High praise for novel Mother City bookstore
Man Booker Prize winner Beatty will be at Open Book Festival
Spanish writer and literary critic Jorge Carrión thinks The Book Lounge is "the best bookshop in Cape Town". He might not be the only foreign writer to think so. Rock star American writer Jay McInerney spent an evening there in November last year and British arts and literary journalist Boyd Tonkin, who chaired the judging panel of the Man Booker International Prize in 2016, spent an evening there in December. The 2016 Man Booker Prize winner Paul Beatty will be at the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September. The annual literary festival was started seven years ago by Mervyn Sloman, founder and owner of The Book Lounge. Sloman began his bookshop career as a student working part-time in bookstores. "It was a good place to be", he says. He eventually realised that the only jobs he had ever enjoyed were those at bookstores. A five-year stint at Exclusive Books enabled him to learn how the book trade worked and to build contacts with publishers. In 2007, he opened The Book Lounge i...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Subscribe now to unlock this article.
Support BusinessLIVE’s award-winning journalism for R129 per month (digital access only).
There’s never been a more important time to support independent journalism in SA. Our subscription packages now offer an ad-free experience for readers.
Cancel anytime.
Questions? Email helpdesk@businesslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00. Got a subscription voucher? Redeem it now.