"There is a key and oft-repeated assumption that the book is not indigenous to Africa, and has a relatively short history here.1 Thus, to tell the story of the book in Africa, some would start with the coming of the first printing presses, brought to missions, colonies, and trading posts around the continent by Europeans. Others would argue that we should look at the first indigenous publishing initiatives, mostly newspapers set up by welleducated locals, which led to the inculcation of print into African cultures. But there is also a textual history that is around a thousand years older, the story of the writing, reading, and circulation of texts before the advent of movable type. Where we begin is also a question of location, and the geography of Africa is a complicating factor in any historical study. Borders have changed, peoples have migrated, and the transnational nature of trade and circulation has had a lasting impact on the continent. And “Africa” itself is a troublesome concept, often conceived of either as a monolithic whole or as broad swathes: sub-Saharan and North Africa, or black and Arab Africa, the linguistic and political categories of Anglophone and Francophone Africa, and so on. Moreover, while Adrian Johns argues that print has a role in transcending place, it is also important to look at the specifics of locale when examining book history in such a contested terrain. So there is great variety in both the places and times where the written word has been used, traded, printed, and dispersed in the African context. As a result, print and textual culture has had a differential impact in different parts of Africa, and for different groups." (Abstract)