New romance imprint for Kwela Books
Sapphire Press is the newly launched romance imprint of Kwela Books, an imprint of NB Publishers, the largest trade publisher in South Africa. Kwela Books was launched in 1994, and its focus has always been on publishing stories from and about Southern Africa.
Having published both fiction and non-fiction titles by well-known authors over the past fifteen years, Kwela began to notice the increasing need in South Africa for purely commercial women’s fiction. Sapphire Press is the result: a romance imprint with the slogan WHERE TRUE LOVE REIGNS. The project is done in collaboration with Leisure Books (the largest book club in South Africa) and Thought24, the publishers of TRUE LOVE, Move!, Move! Best Parent and Real magazines.
Says Nèlleke de Jager, publisher of Kwela Books: “Publishing romance is the backbone of many an international publisher, ditto for NB Publishers and their huge market share of the Afrikaans romance market. Thanks to Kwela’s in-depth understanding of the female chick-lit market, we hope to extend our market share to that of pure romance.”
The main characters of contemporary romances are always strong, independent females, women that are ready to take on the world. Sapphire Press romances capture such women’s stories – they are financially sussed, ready for love, and not prepared to compromise! Furthermore, these stories are genuinely South African: rooted in Johannesburg, Cape Town or KwaZulu-Natal. The heroines often support their families financially, and they are inspired to become true career women, with supporting lovers at their side.
The project was launched in April 2010 in True Love magazine with two Sapphire Press romances offered for the price of one – only R49.95. Members can join at any point – a new romance is added to the selection monthly. The June edition of True Love is now on the shelves – look on page 18&19 for more details.
The first three Sapphire Press romances are titled Kwaito Love by Lauri Kubuitsile, Cherry Marbles by Shukie Nkosana and The Bridesmaid’s Lover by Tsire Mushoma. These romances can exclusively be ordered through True Love magazine.
The reader of Sapphire romances:
• Is proudly black, dynamic, ambitious, enlightened, mature and sexy
• Seeks empowerment through relationship advice, career guidance and spiritual inspiration
• Respects and honours her cultural traditions
• Aspires to live a successful, fulfilling and dynamic life in a country that continuously presents her with interesting challenges and opportunities
• Generates her own income and seeks financial security and independence to realise her desires and enjoy her many choices as a consumer
The plot:
• Revolves around the heroine & hero’s struggle to build a romantic relationship
• Outside forces (at work or in their communities) try to keep them apart
• Their own conflicting beliefs about modern society and the role of women also threaten to keep them apart.
Sapphire Press is continuously looking for new manuscripts. If you are interested in receiving the Sapphire Press romance guidelines, please send an email to sapphire@kwela.com.
For more information, please contact Ronel Kelso, the fiction publicist at NB Publishers.
ronelkelso@nb.co.za
021-406 3450
6 May 2010
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