In a world built for scrolling, can book fairs still survive?

The 14th annualKingsmead Book Fair,in association with Standard Bank, took place thispast weekendbut I have not stopped thinking about one particular conversation that happened there. Not inside one of the packed discussion rooms where writers and thinkers dissected politics, memory and literature. Not during one of the polished panel talks either.

It happened quietly on a bench, away from the crowds, between me, a friend and one of the school cleaners who had been watching the fair evolve for years. The fair carried that familiar warmth. Tables stacked with books.

Readers walking slowly between stalls. The smell of paper and coffee. Writers signing books while strangers debated ideas in corners.

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There is something deeply beautiful about watching people gather around stories in a world that increasingly rewards speed over stillness. Despite anxieties around changing reading habits, this year’s turnout offered some hope. “Looking at initial numbers we had a great turnout this year, a record number of visitors and an increased number of people in sessions, which is positive,” says fair director Alex Bouche.

“Our children’s programme was also very well attended and the authors loved interacting with the young audience.” But beneath that beauty sat a quiet anxiety. One that followed me throughout the day. He admitted he could not remember the last time he had walked into an Exclusive Books.

For him, the experience of the Kingsmead Book Fair felt almost nostalgic. Like returning to something that once shaped him but had slowly disappeared from his daily life. “A hard copy feels like a serious commitment,” he told me while flipping through a book at one of the stalls. “Something our generation does not like.”

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