The myth of the ‘book famine’ in African publishing

ABSTRACT

The publishing industry in Africa is usually described in terms of ‘booklessness’, ‘hunger’ or ‘famine’. But does this language of scarcity reflect the realities of book production and consumption? In this paper, the concept of ‘book famine’ is analysed as a central frame of discourse on African books, using a survey of existing documentation. Two ways of responding to book famine – provision and production – are identified, and the shortcomings of book aid (provision) are contrasted with strengthening local publishing industries (production). It is argued that the concept has become a cliché that is no longer relevant and that African publishing, while variable, is responding to local needs.

RÉSUMÉ

L’industrie de l’édition en Afrique est généralement décrite en termes de « pénurie du livre », de « faim » ou de « famine ». Mais ce langage de la rareté reflète-t-il les réalités de la production et de la consommation de livres ? Dans cet article, le concept de « famine du livre » est analysé comme un cadre central du discours sur les livres africains, en utilisant une étude de la documentation existante. Deux manières de répondre à la famine du livre - l’approvisionnement et la production - sont identifiées, et les lacunes du système de dons de livres (l’approvisionnement) sont mises en contraste avec le renforcement des industries locales de l’édition (production). L’article fait valoir que le concept est devenu un cliché qui n’est plus pertinent et que l’édition africaine, bien que variable, répond aux besoins locaux.

KEYWORDS:

• Book famine
• book publishing
• African publishing
• book aid
• discourse analysis
• framing

MOTS-CLÉS:

• Famine du livre
• édition des livres
• édition africaine
• dons de livres
• analyse du discours
• encadrement

Acknowledgements

The original idea for this paper was presented at the By the Book conference in Florence, 2017. Additional input from Hans Zell is much appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 A partnership between the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

2 There has also been a new shift in use of the term, linking the ‘book famine’ to a ‘digital famine’: ‘The book famine has not been overcome in many parts of the world, and now co-exists with the digital divide’ (Johnson 2013, 295); ‘Africa is not only deeply in book famine, but is in the throes of a digital famine’ (Ng’etich 2003, 6). The term is also widely linked to access to books for people with visual disabilities, but that use is not the focus of this paper.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth le Roux

Elizabeth le Roux is an associate professor of publishing studies in the Department of Information Science at the University of Pretoria. She is co-editor of Book History, and researches the history of publishing in South Africa and Africa more broadly. She is the author of A social history of the university presses in apartheid South Africa (Brill, 2016) and A survey of South African crime fiction (with Sam Naidu; UKZN Press, 2017).