Africa has a larger presence in Frankfurt than ever this year, with a strong contingent of francophone publishers as part of the France Guest of Honor program.
Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta Prize Shortlist: Questions of Marketing the Winners
From the Daily Nation: While publishers in Kenya enjoy seeing their titles win prizes like the Jomo Kenyatta Prize, some may not adequately capitalize on those wins with marketing.
Zimbabwe’s AmaBooks: Specializing in Fiction Against the Tide
Selling rights not only to other African publishers but also ‘in Europe, in North America and recently to the Arab world,’ AmaBooks presses on in Zimbabwe.
In an Economic Crunch, South African Readers Turn to Used Book Stores
From the VOA: Amid tough economic times in South Africa, consumers are supporting a growing number of used book stores, avoiding new-book prices.
Books for Africa Reports Its Largest Year in Shipped Copies
Ethiopia leads as the main recipient country in what Books for Africa describes as its biggest year of donated content. The charity is three decades old.
Kenya’s Longhorn Publishers Announces Investment in Its Digital Strategy
From Capital FM Business: Nairobi’s Longhorn Publishers is investing in a new strategy to offer digital textbooks and content for e-learning platforms.
At Nigeria’s New Kaduna Festival: Rolling Out a ‘Right to Write’ Project
From Nigeria’s ‘This Day’: With government, foundation, and European Union backing, a five-state literacy effort is launched at Kaduna Book & Arts Festival.
Sudanese Author Wins 2017 Caine Prize for African Writing
From Wasafiri and the Caine Prize: Bushra al-Fadil, whose inspirations include Hawking’s ‘A Brief History of Time,’ is cited for his ‘mode of perception.’
Book Aid International Opens New Charitable Initiative in Rwanda
Close to 32,000 books have been shipped by Book Aid International to the African nation, the charity says, to bolster community libraries.
Norwegian Library Project To Result in Digitization of Nigerian Books
From the Premium Times and The Vanguard: A ‘win-win’ agreement with Norway’s national library system is expected to see Nigerian literature digitized.