular literary genres for democracy and critical discourses which underpin that democracy. The essay shows that crime fiction is a strong tool for socio-political analysis in a democratic South Africa, because it promotes critical discourse in society, despite it being deemed lowbrow or ideologically ambiguous.

Does the north read the south? the international reception of South African scholarly texts

Compiled Hindsight? Publishers’ Archives in South Africa

Restaurator, 2013

Publishing is an important cultural industry, and its products form part of the record of our soc... more Publishing is an important cultural industry, and its products form part of the record of our social and cultural history. Yet what of the records of the publishers themselves-the voluminous correspondence, financial information, manuscripts, policies, review reports, and so on-and what is preserved of such records? In this paper, I propose to discuss the ways in which South African publishers keep-and do not keep-archives. If we are to write a full publishing history in this country, then it is imperative that there should be archives, records, sources of information. Yet publishers, while concerned with record-keeping for corporate purposes, turn out to be not particularly good at keeping records for posterity, for examination, or for independent study. A key problem is access to source material for further study, as often it has not been retained, or certain corporate archives are closed to outsiders and considered confidential. This problem is the result of a tension between why such archives may have been compiled for 'management information', precedent, or compliance and what users such as historians or other researchers may seek in them. There is a core difference in what each party regards as valuable. In other words, we may view publishers and their products as part of a cultural industry, but they largely view themselves as business entities. Another problem with sources results from the repressive legislation of the past, which banned books, suppressed authors and constrained publishers. The effect was to create gaps, omissions and even excisions in the archives that survive. This paper aims to examine which kinds of traces survive, and under what circumstances, in the archives of South African publishers, using a case study approach. As part of a larger, ongoing project, this would be of use to researchers who are seeking to write publisher histories, as well as to publishing houses with haphazard policies for sorting and retaining records for archival purposes.

The production and reception of Deon Meyer’s works: an evaluation of the factors contributing to bestseller status

Scrutiny2, 2014

Black Writers, White Publishers: A case study of the Bantu Treasury Series in South Africa

E-rea, 2013

ABSTRACT Wits University Press (WUP), South Africa’s oldest university press, is considered a pio... more ABSTRACT Wits University Press (WUP), South Africa’s oldest university press, is considered a pioneer in the publishing of African-language literature, due to the publication of the long-running Bantu Treasury Series (later to be renamed the African Treasury Series). Along with the mission presses, local-language newspapers and some educational publishers, this publisher played a part in the development of African-language literature in South Africa. But the press would not have earned this reputation without the commitment of Professor Clement Doke. Inspired by the publication of novels in English by black South African authors, Doke established the series to provide a publications outlet in the local African languages. This paper examines the development and impact of the Bantu Treasury Series, with a focus on the authors and their relations with the series editor and publisher.

The Predictive Value of Disruptive Technology Theory for Digital Publishing in the Traditional Publishing Environment: A South African Case Study

Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 2014

Digital technologies such as e-books are predicted to have a profound effect on publishing, but t... more Digital technologies such as e-books are predicted to have a profound effect on publishing, but they are yet to have a serious impact on the industry. This paper considers the implications of digitization and digital publishing for the trade book publishing industry in South Africa. Through surveys and interviews with South African trade publishers, a picture was developed of the current state of digital publishing. This state is evaluated using the context and predictive value of disruptive technology theory. In this case, digital technology is seen as a disruptive technology in the traditional print publishing environment. As the paper shows, the problems that publishers are experiencing are characteristic of industries faced with disruptive technology. The principles of disruptive technology can therefore be applied to develop recommendations and suggest strategies for publishers planning to venture into digital publishing. Although the focus of the research was on South African ...

South African Crime and Detective Fiction in English: A Bibliography and Publishing History

Current Writing, 2013

Against the general assumption that crime and detective fiction has only recently emerged as a ge... more Against the general assumption that crime and detective fiction has only recently emerged as a genre in South African publishing, this essay will consider the publishing history of this genre in South Africa. The question that is considered is whether trade or general-interest publishers targeting a mass audience in South Africa have produced 'whodunnits' in addition to their output of cookbooks and romance fiction? The evidence of writers like June Drummond, James McClure and Wessel Ebersohn, at the very least, suggests that they have, but there is also an older history. This article aims to develop a bibliography and publishing profile of this genre. This will enable us to build a contextualised historical perspective and deepen our understanding of a very popular genre.

Book History in the African World: The State of the Discipline

Book History, 2012

There is a key and oft-repeated assumption that the book is not indigenous to Africa, and has a r... more There is a key and oft-repeated assumption that the book is not indigenous to Africa, and has a relatively short history here. 1 Thus, to tell the story of the book in Africa, some would start with the coming of the first printing presses, brought to missions, colonies, and trading posts around the continent by Europeans. Others would argue that we should look at the first indigenous publishing initiatives, mostly newspapers set up by welleducated locals, which led to the inculcation of print into African cultures. But there is also a textual history that is around a thousand years older, the story of the writing, reading, and circulation of texts before the advent of movable type. Where we begin is also a question of location, and the geography of Africa is a complicating factor in any historical study. Borders have changed, peoples have migrated, and the transnational nature of trade and circulation has had a lasting impact on the continent. And "Africa" itself is a troublesome concept, often conceived of either as a monolithic whole or as broad swathes: sub-Saharan and North Africa, or black and Arab Africa, the linguistic and political categories of Anglophone and Francophone Africa, and so on. Moreover, while Adrian Johns argues that print has a role in transcending place, it is also important to look at the specifics of locale when examining book history in such a contested terrain. So there is great variety in both the places and times where the written word has been used, traded, printed, and dispersed in the African context. As a result, print and textual culture has had a differential impact in different parts of Africa, and for different groups. A core complication, then, with attempting a survey of the history of the book in Africa comes down to definitions: the use of the term "print culture" may be inappropriate in situations that rather have a scribal culture, for instance. The "book" has various definitions, in different contexts.

Repressive Tolerance in a Political Context: Academic Freedom in Apartheid South Africa

History of Education Quarterly, 2018

My research examines the role of print culture and publishers in political contexts, especially i... more My research examines the role of print culture and publishers in political contexts, especially in the twentieth century. Studying the history of university presses in South Africa led me to consider the multiple ways in which a society can attempt to suppress academic freedom, as well as the resulting forms of resistance and collusion. In apartheid-era South Africa, the universities were subject to the same polarizing forces as the rest of society, encouraging a choice between acquiescence and resistance or rather, as I found, a position on a broad spectrum between complicity and dissent. This led to the politicization of campuses across the country and the growing involvement of staff and students in political activities (both for and against the government). Intellectual repression, both structural and legislative, was one of the government's central tools: universities were racially segregated 1 and fairly closely monitored and, more broadly, a highly repressive legislative array of censorship and control was aimed mainly at "undesirable" publications. The state imposed intellectual censorship with a plethora of regulations intended to support separate development and the security of the state. This took the form of direct intervention, through banning both books and individual academics, as well as indirect influence and pressure that led to self-censorship. But this should not be interpreted as a total crackdown on academic freedom. Even during the most repressive days of apartheid, academic freedom was tolerated, at least to some extent, at the universities. The government maintained a careful balance between the appearance of academic freedom, when it was not directly limited Beth le Roux is an Associate Professor in Publishing Studies at the University of Pretoria. Her research areas include the history of publishing and the history of science in Southern Africa. She is author of A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa and co-author, with Sam Naidu, of a book on crime fiction in South Africa. She is co-editor of the journal Book History. 1 This essay does not use the full array of apartheid racial classifications, especially not the exclusionary term nonwhite. Rather, it uses black and white, where appropriate, to refer to academics from different races.

Miriam Tlali and Ravan Press: Politics and Power in Literary Publishing during the Apartheid Period

Print Culture in Southern Africa, 2021

Implementing constitutional language provisions through the Indigenous Language Publishing Programme

South African Journal of African Languages, 2017

The trade publishing sector in South Africa produces books primarily in English and Afrikaans, wh... more The trade publishing sector in South Africa produces books primarily in English and Afrikaans, which is not representative of the spread of languages spoken in the country. In particular, there are very few books published for general readers in the local African languages. The Indigenous Language Publishing Programme (ILPP) is a government-sponsored initiative that aims to improve this situation. This article assesses the impact and sustainability of the ILPP as an attempt to represent the official languages more equally in the publishing industry. Our study, based on an analysis of documents and interviews, found that the national language and book policies have not been well implemented, which is a failure in terms of reaching constitutional ideals. Moreover, despite the ILPP being an attempt at creating language equality, the initiative seems not to be sustainable because it is reliant on external funding. The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) is not willing to fund such a project on an ongoing basis, which puts the programme's longevity at risk. As a result, the ILPP's influence remains limited. The minority languages remain under-represented and this raises questions about whether there is in fact a viable market for books in all of the South African languages.

Concepts of Reading in South African Promotion Campaigns

Mousaion: South African Journal of Information Studies, 2018

Amid ongoing concerns about the reading decline, the lack of a â€œreading cultureâ€ and children... more Amid ongoing concerns about the reading decline, the lack of a â€œreading cultureâ€ and children not reading enough, a variety of solutions are put forward, largely in the form of reading promotion campaigns. These campaigns are seldom sustainable, usually owing to sporadic funding. However, this paper considers whether another factor that affects the sustainability of such campaigns has to do with how they are conceptualised, and whether it is a mismatch between aims and outcomes. Working from a theoretical perspective of the social uses of literacy, the paper examines discourses around reading and how they reflect certain dominant ideologies, social meanings and values. Based on a content analysis of the main publicity, communications and speeches associated with some of the dominant reading promotion campaigns in South Africa, the paper examines the words and images being used to promote reading, and how these affect the evaluation of such reading campaigns.

Between the Cathedral and the Market: A Study of Wits University Press

University presses are often said to lie between the ‘cathedral’ and the ‘market’.1 What this mea... more University presses are often said to lie between the ‘cathedral’ and the ‘market’.1 What this means is that they have to balance the symbolic capital of knowledge production and the economic capital of commercial viability, to use Bourdieusian terms.2 South Africa’s four university presses now find themselves in this position, but historically they were not: cushioned by subventions, they did not compete with commercial publishers, and, at the same time, their role was more supportive and service-oriented than acquisitive or interventionist. In addition, the balance was complicated by a third pressure, which assumed overwhelming significance in this country: the political. The motivation of those opposing apartheid was neither profit nor prestige, but activism for the purpose of political change — a significant difference.

Book history in Africa: A historiography

e systematic study of the “history of the book” and the impact of print and writing in African c... more e systematic study of the “history of the book” and the impact of print and writing in African countries has not yet received widespread recognition as a discipline. In just the past two decades, levels of knowledge and interest in this field have grown. is essay aims to trace the trajectory of research carried out in the broad discipline of the history of the book in Africa. Evidence shows that an early interest in locally focused or national histories appears to have endured, although some scholars are now beginning to conduct trans-national and comparative studies. However, without more baseline studies of the origins and development of printing and publishing, a solid basis has not yet been laid for more far-reaching studies. Considerable gaps remain, so there is scope for further research on this continent.

Introduction: Print Culture in Southern Africa

Journal of Southern African Studies, 2018

Research into print culture studies in Africa has largely been dominated by histories of how Euro... more Research into print culture studies in Africa has largely been dominated by histories of how European missionaries, colonial administrators and traders brought the book and literacy to Africa, by what Isabel Hofmeyr describes as 'the idea of the imperial gift'.1 Indeed, Africa has been marginalised within the discipline of book history, and has been either omitted or assigned only the briefest mention in the major book history companions, dictionaries and readers, while histories of British publishers routinely overlook their profitable enterprises in Africa.2 As a result, a number of gaps and silences remain. This collection addresses some important issues that have been widely neglected; the focus here is on black southern African writing, publishing and readerships, in contrast with the often white-dominated narrative of print culture, even within African scholarship. Print culture holds important implications for questions of identity, nationality and colonial or postcolonial politics, and, as David Johnson states, there is a need for close attention to 'how "print, text and book cultures" have functioned and continue to function within South Africa's vastly unequal political economy'.3 Drawing together interdisciplinary research and diverse methodologies, this journal special issue encompasses a range of perspectives, including literary studies, anthropology, publishing studies, the history of the book, art history and information science. Many of the articles are based on previously unexamined archives and collections, for example authors', publishers' and state archives as well as oral history research. They are, thus, evidence-based * We would like to acknowledge the excellent support of the JSAS editorial board in the publication of this special issue, and our particular thanks go to Dennis Walder, the in-house editor of this volume, for his extensive help and constructive advice at every stage.

Annual book industry survey 2011

‘Unique perspectives on South Africa’: imagining South Africa through the Homebru book marketing campaign, 2002–2012

Critical Arts, 2014

Publishing South African scholarship in the global academic community

Notes and Records: the Royal Society Journal of the History of Science, 2015

South Africa's academic publishing history has been profoundly influenced by its colonial her... more South Africa's academic publishing history has been profoundly influenced by its colonial heritage. This is reflected in the publication of Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society (later, the Royal Society of South Africa) from 1878. Although the Society and journal sought to promote original research about South Africa, it was modelled after the Royal Society in London and formed part of an imperial scientific community. As the local higher education institutions grew more independent and research-focused, local scholarly publishing developed as well, with university presses playing an increasingly important role. The University of South Africa (Unisa) Press started publishing departmental journals in the 1950s, with a focus on journals that ‘speak to the student’, and it is today the only South African university press with an active journals publishing programme. As external funding declined and the country became intellectually isolated in the high apartheid ...

A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa

This publication has been typeset in the multilingual "Brill" typeface. With over 5,100 character... more

Visibility, Credibility, Prestige: Evaluating the Implications of Indexing African Journals

Start-up problems for a journal include attracting authors and building initial readership, but c... more Start-up problems for a journal include attracting authors and building initial readership, but challenges further down the line include building visibility and maintaining credibility. One of the key strategies in this regard is indexing. According to the literature, the main reasons for having a journal indexed or listed in an abstracting service relate to visibility, and to quality, in terms of credibility and prestige. In this paper, I will look at each of these in more detail. For concrete examples, I will draw upon my experience with indexing an interdisciplinary journal in the social sciences, Africa Insight, of which I am currently the editor. Our experience, in a nutshell, has been that getting the journal indexed does create more visibility, and that it certainly confers some credibility – but it has had little effect on the bottom-line of subscriptions and sales. Résumé Les problèmes de démarrage d'une revue consistent notamment dans les difficultés à susciter l'i...

South African crime fiction: sleuthing the State post-1994

African Identities, 2014

In this essay we demonstrate how the burgeoning field of South African crime fiction has responde... more In this essay we demonstrate how the burgeoning field of South African crime fiction has responded to the birth and development of a democratic, post-apartheid South African state. First, an overview of South African crime fiction in the last twenty years is presented. Then the essay presents an argument for South African crime fiction to be regarded as the 'new political novel', based on its capacity for socio-political analysis. In the following section, the genre-snob debate and the resurgence of such terms as 'lowbrow' and 'highbrow' are considered in relation to crime fiction and the role it plays in the socio-cultural arena of post-apartheid South Africa. We conclude with a comment on the significance of popular literary genres for democracy and critical discourses which underpin that democracy. The essay shows that crime fiction is a strong tool for socio-political analysis in a democratic South Africa, because it promotes critical discourse in society, despite it being deemed lowbrow or ideologically ambiguous.

Does the north read the south? the international reception of South African scholarly texts

Compiled Hindsight? Publishers’ Archives in South Africa

Restaurator, 2013

Publishing is an important cultural industry, and its products form part of the record of our soc... more Publishing is an important cultural industry, and its products form part of the record of our social and cultural history. Yet what of the records of the publishers themselves-the voluminous correspondence, financial information, manuscripts, policies, review reports, and so on-and what is preserved of such records? In this paper, I propose to discuss the ways in which South African publishers keep-and do not keep-archives. If we are to write a full publishing history in this country, then it is imperative that there should be archives, records, sources of information. Yet publishers, while concerned with record-keeping for corporate purposes, turn out to be not particularly good at keeping records for posterity, for examination, or for independent study. A key problem is access to source material for further study, as often it has not been retained, or certain corporate archives are closed to outsiders and considered confidential. This problem is the result of a tension between why such archives may have been compiled for 'management information', precedent, or compliance and what users such as historians or other researchers may seek in them. There is a core difference in what each party regards as valuable. In other words, we may view publishers and their products as part of a cultural industry, but they largely view themselves as business entities. Another problem with sources results from the repressive legislation of the past, which banned books, suppressed authors and constrained publishers. The effect was to create gaps, omissions and even excisions in the archives that survive. This paper aims to examine which kinds of traces survive, and under what circumstances, in the archives of South African publishers, using a case study approach. As part of a larger, ongoing project, this would be of use to researchers who are seeking to write publisher histories, as well as to publishing houses with haphazard policies for sorting and retaining records for archival purposes.

The production and reception of Deon Meyer’s works: an evaluation of the factors contributing to bestseller status

Scrutiny2, 2014

Black Writers, White Publishers: A case study of the Bantu Treasury Series in South Africa

E-rea, 2013

ABSTRACT Wits University Press (WUP), South Africa’s oldest university press, is considered a pio... more ABSTRACT Wits University Press (WUP), South Africa’s oldest university press, is considered a pioneer in the publishing of African-language literature, due to the publication of the long-running Bantu Treasury Series (later to be renamed the African Treasury Series). Along with the mission presses, local-language newspapers and some educational publishers, this publisher played a part in the development of African-language literature in South Africa. But the press would not have earned this reputation without the commitment of Professor Clement Doke. Inspired by the publication of novels in English by black South African authors, Doke established the series to provide a publications outlet in the local African languages. This paper examines the development and impact of the Bantu Treasury Series, with a focus on the authors and their relations with the series editor and publisher.

The Predictive Value of Disruptive Technology Theory for Digital Publishing in the Traditional Publishing Environment: A South African Case Study

Journal of Scholarly Publishing, 2014

Digital technologies such as e-books are predicted to have a profound effect on publishing, but t... more Digital technologies such as e-books are predicted to have a profound effect on publishing, but they are yet to have a serious impact on the industry. This paper considers the implications of digitization and digital publishing for the trade book publishing industry in South Africa. Through surveys and interviews with South African trade publishers, a picture was developed of the current state of digital publishing. This state is evaluated using the context and predictive value of disruptive technology theory. In this case, digital technology is seen as a disruptive technology in the traditional print publishing environment. As the paper shows, the problems that publishers are experiencing are characteristic of industries faced with disruptive technology. The principles of disruptive technology can therefore be applied to develop recommendations and suggest strategies for publishers planning to venture into digital publishing. Although the focus of the research was on South African ...

South African Crime and Detective Fiction in English: A Bibliography and Publishing History

Current Writing, 2013

Against the general assumption that crime and detective fiction has only recently emerged as a ge... more Against the general assumption that crime and detective fiction has only recently emerged as a genre in South African publishing, this essay will consider the publishing history of this genre in South Africa. The question that is considered is whether trade or general-interest publishers targeting a mass audience in South Africa have produced 'whodunnits' in addition to their output of cookbooks and romance fiction? The evidence of writers like June Drummond, James McClure and Wessel Ebersohn, at the very least, suggests that they have, but there is also an older history. This article aims to develop a bibliography and publishing profile of this genre. This will enable us to build a contextualised historical perspective and deepen our understanding of a very popular genre.

Book History in the African World: The State of the Discipline

Book History, 2012

There is a key and oft-repeated assumption that the book is not indigenous to Africa, and has a r... more There is a key and oft-repeated assumption that the book is not indigenous to Africa, and has a relatively short history here. 1 Thus, to tell the story of the book in Africa, some would start with the coming of the first printing presses, brought to missions, colonies, and trading posts around the continent by Europeans. Others would argue that we should look at the first indigenous publishing initiatives, mostly newspapers set up by welleducated locals, which led to the inculcation of print into African cultures. But there is also a textual history that is around a thousand years older, the story of the writing, reading, and circulation of texts before the advent of movable type. Where we begin is also a question of location, and the geography of Africa is a complicating factor in any historical study. Borders have changed, peoples have migrated, and the transnational nature of trade and circulation has had a lasting impact on the continent. And "Africa" itself is a troublesome concept, often conceived of either as a monolithic whole or as broad swathes: sub-Saharan and North Africa, or black and Arab Africa, the linguistic and political categories of Anglophone and Francophone Africa, and so on. Moreover, while Adrian Johns argues that print has a role in transcending place, it is also important to look at the specifics of locale when examining book history in such a contested terrain. So there is great variety in both the places and times where the written word has been used, traded, printed, and dispersed in the African context. As a result, print and textual culture has had a differential impact in different parts of Africa, and for different groups. A core complication, then, with attempting a survey of the history of the book in Africa comes down to definitions: the use of the term "print culture" may be inappropriate in situations that rather have a scribal culture, for instance. The "book" has various definitions, in different contexts.

Repressive Tolerance in a Political Context: Academic Freedom in Apartheid South Africa

History of Education Quarterly, 2018

My research examines the role of print culture and publishers in political contexts, especially i... more My research examines the role of print culture and publishers in political contexts, especially in the twentieth century. Studying the history of university presses in South Africa led me to consider the multiple ways in which a society can attempt to suppress academic freedom, as well as the resulting forms of resistance and collusion. In apartheid-era South Africa, the universities were subject to the same polarizing forces as the rest of society, encouraging a choice between acquiescence and resistance or rather, as I found, a position on a broad spectrum between complicity and dissent. This led to the politicization of campuses across the country and the growing involvement of staff and students in political activities (both for and against the government). Intellectual repression, both structural and legislative, was one of the government's central tools: universities were racially segregated 1 and fairly closely monitored and, more broadly, a highly repressive legislative array of censorship and control was aimed mainly at "undesirable" publications. The state imposed intellectual censorship with a plethora of regulations intended to support separate development and the security of the state. This took the form of direct intervention, through banning both books and individual academics, as well as indirect influence and pressure that led to self-censorship. But this should not be interpreted as a total crackdown on academic freedom. Even during the most repressive days of apartheid, academic freedom was tolerated, at least to some extent, at the universities. The government maintained a careful balance between the appearance of academic freedom, when it was not directly limited Beth le Roux is an Associate Professor in Publishing Studies at the University of Pretoria. Her research areas include the history of publishing and the history of science in Southern Africa. She is author of A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa and co-author, with Sam Naidu, of a book on crime fiction in South Africa. She is co-editor of the journal Book History. 1 This essay does not use the full array of apartheid racial classifications, especially not the exclusionary term nonwhite. Rather, it uses black and white, where appropriate, to refer to academics from different races.

Miriam Tlali and Ravan Press: Politics and Power in Literary Publishing during the Apartheid Period

Print Culture in Southern Africa, 2021

Publishing against Apartheid South Africa: A Case Study of Ravan Press

Publishing against Apartheid South Africa: A Case Study of Ravan Press, 2020

In many parts of the world, oppositional publishing has emerged in contexts of state oppression. ... more In many parts of the world, oppositional publishing has emerged in contexts of state oppression. In South Africa, censorship laws were enacted in the 1960s, and the next decade saw increased pressure on freedom of speech and publishing. With growing restrictions on information, activist publishing emerged. These highly politicised publishers had a social responsibility to contribute to social change. In spite of their cultural, political and social importance, no academic study of their history has yet been undertaken. This Element aims to fill that gap by examining the history of the most vocal and arguably the most radical of this group, Ravan Press. Using archival material, interviews and the books themselves, the Element examines what the history of Ravan reveals about the role of oppositional print culture.

Introduction: Print Culture in Southern Africa

Print Culture in Southern Africa, 2021

Print Culture in Southern Africa is concerned with the institutions and processes informing textu... more Print Culture in Southern Africa is concerned with the institutions and processes informing textual production, circulation and consumption in the region, over a broad historical period from the late 18th century to the present day. The book is organised around three closely related themes. Firstly, it presents original research into the formation of reading publics and the impact of reading cultures, by uncovering obscure but important reading communities and circuits of book distribution and reception. A second theme is the relationship between print and politics, with a particular focus on the networks of power: how control over the production and circulation of printed books has shaped literary and cultural development. The third theme is transnational print culture, and how the control exercised by publishers in Europe and America has shaped literature and society in southern Africa. Drawing together interdisciplinary research and diverse methodologies, the collection encompasses a range of perspectives, including literary studies, anthropology, publishing studies, the history of the book and art history, and many of the chapters are based on previously unexamined archives and collections. The volume contributes to current debates and opens up new and exciting ways of furthering the study of postcolonial literature and African book history. The chapters included in this book were originally published in the Journal of Southern African Studies.

A Social History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa: Between Complicity and Resistance

In A History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa, Elizabeth le Roux examines scho... more In A History of the University Presses in Apartheid South Africa, Elizabeth le Roux examines scholarly publishing history, academic freedom and knowledge production during the apartheid era. Using archival materials, comprehensive bibliographies, and political sociology theory, this work analyses the origins, publishing lists and philosophies of the university presses. The university presses are often associated with anti-apartheid publishing and the promotion of academic freedom, but this work reveals both greater complicity and complexity. Elizabeth le Roux demonstrates that the university presses cannot be considered oppositional – because they did not resist censorship and because they operated within the constraints of the higher education system – but their publishing strategies became more liberal over time.

A Survey of South African Crime Fiction: Analysis and publishing history

by Sam Naidu and Beth Le Roux

Is crime fiction the new ‘political novel’ in South Africa? Why did the apartheid censors disappr... more Is crime fiction the new ‘political novel’ in South Africa? Why did the apartheid censors disapprove of crime fiction more than any other genre?
Crime fiction is a burgeoning literary category in post-apartheid South Africa, with more new authors, titles and themes emerging every year. This is the first comprehensive survey of South African crime fiction. The book aims to break new ground in terms of both theorising this literary category, and placing it within its wider social and historical context. The authors specialise in both literary studies and print culture, and this combination informs a critical overview and publishing history of South African crime fiction from the nineteenth century to the present day. After a detailed publishing history, the ideological implications of crime fiction are examined, as well as its reception and marketing. The book argues that crime fiction may be considered the new ‘political novel’ in post-apartheid South Africa, as well as breaking down the different genres and sub-genres, and specific themes such as gender and eco-criticism. With a detailed bibliography of crime fiction since the 1890s, this book is an indispensable pedagogical tool and study aid for academics and students.