Book publishing in Africa is a rapidly growing industry, with many talented authors and a diverse range of stories to tell. However, with so many book publishing companies operating in Africa, it can be difficult to know which ones are the best.
In this article, we’ll take a look at the top 30 book publishing companies in Africa and what makes them stand out. Whether you’re an author looking to publish your work or a reader looking for your next great read, this list is sure to provide some inspiration.
Table of Contents
Top 30 Book Publishing Companies in Africa
1. Kwela Books:
Kwela Books is a well-known South African Book publishing Company that is known for its focus on promoting and publishing books that are reflective of the diversity of the African continent. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles across various genres, including poetry, children’s books and educational materials. Kwela books is known for its commitment to promote new and emerging authors, and for its focus on educational books that cater to the needs of African readers. They also have a reputation for producing high-quality books that are culturally rich and historically accurate.
2. Cassava Republic Press:
Cassava Republic Press is a well-known book publishing company based in Nigeria, known for its commitment to promoting diverse African voices and stories. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles across various genres, including poetry, children’s books, and educational materials. They are recognized for their focus on publishing works by new and emerging African authors, and for their commitment to promoting books that reflect the diversity of the African continent.
3. Jacana Media:
Jacana Media is a book publishing company that is based in South Africa. Jacana Media has a diverse range of books, with a focus on African literature, politics, and social issues. They have published works by some of the continent’s most respected authors, including Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Binyavanga Wainaina. They also have a focus on educational books and have been praised for their quality and authenticity.
4. East African Educational Publishers:
East African Educational Publishers (EAEP) is a leading publisher based in Kenya, known for its commitment to producing high-quality educational materials that cater to the needs of African students. They have a wide range of educational materials including textbooks, workbooks, and teacher’s guides for primary and secondary schools. They also have a wide range of titles in various languages, including English, Swahili, and French.
EAEP is recognized for its focus on publishing materials that are reflective of the diversity of the African continent, and for its commitment to promoting education for all. They also have a strong presence in the East African region and are considered as one of the leading educational publishers in the region.
5. Langaa RPCIG:
Langaa RPCIG (Langaa Research & Publishing Common Initiative Group) is a Cameroon-based publisher that is known for its focus on African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from Cameroon and the broader continent.
They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and educational books.
6. Black Letter Media:
Black Letter Media is a South African-based publisher that is known for its focus on African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from South Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books. Black Letter Media is known for their focus on promoting and amplifying the voices of new and emerging African authors, and for their commitment to publishing works that are representative of the diversity of the African continent. They also have a reputation for producing high-quality books that cater to the needs of African readers.
7. Mwanaka Media and Publishing:
Mwanaka Media and Publishing is a well-known publisher based in Zimbabwe, known for its focus on publishing books that reflect the diverse stories and voices of Africa. They specialise in a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles across various genres, including poetry, children’s books, and educational materials. They have a reputation for producing high-quality books that are culturally rich, historically accurate, and reflective of the diverse experiences of people from Africa, particularly from Zimbabwe and Southern Africa.
8. Sub-Saharan Publishers:
A respected publishing firm with its headquarters in Ghana, Sub-Saharan Publishers is well-known for the promotion and publication of books that showcase the various African cultures and narratives. They focus on a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction books in a variety of genres, such as poetry, children’s literature, and instructional materials. Their dedication to supporting up-and-coming African authors as well as their emphasis on publishing books that reflect the variety of the continent have earned them praise.
9. Kwani Trust:
Kwani Trust is a renowned Kenyan-based literary organization that is known for promoting and nurturing new and emerging African authors through its publishing arm, Kwani. They are focused on advancing African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from East Africa. They also have a focus on promoting literary culture and have been praised for their efforts in nurturing young writers and promoting literature as an art.
10. Safari Books:
This Kenyan-based publisher is focused on fostering African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from East Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books.
11. Jonathan Ball Publishers:
Jonathan Ball Publishers is a South African publisher that is known for its wide range of fiction and non-fiction books across various genres. They have a reputation for producing high-quality books and for promoting new and emerging authors. Jonathan Ball Publishers has been instrumental in publishing works by well-known and award-winning authors, both from South Africa and the broader continent, and for their focus on promoting African literature to the global audience. They have a diverse range of titles including poetry, children’s books and educational materials.
12. Blackbird Books:
This South African publisher is committed to advancing African literature and culture, with a focus on works from South Africa. They feature a huge selection of fiction and non-fiction books, as well as poetry and kid’s books.
13. African Heritage Press, Nigeria:
African Heritage Press is a publishing company that is rapidly expanding and has a vested interest in high-calibre creative writing about Africa and the Diaspora. African Heritage Press is dedicated to publishing original poetry, prose fiction, and drama that specifically educate, reveal, and project the rich socio-cultural experiences and worlds of the various peoples of African descent, across borders. The publisher is determined to use literature as a voice.
14. Woeli Publishing Services:
This Ghana-based publisher is focused on promoting African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from West Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books.
15. Huza Press:
Huza Press is a Rwandan-based publishing house that is dedicated to nurturing talented writers from the African continent and publishing their works. Huza Press has hosted authors from the continent and beyond through KigaliLit(a platform created in collaboration with Goethe-Institut Kigali) since its founding in 2015, ran two fiction awards, organised workshops with local writers, and hosted authors from the region. It has released a number of works including fiction and nonfiction in print, e-books, audiobooks, pocketbooks and anthologies.
16. Wits University Press:
Wits University Press is a leading South African publisher that is associated with the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. They have a reputation for producing high-quality academic and scholarly books in various fields such as History, politics, culture and literature of Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books. Wits University Press is also known for publishing works by prominent academics, researchers and authors and for their focus on producing books that are reflective of the diversity of the African continent.
17. Africa Talent Publishers:
Africa Talent Publishers was founded to provide voice to writers in rural Zimbabwe, Africa and beyond who are still unheard and in need of a chance to build a system of communication with others, to gain awareness, to have their works published, and to have their views heard.
18. Maunga wa Sasa Publishers:
This Kenyan-based publisher is focused on promoting African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from East Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books.
19. Amalion Press:
This Senegalese-based publisher is focused on promoting African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from West Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books.
20. Human & Rousseau Book Publishing Company:
Human & Rousseau is a South African publisher that is known for its wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, including poetry, children’s books and educational materials. They are a reputable publisher with a strong presence in the African literary scene. They have a diverse range of books across various genres, and they have been known to publish works by well-known authors, both from South Africa and the continent as a whole. They are also known for their focus on education, and for producing books that cater to the needs of African readers.
21. Reamsworth Publishing, Nigeria:
Reamsworth Publishing was established out of a scholarly desire for promoting and disseminating information from Africa. Its creation is based on the idea that knowledge promotion and the presentation of the genuine African realities are crucial for development. They are known for producing academic, scholarly, and educational books.
22. Bookcraft:
This Nigerian-based publisher is focused on promoting African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from Nigeria and West Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books.
23. LAPA Uitgewers:
LAPA Uitgewers is a reputable South African publisher that is known for its wide range of fiction and non-fiction books, including poetry, children’s books and educational materials. They have a strong presence in the African literary scene and have been known for publishing works by well-known and award-winning authors, both from South Africa and the broader continent. They are also known for their focus on promoting books that are reflective of the diversity of the African continent, and for their commitment to producing high-quality books that cater to the needs of African readers.
24. Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize:
The Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize is a Kenyan-based award and publishing platform that is known for its focus on promoting African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works written in Kiswahili language, which is spoken in East Africa and some parts of Central Africa. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books. The Mabati-Cornell Kiswahili Prize is known for promoting and amplifying the voices of new and emerging African authors, and for their commitment to publishing works that are representative of the diversity of the African continent.
25. African Minds Publishers:
African Minds Publishers is a non-profit, open-access South African-based publisher of social science books written by African scholars and intellectuals as well as foreign academics with strong ties to the continent. Along with having a great and engaging music selection, it focuses on politics, education, and justice.
26. Kachifo Limited (Farafina Books):
Kachifo Limited (Farafina Books) is a Nigerian-based publisher known for its focus on African literature and culture. They have a strong reputation for promoting new and emerging authors, as well as publishing works by established writers. Farafina books has a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books, and have been instrumental in the promotion of African literature to the global audience. They have also been known to have been involved in various literary events and workshops.
27. Okada Books:
Okada Books is a Nigerian-based publisher that is known for its focus on African literature, culture and history. It is an innovative publisher that aims to promote the works of underrepresented authors and voices from Africa and the African Diaspora. They have a strong reputation for producing high-quality books across various genres, including fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. Okada Books also has a distinct focus on promoting African literature through its digital platforms, making it easily accessible for readers worldwide.
28. amaBooks:
Located in Bulawayo, amaBooks is an independent trade publishing firm (the second biggest city in Zimbabwe). They have a sacred scarab as their logo, and they specialise in contemporary Zimbabwean writing. The directors, Brian Jones and Jane Morris, want to bring new and established authors’ works to the local market and make international literature about Zimbabwe available everywhere in the nation. The Welsh publishing business amaBooks represents them in the UK and has brought the 2017 Caine Prize collection, “The Goddess of Mtwara,” to Zimbabwe.
29. Penguin Random House South Africa:
Penguin Random House South Africa is one of the largest and most reputable book publishers in South Africa, known for its wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles across various genres. It is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House, a global publishing company and it is known for publishing works from renowned South African authors and also for having a strong presence in the African literary scene. They have a strong reputation for producing high-quality books, and have been instrumental in promoting and amplifying the voices of African authors.
30. New Africa Books:
New Africa Books is a South African publisher that is known for its focus on African literature and culture, with a particular emphasis on works from South Africa and the broader continent. They have a wide range of fiction and non-fiction titles, including poetry and children’s books. New Africa Books has a reputation of publishing authors that are representative of the diversity of the African continent and amplifying voices that are often not heard. They are also known for their focus on educational books that cater to the needs of African readers.
Final Thoughts on Book publishing Companies in Africa
In conclusion, Africa has a wide range of book publishing companies, each with their own unique focus and specialties. Whether you’re looking for fiction, non-fiction, educational or children’s books, there’s something for everyone.
These top 30 book publishing companies are a great starting point for discovering the best of African literature and culture. As the industry continues to grow, we can expect to see even more diverse and exciting books from the continent in the future.