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The Challenges of Publishing for Children in Africa
Trying to persuade parents to buy children’s books instead of toy guns and cars is just one of the challenges facing Africa’s publishers. Cape Town International Book Fair gave industry executives and publishers from around the continent a chance to learn from each other, share experiences and ideas for the future of children’s publishing on the continent.
Publishers said that they also face the challenge of not having a strong reading culture across Africa and being heavy reliant on skills-enhancing textbooks over novels for sales, a primarily urban reach, and small, local print runs. Glossy bookstores are rare outside major cities, and non-fiction accounts for 45% of sales. Most fiction titles are imported from abroad.
The sales model in Nigeria largely bypasses book stores; instead, mobile sellers approach offices, restaurants and police stations, where they sell 30% of the stock.
A quarter of sales are in book stands in non-traditional outlets like hairdressers, cafes, boutiques and spas.
As in Zimbabwe, political turmoil wiped out Uganda’s book world after the rise of former dictator Idi Amin in 1971 erased a post-independence boom, but steady growth has returned in the past two decades.
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March 23, 2011, 10:28 am
Nonikiwe - Editor is reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua
March 12, 2011, 10:28 pm
lamoesther on Nigerians Shocked at NECO Examination's 2% Pass RateI will rather look at the bigger picture of the [...]
March 3, 2011, 1:19 pm
Chelsea is reading Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
February 8, 2011, 8:00 am
Chelsea is reading An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro
December 29, 2010, 2:30 pm
paulineblah on Bontle is reading Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman CapoteHii ( paulineblah@yahoo.in ) I saw your profile today and became [...]
December 29, 2010, 2:29 pm
paulineblah on Nonikiwe - Editor is reading The Seed Children by Bontekanye BotumileHii ( paulineblah@yahoo.in ) I saw your profile today and became [...]
October 27, 2010, 11:46 am
Nonikiwe - Editor is reading The Seed Children by Bontekanye Botumile
September 8, 2010, 11:29 am
Bontle is reading Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
August 27, 2010, 3:31 pm
Coin is reading 1984 by George Orwell
August 27, 2010, 3:21 pm
Coin on Bontle is reading A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee WilliamsHow did you find it?
