There’s a particular kind of joy that comes from picking up a book and recognising the name of the small town that the author was born in. “That’s in my province!” you may think. Better still, maybe you read the blurb and some sense of belonging grabs you as the author speaks of the jacaranda trees lining the Joburg streets or the dusty roads of the karoo or the bustling activity in Khayelitsha.
South Africa is home to award-winning literature, hard-working publishing houses of varying sizes, and some of the best writers (both active and budding) in the world.
Are you doing your part in keeping our literary scene alive?
Supporting local literature doesn’t have to involve deep intellectual discussion about every new locally published book (though we love the sound of that!). There are small and deliberate choices we can all make to engage. And these choices, multiplied across thousands of individuals, could add up to a wonderfully supportive network for writers and those who work in publishing.
In this article, we discuss what you can do to support local.
Start Where It’s Simplest: Buy the Book
Most of us already know this much: the most direct form of support is a purchase. But not everyone knows that where you buy matters almost as much as the fact that you do.
When you buy a South African title from a local bookshop or directly from a publisher’s website, the money stays in the system that makes more books possible. It pays royalties, contributes to a publisher’s operating costs, and tells booksellers which titles deserve shelf space. Independent shops like Love Books in Johannesburg, Clarke’s Bookshop in Cape Town, and Ike’s in Durban tend to stock local titles more intentionally than some chain stores, and your spend supports their curation work too.
If you can buy directly from the publisher, even better. The margin on a direct sale is meaningfully better for a small press than a retail transaction. It’s a minor adjustment that adds up over time.
Current books available to purchase on the Vindigo Press website
Show Up at Launches
And if you’re buying the book, what better way to get excited about than to attend the local launch? Launches are great ways to feel connected to your books before you’ve even opened them, getting to hear the background first-hand from the authors. They’re also great places to meet fellow booklovers!
Beyond the social occasion, book launches also serve a practical function. A well-attended launch signals demand to publishers and booksellers. They also generate content that extends a book’s visibility online – and, vitally, they extend the author’s audience.
Follow the newsletters and social media accounts of local bookshops and publishers to stay updated on upcoming events. If you’d like to keep updated with Vindigo Press, you can follow us on our Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Substack pages.
Talk About Books – Everywhere
Books don’t end when you turn the final page. Conversations and recommendations are what keep them alive in the world. Talking about what you read, either casually or with more intention, means you help local stories travel further. There are a few ways you can go about this.
1. Post Reviews
This is probably the most underrated thing a reader can do to support local authors and publishers, and it only takes a few minutes. Reader reviews on platforms like Goodreads or retail sites have a measurable effect on discoverability. Algorithms use engagement signals (ratings, reviews, saves) to determine which titles surface in recommendations.
So, for a South African book competing for visibility without a large international marketing budget, a handful of genuine reader reviews can really shift things.
You don’t need to write a formal critique. It’s enough to just write a few sentences describing what the book is, who it might appeal to, and what your experience of reading it was. Or, on Kindle, simply give the book a star rating (4–5 stars help!)
2. Share on Social Media
Along with posting on retailer websites and book-specific platforms like Goodreads, consider sharing your reviews on your own social media channels. Perhaps your friends overseas watch your Instagram stories or a stranger scrolls through BookTok (on TikTok). All of these micro actions can result in big impacts when compounded.
Tagging the author and publisher increases their reach considerably, and even a short, thoughtful post can spur curiosity. A single recommendation might be exactly what prompts someone else to pick up a local title that they would otherwise never have discovered.
3. Use Word of Mouth
Word of mouth is still one of the most reliable ways that readers discover new titles, especially for books outside the mainstream. Recommending a local title to a friend, raising it in your book club, posting about it online – these are all low-effort, high-impact actions that cost nothing.
For authors and small publishers, reader recommendations carry real weight. They reach people who are already inclined to read, and they’re trusted in a way that advertising simply isn’t. If a book stayed with you, especially a local book, tell everyone!
Attend Literary Festivals
South Africa has a solid festival circuit. There are a few anchor events, like the Open Book Festival, Franschhoek Literary Festival, and Time of the Writer. But there are also numerous smaller festivals happening throughout the year in beautiful and interesting places around the country.
We curated a list of the 2026 literary festivals and their dates, which we shared in our latest newsletter – you can find this on our Substack. (While you’re there, subscribe to our newsletter to receive other informative updates likes these!)
Festivals are particularly good for discovering writers you wouldn’t otherwise come across. The programming is usually designed to put emerging and established voices in conversation, which means you’re likely to leave with a reading list you didn’t arrive with. They’re also where the broader industry shows up (editors, publishers, booksellers), so for anyone interested in that side of things, it’s a useful window of opportunity.
Support the Wider Ecosystem
Books don’t exist in isolation. Behind them are literary magazines, writing programmes, awards bodies, and arts organisations doing the work of developing and recognising new voices, like the South African Literary Awards (SALA). Engaging with those institutions – even just following them and sharing their content – extends their reach.
There are also smaller prizes, residencies, and community-driven initiatives that nurture emerging talent long before they reach mainstream visibility. Engaging with these spaces helps sustain the broader ecosystem that makes local literature possible.
An Aside for Writers
And lastly, if you’re a writer: submitting your work to local publishers before looking overseas helps build the catalogue that small presses need to grow. There are publishers in this country doing genuinely incredible work, and they need material to sustain it. At Vindigo Press, for example, our submissions are open!
Building relationships with local editors and understanding the publishing scene can also strengthen your career. Growing within this ecosystem creates opportunities both for publication and for long-term visibility.
Final Thoughts
Most of these points discussed are really just a matter of redirecting habits you probably already have (reading, recommending, showing up) towards work that’s made in the same place you live.
The cumulative effect of those choices, across enough readers, is what keeps a literary culture healthy. Over time, these small but consistent actions help ensure that local voices continue to be supported and celebrated.
