CHANGING TIMES - CHANGING AFRICA

MONDAY 18 MARCH 2002
Club Room, National Hall, Olympia, London W14

A two part seminar series at the 2002 London Book Fair on innovative trends and developments in African writing, publishing and marketing. Organised by the Southern African Book Development Education Trust (SABDET) in association with the Zimbabwe International Book Fair.

Seminar One, 10am - 12noon
MARKETING AFRICA'S BEST

Africa's 100 Best Books is an initiative of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair to raise the profile of African books and writing both within Africa and internationally. The jury's final list of titles will be available at the London Book Fair.
The international market for Africa books - how is this changing? Do book and writing prizes make a difference? Is African writing now entering the mainstream?

Chair:
ALASTAIR NIVEN, member of the judges' panel for Africa's 100 Best Books and chair of SABDET

Speakers:
KASSAHUN CHECOLE, president and publisher, Africa World Press Inc/Red Sea Press Inc, New Jersey/Asmara
ISOBEL DIXON, literary agent, Blake Friedmann Literary Agency, London
WANGUI WA GORO, writer, translator and member of the judges' panel for Africa's 100 Best Books

Go to report

Seminar Two, 2pm-4pm
THE BOOK SUPPLY CHAIN IN AFRICA

Uganda and Malawi are two countries where reforms are under way to strengthen the supply chain and to expand book distribution. How successful are these proving in practice? What are the effects on reading, book buying and the market in Africa? How are the interfaces changing between booksellers and publishers, booksellers and librarians, publishers and librarians?

Chair:
OLURONKE ORIMALADE, bookseller and chair of the Pan-African Booksellers' Association

Speakers:
JUSTUS MAGAJU, consulting/associate editor, Fountain Publishers, Kampala
JAMES NG'OMBE, managing director, Jhango Heinemann, Blantyre
BARNARD BAGENDA, senior principal librarian, Uganda Public Libraries Board

Go to report

BIOGRAPHICAL BACKGROUND ON SPEAKERS AND CHAIRPERSONS

ALASTAIR NIVEN
Dr Alastair Niven is the Chair of Trustees of the Southern African Book Development Education Trust (SABDET). He is Principal of the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Foundation of St. Catharine's at Cumberland Lodge in Windsor, and was previously Director of Literature at both the British Council and the Arts Council of England and Wales. He is a member of the judges' panel for the Africa's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century initiative, the chairman of the Commonwealth Writers Prize Advisory Committee and a former Booker Prize judge.

KASSAHUN CHECOLE
Kassahun Checole, an Eritrean from East Africa, is the president & publisher of Africa World Press and The Red Sea Press, two publishing and distribution houses focusing on African and African American issues. A graduate of SUNY Binghamton in Sociology and Political Economy, Checole has taught at Rutgers University and El Colegio de Mexico in Mexico City. Since 1987, he has concentrated on developing the two presses and on the dissemination of current and historical information about Africa. He exhibits regularly at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair.

ISOBEL DIXON
Isobel Dixon is a literary agent with the Blake Friedmann Literary Agent, where she represents writers from around the world, including a number of prominent South African authors. She was born and educated in South Africa, and completed a Masters degrees in English Literature and Applied Linguistics at Edinburgh. She is also the author of a poetry collection Weather Eye, published by Carapace Poets.

WANGUI WA GORO
Wangui wa Goro is a critic, writer, lecturer and translator. Her recent works include the translation of Veronique Tadjo's As a Crow Flies. She has also translated Ngugi wa Thiong'o's book Matigari and his children's books in the Njamba Nene series. Her scholarly works include research and teaching translation studies, and she has contributed to debates and conferences world wide, including at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair. She is also active on human rights, women and gender issues. She is a member of the judges' panel for the Africa's 100 Best Books initiative

OLURONKE ORIMALADE
Oluronke Orimalade is a bookseller and publisher from Nigeria and the current chair of the Pan-African Booksellers Association. She is the former manager director of the Lagos University Bookshop, one of Nigeria's leading academic bookshops.

JUSTUS MUGAJU
Dr Justus Mugaju, from Uganda, is consulting/associate editor with Fountain Publishers, Kampala, responsible in particular for their social science and humanities lists. He has taught at Makerere and other universities in Africa and overseas, and undertaken consultancy work for a number of international agencies. He has authored and edited many articles and collections on history, social science, development and governance issues.

JAMES NG'OMBE
Dr James Ng'ombe, from Malawi, is a publisher and trader in educational books, a writer of fiction, drama, children's literature and school textbooks, and an educator and trainer of journalists. Since 1995 he has been managing director and co-proprietor of Jhango Heinemann, formerly Jhango Publishing House. He previously managed educational publishers Dzuka Publishing.

BARNARD BAGENDA
Barnard Bagenda is senior principal librarian with the Uganda Public Libraries Board.

ALL WELCOME - FREE ADMISSION

Advance registrations to:

Margaret Ling
LBF2002 Seminar Programme,
25 Endymion Road
London N4 1EE

Tel: 020 8348 8463
Fax 020 8348 4403

E-mail: margaret.ling@geo2.poptel.org.uk

Back to top