By KAREN MILLER
If there is such a thing as a ‘Book Person’, then Paige Nick may well be the gold standard.
Novelist, columnist, book influencer, festival curator, radio reviewer, public speaker and founder of one of South Africa’s most active online book clubs, she has spent much of her life encouraging people to read, talk about books and, above all, enjoy them. In a literary world that can sometimes take itself rather seriously, Paige brings something refreshing: enthusiasm, humour and a genuine love of stories.
Her own story begins in Camps Bay, where she grew up as the youngest of six children. Books were woven into family life from the start. Every Saturday, the family would pile into two cars and head off to the Camps Bay Public Library to stock up on reading material for the week ahead. It was the sort of ritual that quietly shapes a life.
One of her fondest memories is, as a little girl, reading to her grandpa, when her grandparents, Jess and Syd Icklow, visited from Australia. Long before she became a published author, she was already sharing stories with others.
Another formative influence was Netzer, the Jewish youth movement where she spent much of her youth. The movement’s camps encouraged in Paige qualities of leadership, creativity and performance. Through skits, plays and group activities, she developed skills that would later find expression in both her writing and public life.
These days, while many people unwind in front of television or with music playing in the background, Paige prefers something else entirely. She reads. It is not merely part of her work; it is her favourite pastime. She starts most mornings with exercise, either swimming or running, before returning to the world of words.
Like many writers, she has a practical day job. Paige built her career in advertising and continues to work as a copywriter, now freelancing after years with major agencies. She speaks warmly about having “grown up” in advertising alongside colleagues and remains fascinated by the business of communication. While social media has transformed the industry, she believes the fundamental principles remain rooted in understanding people and finding what she calls “human truth”.
Her writing career has flourished alongside her advertising work. Since publishing her first novel, A Million Miles from Normal, in 2010, she has written ten books: seven novels and three erotic adventures. Her latest novel, Book People, published in 2025, centres on a Facebook book club, a setting she knows particularly well.
Paige’s fiction is marked by sharp observation, satire and a light touch. She writes books that make readers laugh while holding up a mirror to modern life. Real experiences often spark her stories, which are then transformed through imagination and humour.
Jewish readers may recognise another familiar feature of her novels: characters with distinctly Jewish names such as Rachel Marcus, Ruth Burstein and Myra Berelowitz. She has often spoken about her affection for Jewish humour and her delight in finding the funny side of everyday Jewish life.
One of her most memorable novels, Death by Carbs, published in 2015, opens with the murder of the real-life Professor Tim Noakes, the No Carbs doctor, on the very first page. Before publishing it, she sought Noakes’s permission to use him as a character. He not only approved but later attended the book’s launch, demonstrating a sense of humour equal to the premise.
Writing, she says, begins long before the first words appear on the page. Research, thinking and planning occupy much of the process. Then comes a concentrated period of writing, usually around three months, when momentum takes over.
Like every writer, she has also experienced disappointment. One manuscript that she believed would be her biggest success never reached publication after another author, Liane Moriarty, released a book built around a remarkably similar premise. It was one of those cruel twists familiar to writers everywhere. Yet rather than dwelling on what might have been, she simply moved on to the next project.
Paige’s impact on reading culture extends far beyond her own books. The Good Book Appreciation Society, the Facebook book club she founded, now has more than 24 000 members. It has become a vibrant community of readers sharing recommendations, opinions and literary discoveries. She is endlessly fascinated by how people behave online and works hard to keep discussions constructive. Describing herself as an “equal opportunity deleter”, she is determined that the group should remain free of nastiness and political point-scoring.
She has also become a familiar voice on Fine Music Radio, where twice each month she hosts a show of book reviews and author interviews. More recently, she curated the literary programme at the Hermanus FynArts Festival, bringing together 11 almost sold-out book events. For anyone concerned about the future of reading, that level of enthusiasm is encouraging.
Asked about her favourite book, her answer is telling. It is always the one she has just written.
For someone who spends her life surrounded by books, that response makes perfect sense. Reading may be a big love, but creating stories and connecting readers with one another is what has made Paige Nick one of South Africa’s most important champions of the contemporary literary scene.
