"This collection of essays was published to honour Chief Aigboje Higo on his 70th birthday. Higo, by many considered to be the doyen of Nigerian book publishing, was a founding father and two-time president of the Nigerian Publishers Association, and for many years Managing Director and later Chairm
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an of Heinemann Educational Publishers (Nigeria) plc. The 15 contributions that are brought together in this Festschrift include essays by many prominent members of the African book professions, including Bodunde Bankole, Henry Chakava, Ayo Odeniyi, the late Victor Nwankwo, as well as Keith Sambrook, a former director of Heinemann's in the UK, whose chapter recounts the story of his visit to Nigeria in 1964 when he and the late Alan Hill (then Chair of Heinemann's) met up with Aig Higo and asked him to join HEB and take charge of their business in Nigeria and West Africa. There are also papers on the economics of publishing, training for book industry personnel, and Bodunde Bankole presents an interesting account of the history and development of the Nigerian Publishers Association and its collaboration with international book trade organizations to provide more visibility for Nigerian book publishing output. A flawed index apart, this is a valuable source of information on the development of publishing and the book trade in Nigeria, and also provides useful overviews of publishing practise in the country." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 755)
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"A short, critically annotated listing of significant literature in two categories: (i) books that examine the environment of publishing in developing countries, and (ii) books and training manuals that have been written specifically to assist publishers in those countries." (Hans M. Zell, Publishin
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g, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 177)
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"A short but succinct four page overview of the book publishing industry in Nigeria, which has been in steady decline since the 1980s: "At one stage, prospects for the book industry in Nigeria appeared rosy. The Federal Government established paper and pulp making industries, and an elaborate plan w
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as drawn up for achieving self- sufficiency in the production of books for the nursery/primary, secondary, and tertiary tiers of education. Unfortunately all that, or most of it, collapsed following the nation's economic downturn of the 1980s. Book famine descended on Nigeria." The author examines various initiatives to improve the state of the book sector to make it meet the needs of the educational system, government decrees regarding indigenous publishing, national book policies (or the lack of it rather at the present time), a national book development council (which has been dormant for years), and other interventions." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 799)
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"This thesis examines the mission, strategies and activities of the African Publishers Network in its quest to empower indigenous publishers. The author probes the nature of publishing development in African countries, utilizing selected cases of anglophone countries as illustrations. Her analysis o
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f the primary and secondary textbook market, as a microcosm of the larger publishing context, demonstrates the numerous obstacles still confronting indigenous publishing houses in their endeavour to provide quality, affordable, and relevant book for African readers. Based on a qualitative research method, the author used in-depth interview data collected at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair 2002 to inform her work. She believes that the collective nature of the organization enhances its ability to effect positive change and that, in its mission to promote publishing development, APNET operates as an agent of decolonization by decreasing Africa's dependence on the North for its book needs." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 1309)
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"Ce numéro spécial de la revue Africultures, consacré à “Où va le livre en Afrique ?”, contient de nombreuses contributions sur divers aspects de l'édition, du commerce du livre, de l'état du livre et du lectorat en Afrique (principalement francophone). Il comprend également des articles
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sur des aspects particuliers de l'édition en Afrique, tels que l'édition savante, l'édition de livres pour enfants, l'édition en langues africaines, l'édition littéraire, ainsi que des entretiens avec des écrivains et des membres éminents des professions du livre en Afrique." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 369)
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"A valuable information resource that provides a country-by-country analysis of the “book chain” in 18 English-speaking Africa countries, together with an annotated directory of the major players that make up the book chain within those countries. Four introductory essays provide overviews of bo
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ok and library development in anglophone Africa from different perspectives. These are followed by country surveys, each prepared by a book professional from the country concerned, most of them librarians. The final section, a 170-page Directory of Selected Organizations in the Book Chain in Anglophone Africa, provides listings of the major players in the book chain in each of the countries covered, including professional associations, major publishers, printers, booksellers and libraries; regional and international bodies supporting book development, and training institutions for librarianship and the book industries. Each entry gives full address, telephone and fax numbers, email addresses (and Web sites for some), and many entries include a short description." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 196)
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"Containing over 1,600 entries and extensively cross-referenced, this is a comprehensive albeit now dated documentation and information resource on African publishing and the book trade. Content includes (1) a directory of almost 700 African publishers’ email addresses and Web sites (where availab
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le), including those of NGOs and research institutions with publishing activities. (2) Over 500 annotated directory listings of organizations, associations, book development councils, networks and donors supporting African publishing, bibliographic tools, journals and magazines, book review outlets, dealers and distributors of African books, booksellers and library suppliers in Africa, African book fairs and book promotional events, book and literary awards, book industry training courses, and more; full address and contact information is provided for each entry, including email addresses and Web sites, where available. (3) A separate section describing schemes, book series, and other projects promoting African book and journal publishing. (4) Information and resources on African publishing statistics and publishing capacity, and a chronology of key dates in the development of indigenous African publishing. (5) The final section is a bibliographic guide to select literature about African publishing and book development (excluding country studies). No further editions are planned." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 194)
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"An insightful collection of papers and personal accounts providing a picture of African women in publishing in Africa today, primarily in English-speaking Africa. The eleven contributors are all women who have made notable achievements and impacts in publishing in Africa, have headed publishing com
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panies, or have set up their own imprints. The contributors are from Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe, who came to publishing from different routes, and have been active, or are currently active, in a variety of publishing operations, such state and commercial publishing, activist, non-profit or community publishing, and there is also a contribution by a bookseller." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2380)
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"This book is about the problems and obstacles that African writers still encounter in their attempt to get published. It is an interesting, informed, and well-documented study that combines writers’ own testimony (based on responses to questionnaires) and factual investigation in order to explore
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the problem of the “ordeal” of the African writer. The author deals with some of the issues which confront African writers today, including issues of readership and which language to employ, the question of literacy and audience, and the inadequate number of publishing houses on the continent—as well as other obstacles such as censorship, imprisonment, exile, and worse. Several of the chapters shed new light on the publishing history, and author-publisher relations, of some African writers, both with publishers in the countries in the North as well as with African publishers, and the book includes a chapter on “African Writers and the Quest for Publication”, examining the careers of a number of African writers. An overview of “African Publishers, African Publishing” is provided in chapter four. It includes a discussion of the sometimes not very happy relations between African writers and African publishers, and also looks at the obstacles African publishing houses face, and how they treat their authors. The book concludes with a set of recommendations setting out what Charles Larson believes can be done to improve the plight of the African writer, and particularly the next generation of African writers. He also proposes the establishment of a pan-African publishing house, funded by people and institutions both from Africa and the West, with an unpaid advisory board predominantly from the African continent: “crucial to the entire proposal is the belief that Africans should be in control of the publication of their own writers and that the degree of dependence on the West (both financial and editorial) be determined by Africans themselves." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 1349)
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"This register is arranged alphabetically by country, including complete contact details of the consultants, their educational background and qualifications, professional experience, and specialist areas of expertise." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr
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. 1300)
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"A collection of papers on various aspects of scholarly writing and publishing in Africa, mostly by African academics based in the diaspora." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 2264)
This extensive links section offers over 1,500 links, most with short descriptions, highlighting those Web sites and resources that are recommended as good starting points for African writers, scholars and the book professions in Africa. In addition it offers a substantial number of not Africa-speci
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fic Web sites relating to publishing and major international organisations.
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