Once dominated by imported catalogs and a few major publishers, the children’s book sector in Africa is now experiencing a boom, writes Agnès Debiage.

By Agnès Debiage, Contributor

Across Francophone Africa, a remarkable dynamic is transforming the publishing landscape, driven largely by the rise of literature for young readers.

Once dominated by imported catalogs and a few major publishers, the children’s book sector is now experiencing a boom: small independent presses are emerging, publishers are expanding their catalogs, comics are gaining ground, and superheroes rooted in African realities are coming to life through the work of inspired authors and illustrators.

Thanks to cultural roots, editorial innovation, and a growing readership, an entire ecosystem is taking shape, revealing a sector in the midst of rapid development.

The Rise of a Young Readership

In West Africa, nearly 60% of the population is under 15 years old. Across the continent, this figure is approximately 39%, compared to just 17% in France. But this growth isn’t just about demographics. The emergence of a middle class, young parents who may have grown up with books thanks in part to school libraries, and stronger ties between children’s literature and education are all fueling this expansion.

The existence of a potential readership is no longer in doubt. While it’s often said that children are reading less, absorbed by screens, the outlook for authors, illustrators, publishers, and booksellers who can highlight the richness and uniqueness of African children’s literature—whether in print or digital—remains particularly promising.

Serge Grah of JD éditions who has worked in the book industry for 25 years confirms that children’s books in Côte d’Ivoire are having a moment.

“Publishers, who understand this, are multiplying their collections and are stepping up their creativity,” she says. “Parents, driven by unprecedented enthusiasm, are buying without hesitation. This isn’t just a passing trend, it reflects a growing awareness of the importance of reading in children’s development.”

The growth of African children’s books cannot be separated from the question of access. And libraries—whether school, municipal, or community-based—are playing a central role in introducing children to books.

Long underfunded and sometimes nonexistent in rural or peri-urban areas, these institutions are now experiencing renewed interest. Many local (and sometimes personal) initiatives are helping to strengthen children’s collections and promote reading.

In reviewing its collections, the network of 329 CLAC libraries spread across 21 African and Caribbean countries and supported by the International Organization of La Francophonie (OIF), has found that the majority of readers are young people, and consequently a tangible effort is being made to cater to their interests, in particular by promoting African resources.

In this context, developing libraries that reflect local realities—offering books in national languages and content rooted in African cultures—has become a key issue. And significant progress is still needed. More than just facilities, libraries are essential for the future. A recent UNESCO report on Africa’s book industry highlighted libraries as a critical link, noting that their scarcity or lack of resources limits book circulation, hinders reading, and slows the entire publishing ecosystem.

Telling Our Own Stories

One of the major challenges in African children’s literature is to create narratives rooted in the continent’s realities. This aspiration is both frequent and well-founded. It’s about affirming identities, celebrating traditions, bringing characters to life who resemble their readers, contextualizing stories, and fostering African cultural narratives with illustrations that reflect local norms and aesthetics.

Bookstores are adapting to this shift by creating new sections alongside imported books. For many parents, this local offering aligns better with their environment and what they would like for their children.

Voahirana Ramalanjaona, founder of the Millefeuilles bookshops in Madagascar says that over the past four years the production of local books has increased considerably.

“This has allowed me to create beautiful displays and a permanent section for Malagasy children’s books in each store,” Ramalanjaona says. “Malagasy readers are pleasantly surprised by these new titles, and the success is undeniable. Parents love bilingual books. They’re happy to be able to offer them without being afraid of  making the wrong choice.”

“I feel like I’m traveling when I walk into the bookshop,” a customer told Binta Tini, who founded a children’s bookshop La Farandole des livres, 19 years ago in Niamey, Niger. Binta sources French language books from publishers across Africa and has built one of the continent’s most comprehensive collections. “I’m amazed by the diversity and quality of children’s titles published in recent years, even if distribution remains complicated,” she says.

A rich oral tradition has long been the backbone of African storytelling, passed down from generation to generation. Endlessly adapted and often told in local languages that transcend borders, these stories—steeped in values, wisdom, and teachings—have shaped the earliest forms of African literature and today, as in the past, they are still shared in everyday spaces, whether under the shade of a tree or in a family courtyard.

These tales are now widely featured in publishers’ catalogs, and they contribute to a living heritage.

Fatou Diomandé of the Côte d’Ivoire-based éditions Calebasse said that when she wrote Les contes de Grand-Mère Calebasse (the tales of grandmother Calebasse) it was in part to preserve an oral tradition that was a risk of disappearing and to make it accessible to children in the form of a book. “It was also a way to anchor African children’s imagination in cultural references, languages, wisdom, and territories, so that young readers can see themselves and project themselves in these stories,” Diomandé says.

Creating African Superheroes

Following in the footsteps of international comics, Africa is also seeing its own superheroes emerge. In Cameroon, Zebra Comics studio signed an agreement with American giant DC Comics to reimagine iconic figures like Batman, Joker, and Supergirl in African versions using a global dynamic for a local production.

The Zebra Comics platform is also democratizing African webtoons. Njoka Suyru, co-founder of Zebra Comics says that teenage readers are drawn to various genres: Girls mostly prefer romance, with bestseller Sugar Daddy Desires followed by Kawana, a drama with romantic elements. Action, science fiction, and fantasy appeal to male audiences who like titles such as Breachers, Anaki, Beasts of Tazeti, Njoku, Wrong Dial, or Jemiro.

“This gender-based preference is more of a trend than a rule,” says Suyru. “The unique aspect of these stories lies in the youth of the protagonists: teenagers or young adults facing challenges and realities close to those of their readers. And the all-time favorite is humor.”

In recent years, Brazzaville, in the Republic of the Congo, has become a hub for comics, galvanized by the Bilili BD Festival, which has fostered the emergence of young publishing houses. Each is refining its position, and production continues to grow.

Available in both digital and print formats, these publishers are gradually becoming a part of international networks, offering fiction rich in African cultural references. This year, Jevic Josué Otiléon won the Lili Prize, awarded by the international jury of the Bilili BD Festival, for his Jeudi noir, Lycée technique (Black Thursday in Vocational High School). Published by Centrale Comics it recounts bullying at a school in Brazzaville.

There is also a growing trend in comics for self-publishing, particularly in digital format. Several factors explain this shift: authors produce their own content, publish quickly online without significant investment, and operate in a digital environment that matches their habits. They handle their own promotion, connect directly with readers, and sometimes generate income.

Platforms such as Cameroon-based Plumics hosts nearly 600 titles, more than three-quarters of which are self-published—a clear indication of the creative energy in the sector.

For Ludovic Tankeu, founder of Plumics, this evolution reflects a profound change in reading habits opening up interesting perspectives. Tankeu says mobile reading becomes more frequent, transforming comics into a continuous, almost social experience.

“Plumics was first and foremost a tool for emancipation for independent creators, especially Africans,” Tankeu says. “We’re seeing strong enthusiasm from young readers for comics published chapter by chapter. This serial publication creates anticipation, a regular appointment, with very high return rates to discover the next installment—sometimes higher than for works published all at once.”

Looking ahead to the Future

Among current trends, some books focus on a positive vision of the future, and aim to strengthen young readers’ soft skills.

Armelle Touko’s Un jour je serai ingénieure (One Day I Will Be an Engineer) published by Cameroon’s éditions Adinkra editions underlines this trend from the start. “Hi, my name is Fatimata. I’m in second grade at the public school in Tokombéré. Uncle Mbiadi says school is useless—it’s not for women, and I should stay home to learn to be a wife. But one day, I will be an engineer!” In just two sentences the social impact of such stories is revealed.

In Rwanda, the social enterprise and publisher Imagine We published Oh Rwandan Child, by Peace Kwizera, soon to be translated into French, which is part of an ongoing project to empower young authors in Rwanda to create culturally relevant content.

Little by little, nonfiction children’s books are also developing. Essential tools to help children understand their environment, these books contribute to growing educational awareness that includes themes such as ecology, natural resource management, or social cohesion.

Projects working with NGOs in specific contexts, or foundations engaged in awareness-raising, offer undeniable opportunities for publishers, particularly in connection with educational programs. The UNESCO Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a relevant framework for guiding these publications.

As an example, éditions Teny in Madagascar has published several such books in just two years, including nature titles on fauna, birds, lemurs, baobabs, and rice. Their cultural collection focuses on a renowned traditional Malagasy musician, as well as two collections dedicated to national poets and a History of Madagascar, to be published in three volumes. Madagascar in Figures also provides educational insights into the country.

This dynamic could encourage children’s authors to explore this rewarding area which not only provides educational resources but also promotes cultural ownership and a better understanding of the land.

Another idea is gradually gaining ground, too: What if Africa published more in its local languages?

In Madagascar, the Educational Resources program supported the publication of 42 children’s books in three years, many in Malagasy or bilingual Malagasy-French editions. Given that there was a real demand, parents, librarians, and booksellers have welcomed this initiative.

In Cameroon, éditions Thanks built its identity around children’s books published in several national languages. In Senegal, a program also encourages the acquisition of YA books in six local languages, alongside French.

These publications serve as true bridges between languages: they facilitate understanding, support learning, and help overcome linguistic barriers. Reading in a local language also means recognizing that children’s imaginations are first shaped in their mother tongue. Beyond accessibility, these publications contribute to the recognition and capital of linguistic heritage, which has long been marginalized in publishing.

If there is one segment still lagging, however, it’s early childhood. Too few board books are published. Printing costs are a clear obstacle, and catalogs often follow a school-based progression linked to learning to read.

A rare example of children’s books published for ages 0–3 can be found in Rwanda, where Jean de Dieu of Kibondo Editions produced eight cloth books. “As a publisher, I wanted to prioritize playful, autonomous, and secure learning, where the book becomes an object to experiment with as much as to look at,” he explains. “This is still too rare in Africa, yet it fully meets the awakening needs of very young children.”

A Pan-African Network

Building a continent-wide network remains a challenge for African children’s publishing.

Opportunities for publishers to meet and collaborate are still limited. The Educational Resources program (French Institute/UNESCO) has supported the mobility of professionals throughout its implementation, however, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) network, is still not represented in Francophone sub-Saharan Africa.

But several professional organizations are now bringing children’s book publishers closer together. The International Alliance of Independent Publishers lists 22 African publishers that include children’s books. International fellowships invite Francophone African publishers annually to Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) or Chennai (India), fostering editorial collaborations and rights exchanges on a global scale. And the Bologna Children’s Book Fair also welcomes them in its World Lounge.

Meanwhile, the first Forum of African Children’s Publishers, held in Togo in 2025, brought together 52 publishers from 15 countries and was a first on a pan-African scale. In its wake, the African Children’s Publishing Prize, initiated by eKitabu in Kenya, recognized three publishing houses based in Madagascar, Mauritius, and Cameroon with awards in 2025. A second edition is planned for May 2026, with four categories: early readers, children’s stories and novels, young adult novels, and comics.

These events are an encouraging sign for the pan-African sector’s future.

A Future to Write Together

African children’s books have become an ever-evolving reality. With books, comics, nonfiction, reimagined tales, and contemporary superheroes, a generation is learning to see itself, recognize itself, and project itself into the future. This sector, at the heart of cultural and creative industries and a pillar of education, is not just about the book economy: it contributes to shaping imaginations, transmitting knowledge, and forming tomorrow’s citizens.

On a continent where the population is so young, investing in the creation, distribution, and accessibility of children’s books means investing in Africa’s very future. And every link matters: Libraries need strengthening, languages need to be recognized, authors and illustrators need support, publishers and booksellers need professionalization, and distribution networks need consolidation.

But this momentum also needs shared responsibility. Governments must fully integrate children’s books into their educational and cultural policies. Publishers must maintain their commitment to excellence and innovation. Booksellers and librarians must bring these catalogs to life. Teachers must create bridges between reading and learning. Parents must encourage curiosity and a love of stories. And international partners, finally, must support in a sustainable manner this burgeoning ecosystem.

Telling our own stories, in our languages, with our images and references, is not a luxury—it is a cultural, educational, and strategic necessity. Children’s books are a free space where possibilities take shape. By giving them their rightful place, Africa is not only preparing its readers, it is helping to shape the minds that will invent its future.

Agnès Debiage is an international consultant specialising in African book ecosystems. For over 20 years, she has worked with publishing professionals across the continent, designing high-impact programmes that strengthen professional skills, support the structuring of the book value chain and increase the international visibility of African initiatives.

If you’re at the 2026 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Agnès Debiage will be speaking at a panel on the children’s market in Africa, on Wednesday, April 15, titled: African KidLit: From Scarcity to Innovation.