Children Book Publishing in Africa

Résumé fourni par la source

Book publishing in Africa is a very challenging enterprise. Since the 1970s, numerous difficulties have marred publishing in Africa. These range from lack of capital, training, equipment and materials, an underdeveloped market, and competition; through mediocrity of content and technical quality, language difficulties, invisibility, poor reputations of publishers, and insufficient marketing, distribution and readership; to censorship and repression, limited investment in training, lack of incentives and conducive environments as well as political bottlenecks (Nyamnjoh, 2009). These problems have become even more serious on children book publishing in the continent, with a very uncompromising platform for writing and publishing for children's appropriate development. In addition, there is a misconception in the reading public that it is easier to write child books than books for adults. People of such thinking trend argue that the books are shorter and children are not as smart as adults would be. But it is important to know that, if not more, it takes just as much effort to write for children as it does for grown-ups. Writing for children is even challenging as the writer needs to capture in a very intriguing manner the thoughts and character of the child in a way that the child's interests, perspectives and cultural worldview is manifested in the publication. Moreover, there is also the lack of a reading culture across African states and especially among the present generation of children and youth. Parents are in no way helping this situation. Current attempts on children book publishing in Africa is more or less an effort to have children get books on their desks, regardless of their origin, content or language because access to reading material develops the mind. They are not crafted in Africanity, and even when they do, they may not gain the support of policy for effective use. It is vitally important that African young people have access to books published from within their own cultures and to which they can relate from their own lives and experiences (Violet, 2002). Although the lack of resources for schools and public libraries remains depressing, it is important that books that reach those schools and libraries are written in a form that respond to the reality of the African cultural context in a way that they are culturally and linguistically suitable. This is not to deny the relevance of knowing about other cultural context as this valuable for comparative knowledge development. For example, a northern published children's book may have value for an African child if there is a wealth of material from that child's own culture which may permit some basis for comparison or seeing things differently thus understanding diversity; but in the absence of such local books, there will be a lack of balance. Again, no publisher publishes without a market. Apart from the poor book market, reading culture and purchase of books in Africa remains a very real hurdle for African publishers to access the northern Euro-American markets. Most African publishers are publishing primarily for their own markets, and they seek to sell internationally as well. However, it may be acceptable that not all books travel from one culture to another without hurdles; and that African scholarship and writing remains largely marginalized in the north. A number of factors contribute to this picture: the dominance of African studies by Western scholars, the reluctance of the book trade to purchase books unless there is a physical distribution point within their own territory, the lack of competitiveness in terms of production standards, and a comparative lack of financial resources for marketing. Despite the paucity of distribution outlets and booksellers in Africa, and despite the virtual lack of intra-African trade, African publishers have continued to find innovative ways in which to publish for their domestic markets. For example, some Africa-based publishing houses, like African Books Collective (ABC) is helping to tailor a few books to meet Northern market demands. These both contributes to getting African scholars and writers into the international mainstream, and also provides sales revenue returns which can be ploughed back into local publishing needs. This chapter addresses the state of children book publishing in Africa, the problems faced, and also charts a way forward. It analyses the evolution of children book publishing in the continent, taking cognizance of generational shifts and their preoccupations. It also raises concerns for relevance of content, a standard and high-level writing, publishing and market environment for children's books in the continent; and suggests that publishers should encourage critical and creative book writing to subdue mediocrity and ensure readership and resourcefulness. The chapter finally advocates children's books that are written in Africanity, responding to the needs of African daily life, local environments, and contexts that address the functioning of children.

Ce résumé expose les affirmations des auteurs. BNTIC ne l’interprète pas comme une validation indépendante des résultats.