As African book publishers build a literary ecosystem of their own, they say they're fighting a stubborn perception problem, with too many international publishers treat the continent's 54 countries as one homogenous entity.

"When we listen to audiobooks produced in the West, they have a Wakandan accent," said Eghosa Imasuen, executive director of Narrative Landscape Press in Lagos, Nigeria, referencing the fictional nation from Marvel's Black Panther at a a workshop on African publishing at the Sharjah Publishers Conference earlier this month. "Nobody talks like that on the continent."

The "Wakandan accent" issue goes deeper than narration, Imasuen said, reflecting how African literature gets flattened and homogenized for Western consumption—books curated to match what international readers imagine Africa should be, rather than what it actually is. Many African publishers at Sharjah pushed back against this tendency, emphasizing the unique identities between countries and cultures by catering to local markets rather than Western expectations.

"It was once chic to say, 'I don't read Nigerian books,' but now nobody says that anymore," Imasuen said, pointing to a shift in attitude that followed the launch of Cassava Republic Press in 2006. "Now it's chic to read Nigerian books and proclaim, 'I don't read American books.'"

The Sharjah workshop, titled "Inside the African Literary Market: What Global Publishers Need to Know," was led by Ainehi Edoro, founder of Brittle Paper, an African book news platform that features some 200 titles annually and publishes a "100 Notable African Books of the Year" list. Edoro, a literature professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, drew on UNESCO's May 2025 study on African book publishing in making his observations. "I have seen a lot of studies on African publishing and a lot of very bad studies," Edoro said. "I think this is actually a very good study."

Strained infrastructure

The focus on catering to local readers and not trying to impress international markets has made a huge difference to the publishing industry on the continent, Edoro said.

"Publishers in Africa now say 'I write for the local market—I'm not trying to publish that book that is going to be bought in the U.S. or Europe. I write for Nigerians, and I write for Kenyans,'" Edoro noted. "That has really made the quality of the storytelling so much better."

Edoro observed that the literary ecosystem in Africa is finally reaching maturity: "Lots of what has been building up for the last 25 years—I feel like it's about coming to fruition."

But the infrastructure gap remains stark compared to developed markets. In the U.S., publishers rely on networks of libraries, distributors, and booksellers. "In spaces like Nigeria, you don't have that," Edoro said. "So when you manage to sell 5,000 copies, it's like your blood and sweat." The infrastructure challenges are compounded by cost, as printing locally is often too expensive for many publishers, who turn to China and India for more affordable solutions.

Finding talented personnel can be a challenge too, Imasuen said. In 2014, the largest outbreak of Ebola in history gutted West African publishing infrastructure as skilled workers fled the industry, and the traditional collaborative system—designers and editors working side-by-side in publishing houses—has fractured as younger workers demand remote arrangements following Covid. "We have to do so much of our work by Zoom now instead of on-site," said Imasuen, noting how this limits opportunities for mentorship and team building.

Then there are tariffs. Despite the 1950 Florence Agreement exempting cultural materials from import duties, African governments often arbitrarily impose taxes by other means. In 2017, Ethiopia slapped a 36% tariff on books—a move that has since been rescinded through the imposition of free trade agreements.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, the continent's second-largest book market after South Africa, has arbitrarily taxed books depending on who is in power. For example, during a financial crisis in 2014, an officer in the Nigerian Ministry of Finance added a 25% tariff and 10% levy with a single memo. Nigerian Customs then classified everything—science fiction, political speeches, novels—as "educational printed books" subject to levies.

Customs agents would claim books were deliberately misclassified, imposing a penalty of 50% on top of the tariff, which "only fueled piracy, as it was cheaper to buy pirated books," Imasuen recalled of the time.

In fact, piracy continues to plague publishing on the continent. Much of the practice has moved online, as with much of the rest of the world. And just like everywhere else, there's a new twist: AI-generated fake books on Amazon.

Bestsellers and opportunities

The bestselling title in Narrative Landscape's history has been Making It Big, an autobiography by Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, according to Imasuen. The book, which was published in August 2025, has sold 45,000 copies. But when it was first announced in July, before the book was even published, seven counterfeit titles appeared on Amazon Kindle immediately, with 46 more versions appearing later, including unauthorized French translations.

"After a while, we just said, 'Hello, my friend, fuck it,'" Imasuen said of trying to take them down. "At most, piracy is viewed as a victimless crime. So if you arrest the pirate, people don't see it as consequential. After all, he didn't kill anybody—he just broke copyright law."

To combat piracy, publishers across the continent, especially those in Nigeria and Kenya, are working to establish more cross-border licensing deals. "[Other African publishers] give us a license, then we will produce locally," Imasuen said. "We are beginning to share rights and establish an equatorial band of partnerships across east and central Africa."

A new financial infrastructure now facilitates a boom in trade across the continent, starting with the African Continental Free Trade Area (launching in 2026) and the Pan-African Payment System, which already lets 18 of 54 African Union countries transfer money without using SWIFT. Banks like the United Bank of Africa now enable direct cross-border transfers.

Several countries have also passed laws to securitize intellectual property—Nigeria in 2015, Kenya in 2017—theoretically letting publishers sell rights to future earnings. But regulators lag years behind, and there is a limited number of licensed brokers familiar with the instrument who can facilitate transactions.

Publishers are also embracing global trends: Narrative Landscape Press has diversified into audiobooks, launching its first audiobook, Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in February 2025 after two years of development. The publisher partnered with local firm Genti Audio for the production. The company has also launched a literary and scouting agency and now has service-level agreements with European publishers and production companies hunting for African stories to translate and adapt.

It is a strategy that may work for Anglophone publishers, but Anglophone publishers are not the totality of those working on the continent, Edoro noted. "The perception exists internationally that we are tethered to the U.K. and the U.S," she said. "But it is important to remember that there are significant French, Lusophone, and Hispanophone publishers—not to mention all the indigenous languages and literatures—all of which are underrepresented internationally."

Edoro advised international publishers wanting to understand the African market to look beyond the biggest markets of Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa, and recommended the African Publishers Network as a great resource.

"Publishers that are surviving have a lot to teach the world, because they are doing so much in spite of their difficult situation," Edoro said. She pointed to the success of Masobe Books, which was founded in Lagos in 2017 and has since published some 200 titles. The name comes from the Isoko language of the Isoko people who hail from the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. It means "Let Us Read."

If there is one thing publishers across the continent have in common, it's that they no longer feel the need to explain themselves to Western readers. "We tell the authors, 'No, that battle has been fought—focus on your craft, focus on telling the best story you can,'" Imasuen said. "Your audience is good enough. Write truthfully and the world will bend over backward to understand what you're saying."