This week I feature Bongani Tau as he tells us about Afrocentric Literature and takes us through the journey of being a book distributor in Johustleburg. I met Bongani online first through running Bookamoso – and then we missed each other at Abantu Book Festival in 2017. We have since met up at #BookClubSaturdays hosted by Literary Alliance book club a number of times. I admire Bongani’s quiet nature, his easy to approach manner and how calculative he seems to be. Thank you Bongani for being a part of this.
Tell us about who you are, what inspires you and how did you get into the book selling business?
Bongani Tau: I was born and bred in a small farm in Mpumalanga. Moved to Johannesburg to further my studies and I’ve been based here since then.
Growing up I had a complex relationship with reading. I preferred to read material subscribed for the school curriculum. Even then, I only preferred reading poetry and any short text. However, this changed in 2006 when we had to read Animal Farm by George Orwell for an English test and that’s when my love for reading piqued.
I’m inspired by a lot of things but mostly minimalism.
I got into selling books in 2018. Afrocentric Literature was registered, as a business early in 2018 but I had parked it for fear of failing in the trade. In November 2018, we officially started selling books and the journey has been incredible.
Tell us more about your store, including its history and areas you focus on/location. Also, what types of books does your store stock and specialize in?
Bongani Tau: We sell online via our social media pages (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram).
We only sell books by black writers and POC writers across genres.
Who is your market? Who contacts you for a sale/the people who buy from your online profile?
Bongani Tau: Our business caters for anyone who wants to read works by black writers/writers of colour.
We’ve only received orders in SA and majority of our client base are Joburgers.
What is it that you love about your work with books? And what don’t you like?
Bongani Tau: Ha ha ha! Other than having access to our writers and key people in the industry (wink), I love the fact that we are playing a small part in helping grow the publishing industry.
We also get to meet and interact with incredible people.
What are the challenges you’ve gone through in the time you’ve been operating? What characteristics do you think one has to have to run a successful book business?
Bongani Tau: The industry is very small, and the competition is stiff. There are a lot of distributors on the come up and very few customers.
Another challenge is that a lot of our SA consumers are always looking for a good bargain, but this is tricky for businesses that aren’t fully established.
We also have challenges accessing the big publishing houses – they only take large orders which always isn’t viable for a small business like us. We don’t want to keep large stock.
What sets you apart from other local book distributors?
Bongani Tau: We aim to deliver the best service in the industry.
What lessons have you learnt from book selling in South Africa?
Bongani Tau: We’re seeing a lot of people taking an interest in local books which is exciting.
Which book has sold way past your own expectations?
Bongani Tau: We Are the Ones we Need by Sihle Bolani
Vagabond by Lerato Mogoathle and
The Yearning by Mohale Mashigo
Why is it important to support self-published authors in your business?
Bongani Tau: We’re giving them access to our client base. Their stories also matter and deserve a platform where they can flourish.
What in your opinion due to your book sales is the appetite for South African fiction currently?
Bongani Tau: There is an appetite for local fiction – in fact, we’re slowly seeing an uptake in orders for fiction titles.
Social media accounts/contact number where can be reached/followed:
Bongani Tau: Contact number: 065 808 8341
Facebook: Afrocentric Literature
Twitter: afrocentriclit
Instagram: afrocentriclit
Please remember to follow, like and support Afrocentric Literature on the above social media accounts. I wish you all the best with growing Afrocentric Lit into a flourishing business Bongani. Onwards and upwards.
