Book Publishing in Nigeria: An Overview

Book Publishing in Nigeria: An Overview

In Nigeria the advent of book publishing could be traced to the colonial era when in the 1920s policies were formulated on the production and importation of English and Arithmetic text books from Britain. The post colonial era recorded efforts by the federal government to create enabling environment for the growth of the publishing industry. With time, Nigeria had a vibrant book publishing industry with about the largest number of publishing firms in any African country in the 60s and 70s. But with the economic down-turn of the 1980s, most of the firms collapsed (Ike, 2004). Some began to publish below capacity. The journey through the development of book publishing industry saw foreign publishers such as Longman, Oxford, Macmillan, Evans, and Heinemann, dominating the industry.

However indigenous publishing was popularized in Nigeria with the Nigeria Enterprises Promotion Decree of 1978 which provided that at least 60% equity participation in book publishing must be by Nigerian nationals. With time, Ibadan University Press, Spectrum Books, Africana First, and Fourth Dimension emerged as indigenous publishing firms of high reckoning, encouraging the emergence of more local publishers and improving the industry. At that time, the foreign publishing firms had reduced equity shares to 40% but continued to make their remarkable presence felt in the industry. Today, with the growing sophistication of printing technology and emergence of information and communication technologies, the book publishing industry in Nigeria has greatly improved with more local publishers in the scene. The industry could be described as the most under-regulated as anybody can wake up and become a publisher. In fact, self publishing is a common practice in the country. The professional body for Nigerian book publishers known as the Nigerian Publishers Association (NPA) which was established in 1965, is making efforts to regulate activities in the industry. Book publishing in Nigeria certainly has a bright future.

Top 10 Book Publishing Companies in Nigeria

Book publishing is one of the major pillars of the print media industry in any nation. Though many authors in Nigeria engage in self-publishing or go to unknown publishers, there are several good publishing companies of great repute you can visit for publication of any good material you have. Here’s a list of the top 10 book publishers in Nigeria.

LITERAMED PUBLICATIONS NIGERIA LTD

Literamed is a household name in Nigeria especially among children. It is Nigeria’s current leading children’s book publisher. It’s imprint is “Lantern Books”. This book publishing company was established in 1969 and since then, the company had worked it way up as one of the best publishing companies in the country. It is the publisher of the popular “Lantern books” which is a household name among children in Nigeria and across West Africa. The companies head office is located in Ikeja, Lagos.

UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC

The University Press PLC, formally known as the Oxford University Press Nigeria, is one of the oldest book publishing companies in Nigeria and it was established in 1949. Being established with the college in mind, majority of their publications are educational and they are a major book publishing brand in Nigeria. The company is Located in Ibadan, Oyo state.

GRACE SPRINGS AFRICA PUBLISHERS (GSAP)

This is a Christian publishing company in Nigeria. The main aim of GSAP is to propagate the word of Jesus Christ through literature and publishable materials. Their office is located at Illupeju, Lagos Nigeria.

CASSAVA REPUBLIC

Cassava Republic Press was founded in 2006 and currently, it is one of the leading book publishing companies in Africa.The main focus of this company is to make publishing affordable to budding authors, the need to find and develop local talent, and to publish African writers who are often celebrated only in Europe and America. This company grew rapidly due to its interesting in celebrating African talents in the writing world. After being based in Nigeria for a decade, Cassava Republic Press launched in London, England, in April 2016, and in 2017 launched in the US, becoming the first African publisher to open a subsidiary outside the continent.

EVANS BROTHERS (NIGERIA PUBLISHER) LTD

This is a household name in Nigeria. Evans Brothers (Nigeria Publishers) Limited is a Nigerian educational publisher, in fact, one of the leaders in the industry. The company was incorporated in December 1966 by the British publishing firm Evans Brothers Limted and it publishes titles for all levels of education. It has strived to survive the competitive publishing industry in Nigeria since then and still has the pedigree and integrity of a market leader.
The company has a subsidiary company called Nelson Publishers which it acquired in 2004. The company has its head office in Ibadan.

BOOK CRAFT AFRICA

Book Craft Africa is another household name in Africa when it comes to book publishing. It was established in Nigeria twenty years ago and has ever since published a large number of titles which range from varying subject areas such as politics, literature, biography, history, etc. One of their notable authors is the late Chinua Achebe. The company is situated in Ibadan.

BLACK TOWER PUBLISHERS

Black Tower Publishers is Christian based just like Grace Springs African Publishers (GSAP) and it is a leading publishing firm. It is located at Black Tower Publishing House, Plot 1, GRA, Awka. This is one of the best publishers you can get in the Southeastern part of Nigeria.

KACHIFO

Kachifo could be described as one of the most notable in Nigeria and it is also reputable in Africa. What else do you expect from a firm that publishes the works of one of the leading authors in the Africa – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie? It is the publisher Farafina Books, FarafinaTuuti, Farafina Breeze, Kamsi and Prestige Books. It also publishes the works of Chris Abani and Ben Okri. Kachifo is really doing well in the industry.

PARRESIA PUBLISHERS LTD

Parrésia, also Parrésia Publishers Ltd, is also a household name in Nigeria. The publishing company was founded by Azafi Omoluabi Ogosi and Richard Ali in 2012 with the primary aim of selling books to the Nigerian reading audience and promotung the freedom of the imagination and the free press. This company was described in 2017 by The New York Times as one of “a handful of influential new publishing houses” in Africa in the last decade. It is fully equipped with diverse professionals to facilitate production of good jobs. The company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry in Nigeria. It’s headquarters is situated in Ikeja, Lagos.

THE NEW GONG

The New Gong is one of the leading names in the publishing industry in Nigeria. It is a Nigerian based publishing company that offers a wide range of mass media services including magazines, books and even image publishing as well as photographs and illustrations for both print and online publishers. The company is situated in Lagos.