How can we help?

Tap Sign in (the person icon at the top of the page, or the top of the menu on a phone), then "Create an account". Fill in your details, choose a password, and we'll email you a link to confirm your address.

On the sign-in page, tap "Forgot password?" and enter your email address. We'll email you a link to choose a new password. It works once, so if you asked twice, use the newest email. Nothing after a few minutes? Check your spam folder, then get in touch and we'll help.

Sign in and open your account page to update your details, switch marketing emails on or off, change your password, or delete your account (under Security). Your email address can't be changed there yet, so get in touch if you need it changed.

We have stores across all nine South African provinces. Use the Store Locator to find the nearest one, see opening hours, and get directions.

Open the Store Locator, pick your branch, and the page shows the full weekly trading hours plus today's status (open / closing soon / closed). You can also call any store directly from the page.

Yes. On a phone, tap "AI Chat" at the bottom of the page. On a computer, tap the bookworm button in the bottom-right corner. Ask, for example, "Do you have Atomic Habits at Canal Walk?" The assistant checks that branch's stock and tells you whether the book is in stock or not (it never says how many copies). Name a town and it checks every branch there. If the title is spelt differently in our system, it asks "Did you mean…?" before it checks. Our stock information is updated overnight and during the day, so it can be a few hours behind the shelf: phone the branch to have a copy put aside before you visit. You'll find every branch's number on the Store Locator.

Yes. If your branch doesn't have the title on the shelf, ask a bookseller to order it in for you, and they can put copies aside for you to collect. Give them the title and author, or the ISBN if you have it. You'll find every branch's phone number on the Store Locator.

On a phone, tap "AI Chat" at the bottom of the page. On a computer, tap the bookworm button in the bottom-right corner. The assistant can check whether a branch has a book in stock (it says in stock or not in stock, never how many copies), find stores, opening hours, directions and phone numbers, talk about books (what a book is about, series reading order and similar reads), tell you about sales, events and competitions (you can enter a competition in the chat), show open jobs, and answer Help Centre questions. It knows which page you're on, so on a book or store page you can just ask "is this in stock near me?". Tap "What can I ask?" in the chat for examples.

No. The assistant can't reserve or hold books, take orders or see your account. It can check whether a branch has a book in stock and give you the store's number, so phone the store to have a copy put aside. Our stock information is updated overnight and during the day, so it can be a few hours behind the shelf: we recommend you call ahead before you visit. Please don't share sensitive personal details in the chat. Our privacy policy explains how we handle chat messages.

Happily — tell our chat helper or a bookseller what you've enjoyed lately and we'll suggest titles, series order and read-alikes. The chat helper can also check whether your branch has a suggestion in stock. Or pop in to your local store and one of our passionate booksellers will guide you to your next read.

On a phone, tap "AI Chat" at the bottom of the page. On a computer, tap the bookworm button in the bottom-right corner. Give the assistant the title, plus the author or ISBN if you have it. If none of our branches has it, or you'd simply like us to find it, the assistant shows an "Ask us to find this book" card: add your name and email and send it. Our team will check with our distributors and let you know within 1 business day whether we can source it. You can also ask any branch to order a book in for you.

Use the contact form on the Help page (choose Publishing) with your title, ISBN, a short pitch and a sample chapter. Our buying team reviews submissions monthly.

A broad range: fiction, children's books, Afrikaans titles, Bibles and hymn books in several languages, study guides, stationery, puzzles and diaries. What's on the shelf varies by branch, so call your nearest branch before you visit. You'll find the number on the Store Locator.

No, we only sell new books.

Use the contact form on the Help page (choose Corporate sales) and our team will put together a tailored quote within 3 business days.

Gift cards are available in all our stores. Pop into your nearest store and one of our passionate booksellers will assist you with your purchase.

You'll see a reference on screen as soon as you submit, and we email it to you to confirm your application. If that email hasn't arrived within a few minutes, check your spam folder. We review applications as they come in, and we'll email you to let you know the outcome.

Yes. Apply with the online form on each role's page, or in our chat; we don't take applications by email. Each application gets its own reference. If the same role is open at other branches, tick them on the form to apply to each of them at once. You can apply for any one role once with the same email address, and there's a one-minute wait between applications.

Reply to the email we sent to confirm your application, and quote your reference. Your reply goes straight to the team hiring for that role. To send an updated CV for a role you've already applied for, attach it to that reply.

Your CV is kept securely and privately in our recruitment system, never on the public website, and only the team hiring for the role can open it. We use it only for recruitment. To have it deleted sooner, just ask by replying to the email we sent to confirm your application.