Publishers

was previously known as JP van der Walt Publishers, and it has been in existence since the 1940s. After a takeover by a large cultural organisation in 1996, it became known as LAPA Publishers. It is a general publisher that employs 32 people – seven of these in the publication section. Most staff members are employed in an administrative capacity, because a large part of the company’s sales is through mail order. Although the company had published a few children’s books in the past, it did not have a children’s book department or a children’s book publisher. In 2000, Miemie du Plessis was appointed the children’s book publisher, and she started the children’s book department with an initial list of 12 titles per year, which has since grown to 60 titles per year. During the past four-and-a-half years LAPA Publishers has produced approximately 150 books for children and teenagers, about half of which are local titles and half co-editions with mainly British publishers. At least 25 percent of all these titles have been reprinted, some as many as five times. Currently, books for children and teenagers generate 27 percent of the company’s income, and during the past financial year, 35 percent of all books sold by LAPA Publishers were children’s books. Books are published mostly in Afrikaans, but some titles are also available in English, SePedi, SeSotho, Xhosa, and Zulu (all of which are part of South Africa’s eleven official languages). <b>Address</b> Bosmanstrad 380, P. O. Box 123, Pretoria 0001, South Africa

is well known as the British publisher of dictionaries of the English language and highly respected nonfiction and reference books. Youth literature is the only fiction that OUP publishes. Oxford University Press has offices in several African countries, which publish children’s books in English and the indigenous languages. The South African branch has published a number of local books for young readers for many years. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 12119, N1 City, 7463, Cape Town, South Africa Tel.: 021 596 1234

publishing venture was started by Johan Delannoie. Born in Belgium, Delannoie completed a classical education with four years at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium. He moved to South Africa in 1982. In 1998, he started the comic series The Adventures of Themba and Bizza, while pursuing a career in the manufacturing industry. Since 2002, he has been working full-time on the comic books. Julio Moles came on board as co-author with the third book in the series. The books can be purchased through the online bookstore Loot. For further information write to info@themba.net.

is mainly an educational publishing house; however, it has a list of juvenile literature and adult fiction books. It is a member of African Books Collective. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 4460, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel.: 0225 022 272737 / 2775361 Fax: 2772737

was formed by an amalgamation of the long-established Cape Town publishers Maskew Miller and the international Longman organisation. It is the most prolific publisher of children’s books in South Africa. Although the majority of its books are school texts, MML also publishes picture books, readers, and junior fiction. For many years the annual MML Young Africa Awards attracted exciting teenage and upper-primary writing with a setting in southern Africa. Many of these titles have become popular favourites. Regrettably, the prizes have been discontinued, but the Young Africa series continues. Maskew Miller Longman now focuses on publishing mainly educational books, including the admired and wide-ranging Stars of Africa series, for which Lesley Beake provided the original conception and is presently its Series Editor. The plan for the series was laid soon after the first democratic election in South Africa in 1994. These well-produced booklets are specifically written to cover information that African children need to know and want to know. The series began with pre-school books and has now reached the upper primary levels. <b>Address</b> Cnr Forest Drive & Logan Way, Pinelands, South Africa 7405; P. O. Box 396, Cape Town, South Africa 8000 Tel.: +27 21 532 6000

was founded by Felicity Keats. Ms. Keats has inspired creative writing by children for several years, and has guided many small volumes into print. She also runs a Talking Pencils club. Tel. / fax: +27 31 464 1556

based in Dakar, Senegal, is one of the oldest publishing houses in Africa. Its first book for children was produced in 1976, when it was called Nouvelles Editions Africaines (NEA) as were its counterparts in Ivory Coast and Togo. After a steady production for children in the 1980s, NEA became stagnant, but in 2003, under the new name NEAS, it has become active again, with several new series of illustrated fiction such as Leuk, Gollo, and Mouss. <b>Address</b> BP 260 Dakar, Senegal Tel.: +221 822 1580 Fax: +221 822 3604

began as a business venture by two British Publishers, Heinemann and Cassell, in 1965. In those early years, all publishing work was done in Europe, mainly Britain, and Africa was therefore only a market for books. In 1972, Henry Chakava was appointed the first African editor, and he took this opportunity to start publishing local titles for schools, tertiary colleges, universities, and the general reading public. In 1992, the company became the first subsidiary of a multinational publisher to be fully owned by Kenyans. To reflect this new status, the name was changed to East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) Ltd. Although known for its literature, poetry, and drama publications, school textbooks constitute about 80 percent of EAEP’s buying market. East African Educational Publishers is seen as the leading school publisher in Kenya because it has produced books in the areas of culture, development, and aesthetics. <b>Address</b> Brick Court, Mpaka Road/Woodvale Grove, Westlands, P. O. Box 45314-00100, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: +254-020-4444700; +254-020-4445260 / 1 Cell: 0722-205660; 0733-677716 Fax: +254-020-4448753

founded in 1987, is an indigenous Kenyan publishing house that specialises in quality children’s readers, textbooks, general fiction, and nonfiction. With 25 titles produced at the end of the first year of business, the company has grown to its current list of over 200 titles. Phoenix Publishers also embraces and represents partner companies in both Uganda and Tanzania, thus becoming a leading supplier of books in the East African region. Phoenix authors range from first-time writers of children’s fiction, to well-known authors such as Cynthia Hunter and Nyambura Mpesha, and to academic authorities on diverse subjects such as media law and the AIDS holocaust. <b>Address</b> Kijabe Street, P. O. Box 18650-00500, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: +223262/222309 Fax: +313562

established in 1986, publishes children’s books, textbooks, classics, and novels. It produces an average of two titles each year, with a total of 38 titles thus far. The books are marketed through book distributors, booksellers, and book agents. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 70077, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel.: +255-744-334239 or +255-741-334239

is an innovative publisher of picture books in Kiswahili, full-colour comic books, and junior biographies of African historical figures in English and Kiswahili. These books are available in the United States and Canada from Peppercorn Books & Press (www.peppercornbooks.com), and in the United Kingdom and Europe from the following Web site: www.canapublishinguk.com. For further information on buying books outside these areas, please contact the publisher. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 13956, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: (254) 2-550400/399; cell: (254) 2-72-522310

is one of the leading publishers of books for young readers in South Africa, issuing books in Afrikaans, English, isiXhosa and isiZulu. The publications range from picture books and primary readers to teenage and young adult novels. With the sponsorship of Sanlam, Tafelberg has maintained a biennial award competition for hitherto unpublished manuscripts for ages 12 to 16. Tafelberg is an imprint of NB Publishers. <b>Address</b> NB Publishers, P. O. Box 879, Cape Town 8000, South Africa Tel.: +27(21) 406 3812

founded in 1992, has produced several series for children, including translations of South African titles. An active publisher both for children and adults, Edilis is also engaged in promoting and publishing in African languages, especially Dioula. It is a member of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers (www.afrilivres.com) and Alliance des Editeurs Indépendants (www.alliance-editeurs.org). <b>Address</b> 10 BP 477 10 Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire Tel.: 225 212 446 51

is the Nigerian affiliate of the Longman Group, United Kingdom, now part of Pearson Education. <b>Address</b> 52 Oba Akran Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria

was founded in 1995, and it was the first publishing House in Rwanda to create and promote literature for children and young adults. Editions Bakame publishes folktales, picture books, nonfiction, and teenage novels. All the books are illustrated and written in Kinyarwanda, the national language. In 2001, the BIB International Jury recognised the pioneering work of Editions Bakame with an honorary mention. It is a member of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers (www.afrilivres.com). <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 4281, Kigali, Rwanda Tel. / fax: +250-586365

has been publishing books for and about Africa for nearly 40 years, producing high-quality educational textbooks and supplementary materials in all subjects and at all levels, from infant to tertiary education. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 75773, Zanaki Street, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Tel.: +255 22 2127071/2 Fax: +255 22 2127073

is a leading regional publisher of high-quality educational books in East Africa. Guided by the philosophy of “Quality Publishing for Growth,” Longhorn’s list covers publications ranging from pre-primary to tertiary level. <b>Address</b> Funzi Road, Industrial Area, P. O. Box 18033-00500, Nairobi, Kenya Tel.: +254 2 532579 / 80 / 81 Fax: +254 2 558551

is a small, locally owned publisher that was established 11 years ago. Its main focus is in Zambian languages such as storybooks, ABC’s, and Zambian grammars. Bookworld now has grammars in four Zambian languages, produced by the Institute of Economic and Social Research, which is attached to the University of Zambia. Other tertiary publications include autobiographies and two studies of the history of education in Zambia. It is a member of African Books Collective. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 3251, Lusaka, Zambia

is a member of African Books Collective. <b>Address</b> P O Box LG 358, Legon-Accra, Ghana Tel.: 233 21 234251 / 233371 Fax: 233 21 234251 Members of African Books Collective

was an imprint created by David Philip Publisher, with Niki Daly as commissioning editor. Songololo Books created a number of groundbreaking picture books, all with a strong resonance of Africa and the local South African setting. David Philip is now one of the imprints under the New Africa Books publishing group, hence it is good to see some more Songololo picture books starting to appear. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 46962, Glosderry 7702, 99 Garfield Road, Claremont 7700, South Africa Tel.: (021) 674-4136 Fax: (021) 674-3358

is one of the leading publishers of children’s books in South Africa. Although the main focus is on picture books, it continues to produce a fair number of storybooks in the primary age range in both Afrikaans and English, including the Afrikaans translations of the Harry Potter series. In the area of picture books, it fosters bold new artistic styles in a country long in the grip of the cute, pretty varieties from overseas mass-markets. Based in Cape Town, Human & Rousseau is an imprint of NB Publishers. <b>Address</b> NB Publishers, P. O. Box 879, Cape Town 8000, South Africa Tel.: +27(21) 406 3812

in Johannesburg has republished three African picture books (from other publishers) to start its Giraffe Books series, which are available in Portuguese, Lesotho/Sotho, and the official languages of South Africa: English, Ndebele, SePedi, SeTswana, Venda, Xhosa, Afrikaans, SeSotho, SiSwati, Tsonga, and Zulu. <b>Address</b> Hyde Park Corner, Hyde Park 2196, South Africa Tel.: 011 731 3440 Fax: 011 731 3540

is a small independent company. It publishes the Potyi Books imprint in a joint venture with the Scientific and Industrial Leadership Initiative (SAILI). Maskew Miller Longman has translated these books into Afrikaans and the other nine African languages through their Kagiso imprint. <b>Address</b> Potyi Books, P. O. Box 292, Muizanberg 7950, South Africa, E-Mail potbooks@new.co.za <b>Maskew Miller Longman</b> Cnr Forest Drive & Logan Way, Pinelands, South Africa 7405; PO Box 396, Cape Town, South Africa 8000 Tel.: +27 21 532 6000

is a national initiative, housed in Cape Town, which promotes reading, writing, and easy access to books for all South Africans in their home languages. Sappi, a leading paper manufacturer, collaborated on the First Words in Print project as part of its Corporate Social Investment programme. <i>I Could Be Anywhere</i> and <i>What’s Down That Hole?</i> were chosen from the jointly sponsored <i>Sappi Isiqalo</i> competition, whose aim was to encourage South African authors and illustrators to develop material with a local idiom. The resulting publications were given to underprivileged schools and not sold. <b>Address</b> 62 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa <b>Sappi Limited</b> 48 Ameshoff Street, Braamfontein 2017, South Africa

is one of the leading law and academic publishers of South Africa. Juta Gariep is one of its imprints, which handles youth publishing, as distinct from school textbooks. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 14373, Kenwyn 7780, South Africa Tel.: 021 797 5101

is a well-established, independent publisher in Cape Town that specialises in nonfiction books with a South African content. <b>Address</b> 10–12 Penrith Road, Kenilworth 7700, South Africa

of Cape Town (ELRU) creates a steady stream of educational and socially aware books for preschool children in multiracial, multilingual South Africa. It is a not-for-profit organisation (NPO) administered by the Cape Educational Trust. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 36353, Glosderry 770, South Africa Tel.: 021 762 7500

from Windhoek, Namibia, is a subsidiary of Gamsberg Macmillan Publishers, housed in the same office but they publish under their own imprint. <b>Address</b> 19 Faraday Street, P. O. Box 22830, Windhoek, Namibia Tel.: +264-61-232132 Fax: +264-61-233538

is the Namibian subsidiary of Macmillan. It produces a steady flow of locally relevant books for young readers. This Namibian publishing house was established 25 years ago. It currently publishes in thirteen languages: Oshindonga, Oshikwanyama, Otjiherero, Rukwangali, Rumanyo, Thimbukushu, Silozi, Setswana, Khoekhoegowab, Ju/’hoan, Afrikaans, German, and English. <b>Address</b> 19 Faraday Street, P. O. Box 22830, Windhoek, Namibia Tel.: +264-61-232132 Fax: +264-61-233538

is a Senegalese association that was founded in 1995, by the librarian Antoinette F. Correa, to develop reading, help in the creation of libraries, and train librarians. It also organizes a Children’s Book Fair each year in Pikine, near Dakar. Bibliothèque-Lecture-Développement started its activities as a publishing house in 1997, and is a member of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers (<a href="http://www.afrilivres.com">www.afrilivres.com</a>). <b>Address</b> BP 1046 Dakar, Senegal Tel.: 221 834 34 94 Fax: 221 834 34 94

created by author Moussa Konaté, started publishing picture books for children in 1997 in Bamako, Mali, with traditional stories (mostly illustrated by Ali Zoromé) in French and Bambara. In 2003, Konaté launched the series Métiers d’Afrique (Crafts from Africa), which are hardcover, full-colour nonfiction picture books; and in 2006 the new series Voyage jeunesse (Travel for Young People), which are nonfiction picture books, and Kunkurunni, which are picture books for young children. Le Figuier also publishes fiction, poetry, and photography books for adults. It is based both in Bamako and in Limoges, France, and is a member of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers (www.afrilivres.com). <b>Address</b> 151, rue 56 Sema 1 BP E2605, Bamako, Mali Tel.: 223 223 32 11

based in Port-Louis, Mauritius, was created in 1993, when it published a number of books on Mauritius. However, for the last six years Editions Vizavi has specialised in children books, mainly through a series of picture books entitled In Dodoland, for children from 4-8 years. These books are distributed by servedit1@wanaddo.fr <b>Address</b> 9 rue St Georges, Port Louis, Mauritius Tel.: 230 208 0983 Fax: 230 211 3047

was established in 1966 as a printing business. In 2000, the company came to be legally owned by its employees under the Management and Employees Buy Out (MEBO) programmes. The employees focused on a printing and publishing entrepreneurship, producing educational, children’s, and tertiary books. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 2320, 13 Nyerere Road, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

from Madagascar, was created to promote children’s books publishing in Madagascar, usually blocked by lack of financial means. Author Michele Rakotoson, from Madagascar, has received support from La joie par les livres in France to launch this project. They plan on having a festival and publishing the works of a young author and the tales of a storyteller, both from Madagascar. <b>Address</b> LOT VO 8A 247 Bis, Miandrarivo, Antananarivo, 101, Madagascar Tel.: 06 10 44 9458

The Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) is an independent research and development unit attached to the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Cape Town. Established in 1992, PRAESA emerged from the struggle against apartheid education. Circumstances since 1995 have focused the project's work on language policy in education. Today, the rationale for the project's research and development activities continues to be the democratisation of South African society, particularly in the key area of language-in-education policy implementation. Focal areas of work include language planning and policy formulation at national and provincial government levels, in-service teacher education, developmental research into multilingual classrooms, early literacy, dual-medium primary schooling, language surveys, as well as generating publications and learning support materials. Main funders in this endeavour over the years have been the Independent Development Trust, the Royal Netherlands Embassy (Pretoria), the Flemish Government and the University of Antwerp (Belgium), the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa, the Volkswagen Foundation and the Pan South African Language Board. <b>Address</b> PRAESA, Private Bag, Rondebosch 7701 Upper Campus, Arts Block, University of Cape Town, South Africa Tel.: +27 21 6504013/3589 Fax: +27 21 650 3027

was founded in 1964 with the aim of providing Christian-based literature for all ages, and giving readers the opportunity to understand the gospel of Christ and its influence on the personal, social, and spiritual issues facing our world. A not-for-profit publisher, ACP distributes books in seventeen African countries, as well as in countries such as Fiji, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The children’s books published by ACP are written in English; however, two titles have been translated into two Ghanaian languages – Asante Twi and Dagaare – for use by the Literacy Classes of the Non-Formal Education Division of the Ghana Education Service. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 30 AH 30, Achimota, Ghana Tel.: +233-21-244147/8

is a division of New Holland Publishing (South Africa), which is a member of the Johnnic Publishing Group. Struik specialises in quality nonfiction books about Africa. For many years it produced an excellent Questions & Answers series on factual topics for young readers. Recently, it has created a number of attractive children’s books, many of them in the field of local folklore. <b>Address</b> 80 McKenzie Street, Cape Town 8001, South Africa Tel.: 27 11 280 3000 Fax: 27 11 834 5063

was established in 1988, and through the years it has become one of the leading publishing houses in East Africa. It has published over 500 titles in scholarly books, trade books, and children’s books. Fountain Publishers produces books in numerous languages: English, Luganda, Kiswahaili, Runyankore-Rukiga, Runyoro-Rutoro, Lwo, Lugbara, Lhukonzo, Ateso, Jopadhola, Lusoga, and Kinyarwanda. <b>Address</b> Fountain House, 55 Nkrumah Road, P. O. Box 488, Kampala, Uganda Tel.: 256-41- 259163 / 251112 Fax: 256-25- 1160

is a publisher in Kenya that specialises in publishing the classic books that the mainstream publishers would not touch because of the small profit margin. These are mainly fiction and academic (university and college) texts. Pangolin publishes in English as well as in Kiswahili, Dholuo, and Southern Sudanese languages. <b>Address</b> P. O. Box 156-20115 Egerton University, Kenya

is an active publishing house based in Cotonou, Benin, that specialises in children’s books. Founded in 1992, and directed by author Béatrice Gbado, Ruisseaux d’Afrique aims to transmit the culture of Benin and the African continent to children. Its various series of fiction and nonfiction are aimed at different age groups, including very young children. Ruisseaux d’Afrique is a member of Afrilivres, an association of African publishers (www.afrilives.com). <b>Address</b> 566 c/2186 Kindonou 334 04 BP 1154 04 232 Cotonou, Benin Tel.: 229 30 31 86/ 229 94 7925

is a large and important educational publisher in Nigeria. Overseas purchases can be made at over2u.com Netherlands Embassy in Nigeria. <b>Address</b> Spectrum House, Ring Road, PMB 5612, Ibadan, Nigeria Tel.: 234-[0]2-2310145 / 2311215 / 2310058 Fax: 234-[0]2-2312705

based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, is a member of African Books Collective.

is a well-established publishing firm in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal which produces a wide range of learning and teaching support materials. They have a Social Responsibility programme which makes donations from every book sold towards projects for underprivileged children. <b>Address</b> Shuter & Shooter Publishing (PTY) Ltd, 21C Cascades Crescent, P.O. Box 13016, Cascades 3202, South Africa Tel.: (033) 347 61 00 Fax: (033) 347 61 20/30