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 Periodical article |
 Leiden University catalogue |
 WorldCat |
| Title: | African publishing from the outside |
| Author: | Smith, Kelvin |
| Year: | 2006 |
| Periodical: | African Research and Documentation |
| Issue: | 100 |
| Pages: | 3-10 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Africa |
| Subjects: | publishing marketing |
| Abstract: | This presentation at a one-day conference on African publishing and writing at the British Library Conference Centre (17 October 2005) looks at Africa as a book market and book producer, and ways that African publishers can 'put African publishing squarely on the world map'. The current lack of African material on the Internet suggests that African publishing would do well to focus more energy on the creative use of information and communications technology, to make sure that the messages about Africa originate in Africa, rather than rely on the intercession of organizations in other continents. This requires the confidence to master not only local markets but also to learn to work with the new value chains and new supply chains that service the 'long tail' market. Recent developments in India may be relevant here. There are also opportunities for African publishers to bring literature from other languages into English. With the demise of specialist importers and retailers, ICT provides indispensable tools to reach the many potential market pockets which are part of the long tail. The longer this tail becomes, the more likely that the power relations in international publishing will change and maybe move away from increasingly monopolized industry in Europe and North America and start to favour the far greater number of publishing countries and companies that make up the long tail of publishing output and consumption. Bibliogr. [ASC Leiden abstract] |
