With her current contract with the Cape Town Book Fair (CTBF) drawing to an end in September 2009, CTBF Managing Director, Vanessa Badroodien, this week gave the book fair board of directors notice of her intention to resign in order to pursue new career opportunities.

During Badroodien’s tenure as Cape Town Book Fair Director, the fair drew the most ever visitors to any exhibition at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Claudia Kaiser, the Vice President of business development of the Frankfurt Book Fair, is in Cape Town to work closely with Badroodien and thus ensure a seamless transition in preparation for 2010. The preliminary dates set for next year’s CTBF are 30th July to 2nd August 2010. Mid-June, when previous book fairs were staged, will not be possible in 2010 due to FIFA world cup activity.

Badroodien said: “I am proud to have been involved, as director, in developing, launching and staging for the past four years, the most successful book fair ever held in Southern Africa. The time has now come for me to step aside and let someone else build on the successes achieved by the book fair.”

Dudley Schroeder, Chairman of the Board of the CTBF said: “Vanessa’s staging of the inaugural Cape Town Book Fair in 2006 and the manner in which she steered this strategically crucial event through four highly successful years has left the book industry in South Africa with a great legacy and a fine foundation that we plan to build on for many years to come.”

Juergen Boos, President of the Frankfurt Book Fair’s holding company, said:“Vanessa pioneered and created something truly special for Cape Town and South Africa as a whole. The CTBF, under her leadership, achieved pioneering successes that are, in many respects, lauded internationally.”

This article was originally posted at Book SA by Jaco