As 2025 winds down, it’s worth pausing to look up from our manuscripts, our press plans, and our marketing calendars to take stock of South African literature as a living, breathing ecosystem. In review, the industry is bursting with energy, recognition, challenges and surprises. The past year’s wins tell a story of how voices across languages, regions, and publishing pathways are being heard – and how that’s shifting the ground beneath us as writers, editors, and publishers.
How the Industry is Changing
Let’s start with the big picture. According to the latest South African Book Publishing Industry Survey (2023–24), the country’s book publishing sector generated close to R4 billion in revenue in 2024. And while the latest stats aren’t yet available, we can assume a similar if not higher revenue estimation for 2025. While educational materials and textbook sales have been significant, trade books (the stories and narrative works that move readers) constitute nearly a third of that revenue.
But here’s the nuance that we should all be aware of: While the overall revenue climbed, volume of books sold declined. In other words, there are more rands moving through the industry, but each book on average may be selling fewer copies. That’s a backdrop worth knowing – especially when planning print runs, rights strategies, or audience engagement on a budget.
English still dominates the market, though its share slipped slightly (from 80% to 78%), and African languages saw modest growth. This is a signal from readers that literature in Sepedi, isiZulu, Sesotho, and other languages is beginning to carve out more space on shelves and in conversations.
Awards Season: A National Recognition Moment
As a way of understanding which kinds of work are currently being valued, we can examine some of the wins of 2025. Considered together, award outcomes can point to changing priorities within the publishing industry.
South African Literary Awards (SALA) 2025
Dubbed “the Oscars” of South African literary life, the 20th annual South African Literary Awards honoured 49 practitioners across 16 categories at a ceremony in Johannesburg. What’s clear from the winners is the breadth of voices and languages now being acknowledged:
- Children’s and Youth Literature winners (such as Kabelo Duncan Kgatea and Seakgwe Phalatse) include titles in African languages – a sign that stories for younger readers are being valued on equal footing with adult discourse.
- Poetry, Short Story, and Novel Awards list winners (such as Sizakele Nkosi and Zaheera Jina Asvat) working in multiple languages and across genres.
- The Literary Translators Award (to Moses Seletiša and Sifiso Mzobe) reminds us that translation work is itself now being formally celebrated.
- The Lifetime Achievement Awards to both John Kani and Mavis Smallberg speak to a growing recognition of sustained literary and cultural contribution over time, across different genres and forms of practice.
These awards reflect an intention within the South African literary community to honour and celebrate multilingual creativity and depth of practice.
Sunday Times Literary Awards 2025
Complementing SALA’s broad sweep, the Sunday Times Literary Awards – one of the country’s longest-standing prizes – highlighted some standout books for fiction and non-fiction:
- Shubnum Khan won the fiction prize for The Lost Love of Akbar Manzil, a novel that reconstructs lived experience within South Africa’s Indian community with depth and sensitivity.
- Khumisho Moguerane took home the non-fiction award for Morafe: Person, Family and Nation in Colonial Bechuanaland, 1880s–1950s, praised for its historical substance and narrative clarity.
We take our hats off to the winners, and to all those working tirelessly behind the scenes to make these events the huge successes that they are!
Languages and Literatures Beyond English
One of the most encouraging threads through all of this is the incremental elevation of voices in South Africa’s multiple official languages. Even though English remains dominant, books in isiZulu, Sepedi, Sesotho, Xitsonga, and others are now not just being published but winning recognition and contributing to market shifts.
For authors and small publishers, that’s both a challenge and an invitation: Invest in authentic language expression, readership development, and editorial excellence in these languages because the market – cultural and commercial – is beginning to notice.
So, What Does 2026 Mean for Small Presses and Authors?
If you’re a small-press author, editor or publisher, here are a few clear notes from this year’s literary review:
- Recognition is multiplying: With awards and nominations spanning a wider array of categories, languages, and formats than before
- Industry figures show revenue growing, even while unit sales drop: Compelling you to rethink how you connect with readers
- Multilingual literature matters: Both for cultural representation and for commercial diversification
Taken together, the developments of 2025 point to a literary sector that is steadier, more deliberate, and more open to varied publishing paths. South African writing continues to broaden in language, form, and regional focus, while smaller publishers play an increasingly visible role in shaping what reaches readers. For authors and presses alike, the emphasis has shifted toward sustainability, editorial clarity, and long-term readership.
At Vindigo Press, we’re watching these shifts closely and heading into 2026 with a strong sense of optimism. The coming year feels like a promising moment for authors who have been refining their manuscripts and waiting for the right publishing partnership. If you’re an author considering 2026 as the year to bring your work into the world, we’d love to hear from you and be part of that journey.