BELLAGIO PUBLISHING NETWORK NEWSLETTER an Occasional Publication Concerning Publishing and Book Development Number 28 November 2001
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BELLAGIO PUBLISHING NETWORK NEWSLETTER An occasional publication concerning publishing and book development Number 28 November 2001 The Bellagio Publishing Network is an informal association of organisations dedicated to strengthening indigenous publishing and book development in Africa. The group includes publishers, donor organisations from both government and private voluntary sectors, and others who are concerned with books and publishing. This newsletter covers news of the Network and perspectives on publishing and book development. News and Reports on Publishing 2 Editorial By Katherine Salahi 3 Secretariat news 3 Networking in the Pacific By Linda Crowl, Robyn Bargh and Liliane Tauru 4 Caribbean Publishers Network news By CAPNET 4 Peoples Book Centres: a new South African initiative By Bridget Impey 6 Community Publishing Project launched in South Africa By Colleen Higgs 7 15th Commonwealth Writers Prize held in Ghana By Akunu Dake 8 Colonial and Post-colonial Cultures of the Book By Jane Katjavivi Perspectives and Commentary 10 The Internet, e-commerce and Africas book professions By Hans Zell Departments 15 Review articles 18 New publications BELLAGIO PUBLISHING NEWSLETTER 2 Editorial Katherine Salahi Katherine Salahi is Co-ordinator, Bellagio Publishing Network lthough the idea of an African Publishers Network Not enough has changed since 1993, when that statement A(APNET) was mooted well before the first Bellagio was set down by a group of enthusiastic and dedicated conference on publishing and development in 1991, and book professionals, donors and NGOs, to warrant any might well have developed into a credible organisation claim of mission accomplished. Nor is the end in sight. without a parallel network to support it, the fact remains Much remains to be done, many organisations and that the Bellagio Group of donors within the Bellagio individuals remain committed to the aims. Publishing Network from the start made APNET their The Bellagio Publishing Network Newsletter, as an major focus for support. Through the Bellagio secretariat occasional publication concerning publishing and book and the annual Network meetings, the donors were able development, has from the start covered a wider to keep in close contact with each other and with APNET. geographical focus than the Network it serves. In this issue The coherent relationship between funders and APNET we cover new developments within the Caribbean that was thus enabled has now successfully transformed Publishers Network, an organisation directly inspired by into the APNET strategic partnership. APNET has come the African Publishers Network, and working closely with of age and this year, for the first time, is meeting with its them. The APNET-CAPNET relationship is symptomatic strategic partners independently of the Bellagio Publishing of an encouraging increase in south-south co-operation Network. Where does this leave the Bellagio Publishing for culture and development. A short piece on networking Network? among publishers in the Pacific provides the good news The main mission of the Bellagio Publishing Network that another new regional organisation for strengthening has been to strengthen African publishing, and many good indigenous publishing is in the making. developments, of which APNET is perhaps the most high We make no apology for the strongly South African profile, have happened in the ten years of the Networks focus of this issue, because each article carries wider existence. But no one at all familiar with the conditions relevance than South Africa alone. Bridget Impey and prevailing throughout the African continent today can Colleen Higgs write about two new South African claim that enough has been done. Illiteracy remains a initiatives that are attempting to address issues of literacy running sore in the body politic. Book provision is still and empowerment through book development. As we woefully inadequate, in quality and quantity, where it struggle to comprehend the current world crisis sparked matters most in schools, in libraries, in rural areas and by the September 11 attacks on the USA and the in the poorer parts of towns and cities. Books, those most retaliatory attacks on Afghanistan, the urgent need for a powerful of emancipatory tools, those calories of properly educated, critically alert world citizenry cannot creativity and the imagination, are still denied to the great be overstated. Jane Katjavivis report on an academic masses of Africas inhabitants. conference on book development held at Rhodes Many organisations in the south and the north share University (during the Zimbabwe International Book Fair) a mission to eradicate illiteracy in the name of highlights one worrying issue: the chasm between different development. What distinguishes the Bellagio Publishing professions apparently working in the same field to the Network associate organisations and individuals is our same end. Sulaiman Adebowales thought-provoking emphasis on the strategic role of African publishers in review article on The Politics of Publishing in South Africa this process, and our commitment to indigenously touches on similar issues though viewed through a published books for real development. Our original different lens. The idea of the culture of a societys mission statement spelt this out: publishing encapsulating its connections with the larger society is appealing, and worth exploring in other studies. Recognising the importance of the printed word and The Internet, e-commerce and Africas book the development of a reading culture as key vehicles for social, economic and cultural development and professions carries the Hans Zell hallmark of valuable autonomy, and aiming to foster an increase in the practical advice combined with sober realism on the hot number and quality of African voices being heard both topic of publishing in the digital era. It poses questions inside and outside of Africa, the Bellagio Group [i.e. that are vital to ask, and should help focus publishing the Bellagio Group in support of African publishing, planning in this key area for forward-looking publishers which became known as the Bellagio Publishing in Africa and elsewhere. Network Ed.] will work to strengthen indigenous African publishing. News and Reports on Publishing 3 Secretariat news In 1999, a conference of the South Pacific Association of Literature and Languages (SPACLALS) was held in Suva, Fiji. At the conference, there was a panel discussion achel Wiggans, who was assistant co-ordinator of on Pacific publishing; the panel was Robyn Rangihuia Rthe Network for four years, left the secretariat in Bargh from Huia Publishers, New Zealand; Marjorie February to pursue other interests. Her quiet dedication, Tuainekore Crocombe from Rarotonga and Linda Crowl immense hard work, intelligence and humour, not to from the Institute of Pacific Studies in Fiji. mention her fluency in French, were invaluable. We are A year later, Robyn Bargh, Linda Crowl, Liliane deeply grateful to her for her many contributions to the Tauru, and book people from Hawaii, Samoa, New work of the secretariat, and wish her the very best. Caledonia and other island countries discussed ideas at We are delighted to welcome Sulaiman Adebowale the 8th Pacific Arts Festival in Noumea in a workshop on to the secretariat during a one-year sabbatical from Pacific publishing. CODESRIA, where he is Assistant Editor of Publications The dialogue led to the creation of a network of actors and Communications. Sulaiman is working on the to promote the development of the publishing industry in newsletter and website while taking an e-media course at the Pacific region. The following main objectives were Oxford Brookes University. proposed: 1. develop successful publishing business units employing indigenous Pacific people, in each Pacific island nation; 2. strive to publish works which convey the stories, images and dreams of indigenous Pacific peoples using Networking in the Pacific their own languages or the lingua franca; and 3. create a network of publishing business units which Linda Crowl, Robyn Bargh and Liliane Tauru will enable indigenous Pacific peoples to share Contact email: [email protected] experiences, knowledge and skills. An initial step has been taken with the creation of an or a couple of centuries, publishing concerning the email discussion list. This list is hosted by the Pacific FPacific Islands had been developed and promoted in Community (www.spc.int) and is open to all Pacific Europe or the US. The writers, the publishers, and even publishers as well as to related professions. To send a the readers were largely foreign to Oceania. Few message, the address is: [email protected] opportunities existed for indigenous Pacific peoples to tell their own stories through their own publishing, an opportunity essential to supporting the writing and Pacific Islands publishers have begun perspectives of indigenous Pacific peoples in both local a process of strengthening linkages and foreign languages, so that Pacific voices can be heard among book actors in the region within and around the world. through activities that promote the Since 1994, Pacific Islands publishers have begun a growing literature of indigenous process of strengthening linkages among book actors in content and titles. the region through activities that encourage the growing literature of indigenous content and titles. They have organised book fairs of their own and in conjunction with other events such