Penguin South Africa
Spud III Is Top Bestseller for Penguin South Africa
Spud — Learning to Fly by John van de Ruit, was released on 11 June. This is the third title in the Spud series and has sold over 60, 000 copies to date.
The Spud series is an hilarious, triumphant mix of bitter-sweet antics and escapades, which follow Spud Milton during his "long walk to manhood" and diabolical stagger through adolescence.
The Spud phenomenon, which was originally published for the adult market, has had a huge cross-over into the 12+ age group market.
Penguin African Writers Series Launched in Association with Chinua Achebe
In August, Penguin South Africa launched the Penguin African Writers series — a list that includes, among others, some of the very best books from the iconic Heinemann African Writers Series, which was established in 1962, as well as new books from fresh African voices.
Chinua Achebe, who was the original series editor of the Heinemann list, is the Editorial Adviser for the Penguin African Writers series. His own collection, Girls at War and Other Stories, is one of the six inaugural books, which were released this year.
Other books, released in August 2009 were Black Sunlight by Dambudzo Marechera; Neighbours — The Story of Murder by Lília Momplé; As the Crow Flies by Véronique Tadjo; Weep Not, Child by Ngugu Wa Thiong'o and The Hangman's Game by Karen King-Aribisala.
Penguin Books SA Establishes Penguin Prize for African Writing
In April, Penguin Books South Africa launched a new literary award for writers from the African continent — The Penguin Prize for African Writing. The award has two categories: a previously unpublished full-length work of adult fiction and one of non-fiction. The prize in each category will be 50,000 ZAR and a publishing contract with Penguin Books South Africa, with worldwide distribution via Penguin Group companies.
Books to be considered for the non-fiction award will be serious narratives that examine and explore African issues and experiences for both local and international audiences in an engaging, thought provoking and enlightening way.
For the fiction prize the judges will be looking for novels of freshness and originality that represent the finest examples of contemporary fiction out of Africa. The prize aims to reflect and showcase the diversity of voices on our continent both at home and abroad. The short list will be announced in April 2010 and the winners will be announced in September 2010.
The Help by Kathryn Stockett Wins the Exclusive Books 2009 Boeke Fiction Prize
Kathryn Stockett's debut novel, The Help, swept the board at the 2009 Exclusive Books Boeke Prize Awards in October. The awards were the culmination of a six-week competition in which top book reviewers and Exclusive Books Fanatics members were asked to read six shortlisted titles and to then vote for their favourite reads. The Help stole Fanatics and journalists' hearts, scooping first place by a large margin, grabbing over 40% of the votes.
Penguin SA Website and Web Campaigns Thrive Online
The number of visitors to the Penguin SA website has more than doubled over the last year. In January 2009 we had 8,571 visitors per month and as at 31 October, 2009 we had 20,190 visitors per month.
Every month we send about 3-4 electronic mail campaigns to a database over 19,000 subscribers, with an average click-through rate of 12%.
The Penguin Books SA Fan page on Facebook was developed at the beginning of August 2009 with 28 fans. The number of fans has grown to 228, through October.
The Spud Group Fan Page on Facebook was developed in June 2009 with just over 900 members. The number of fans grew to 2,091 members by October.
And Penguin SA's Twitter Page was developed at the beginning of August 2009 and had 269 followers. We now have 460 Followers.
The Impostor Wins 2009 University of Johannesburg Literary Prize
Penguin SA's The Impostor by Damon Galgut won the 2009 University of Johannesburg Literary Prize. The University of Johannesburg's English Department's literary prize is now in its fourth year of existence, with the number of entries increasing each year. The books are judged by a committee of English academics on the basis of the strength of the writing and the impact of the text on South African literary studies.