Nigerian book publishing, part 2
Elizabeth Dickinson wrote on allAfrica.com from Abuja about a new publishing venture in Nigeria. This may be the flip side to the entry here yesterday about the dismal state of fiction in Nigeria.(This is the kind of topic that will never appear on an exam for comparative government or politics. But, it's a bit of cultural milieu that can give us some context when considering political communication, feedback to the political system, and grassroots participation, at least among the educated elite.)
Nigeria: A New Publisher, Creating a New Industry
"Cassava Republic, Nigeria’s newest literary publishing company, prints in India. Bibi Bakare-Yusuf, its founder, says she wants its books to rival those published in London and the United States—not just in literary quality, but in appearance as well.
"Cassava Republic is unique in Nigeria, not only for its quality printing but because it exists at all. When Bakare-Yusuf returned to Nigeria after a period of living in the United Kingdom, she was astonished. Literature and its publishers had all but disappeared, leaving religious works, self-help books, and textbooks to fill the shelves...
"Nigeria was once home to a flourishing market, but years of military rule pushed international publishers out; not a single one remains in the country today. Economic decline hit the pockets of average Nigerians hard and their budget for luxuries such as books even harder. Thousands from the chattering middle class left the country, including the intellectuals and consumers of Nigerian literature...
"With no retail market and no capital, most publishers now survive by printing textbooks or religious publications, which have guaranteed sales to schools and churches. The market for literature is tougher, and most works that do appear are self-published. Distribution is limited and costly. Most publishers focus on urban centers because the cost of transport and the small market make sales elsewhere unprofitable...
"'I’m interested in authors who engage with the African experience—it’s not enough just to have an African author,' [Bakare-Yusuf] explains. 'They must be able to speak to the complexities of African realities.'..."
posted by Ken Wedding @ 8:23 AM
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