Media24’s Developing Market Division and Nollybooks have entered into an agreement with Shoprite, which will see the popular romance novels appear in a new twin-pack offering at selected retail outlets nationwidein June. Loyal readers will have more access to Nollybooks at an affordable cost of R69.95 for the twin pack.
“The launch of our romance series of books, in partnership with Nollybooks, through both Shoprite and CNA, is a first for a South African magazine media company,” says Jonathan Harris, General Manager of Media24’s Developing Market Division. “It represents this division’s most serious push into the book market and also the beginning of what I expect to be meaningful growth in this segment.”
With a mix of romance and Chick-Lit set against familiar backgrounds, the books have already attracted a lot of media attention both here at home and overseas. Moky Makura, Nollybooks Publisher, believes the push behind the titles comes at the right time. “Nollybooks proved to be popular at our initial launch, but awareness levels needed to grow in order to develop the brand and generate the volumes needed to keep the books affordable. With Media24 and Shoprite coming on board, readers will see a significant difference in Nollybooks pricing and accessibility,” she says. “It’s an exciting proposition for our market and one that I hope will continue to expand the reach of books further into the African market.”
Dorah Sitole, Head of the Books Division at Media24’s Developing Market Division, shares this sentiment. “These fabulous novels have already been available through CNA and will now also be available in Shoprite outlets, increasing our market reach,” she says. “All of them are excellent reads, written by South Africans for South Africans. These love stories will warm up those winter nights, Mzansi-style.”
Four titles will be available this winter. In Looking For Mr. Right, a wedding dress designer gets caught up in the misadventures of cyber romancing with hilarious and heart-warming results. A down-to-earth hotel receptionist gets a chance to live out her dreams when she becomes an assistant to a hot shot film director in Lights, Camera, Love, an evocative love story set in KwaZulu-Natal. For those with a penchant for glamour, Unfashionably In Love sweeps readers into the world of high-fashion and high-drama from the moment the heroine sets foot into a designer boutique. Finding Arizona explores the provocative relationship between an aspirant journalist and a bad-boy financial whizz.
“What stands out in all the titles is the equally matched characters,” remarks Sitole. “The heroes are strong, handsome, dynamic, upwardly mobile go-getters and the women are similarly ambitious, sexy, successful and assertive. More importantly, these are modern, relevant South African characters. We feel it’s important that readers can empathise with the hero and heroine and buy into the romantic dilemmas of the storyline.”
She adds that relationships, especially the romantic type, are always explosive and intricate. “This is the reason women gravitate towards the romance genre. The Nollybooks series takes the reader into a fantasy-world filled with intrigue, irresistible hunks, feisty women and moments that will melt her heart, whether those moments are tinged with love, heartbreak or comedy,” concluded Sitole.
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