The Nairobi International Book Fair 2023, set to be the most ambitious in its history, will be hosted at the Sarit Centre Expo Hall from September 27 – October 1, 2023.
The Nairobi International Book Fair, bringing together publishing professionals, authors, booksellers, print suppliers, media, and readers from Africa and around the world, has been organised by the Kenya Publishers Association since 1996.
In August, the Kenya Publishers Association announced this year’s edition would be hosted at the Sarit Centre Expo Hall, Westlands, Nairobi on the last weekend of September. As expected, those who attended would get to interact with Publishers, school owners, parents, students, book lovers and book industry stakeholders who attend the event every year. The biggest draw from previous iterations of this event was the 50% discount offers for books.
This year, it looks like for the first time in a long time, there will be a new focus on writers and other industry practitioners. Here are some things to look out for;
Panels
There will be three panels over the three days of the fair;
Wednesday, September 27, 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Treeside Chat: Up & Coming Kenyan Writers
Ciku Kimeria, Eric Rugara, and Lexa Lubanga moderated by James Murua.
Thursday, September 28, 2 – 4 pm
Treeside chat: Getting published, being published in Kenya
Lutivini Majanja, Carey Baraka, and Silas Nyanchwani moderated by Beverly Ochieng’.
Saturday, September 30, 9 – 11 am
Moving African Content: Rights Trading Perspectives, Here and Now:
Ambassador Gabriella Martinic (Ambassador Embassy of the Argentine Republic to Kenya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations Nairobi), Kiarie Kamau (Kenya Publishers Association Chairman, East African Educational Publishers CEO), Sharon Weta (KECOBO deputy executive director), and Raphael Thierry (Ægitna Literary Agency) moderated by Samuel Kolawole (University Press Nigeria Managing director).
Rights Café
Alongside the panels, there will be the new Rights Café, a dedicated space for business-to-business rights discussions with Nairobi International Book Fair Ambassadors brought to you by eKitabu, in partnership with the Kenya Publishers Association and the African Publishers Network (APNET). These ambassadors are rights buyers drawn from publishing houses in Africa and the rest of the world. Featured activities will include panel discussions on trends in African literature, how to strengthen rights trading for African writers, as well as fireside chats with authors. The Rights Café will also feature innovative speed-dating sessions with buyers and sellers.
This is a significant development as rights are one of the most lucrative parts of the publishing ecosystem in world literature. People regularly attend the Frankfurt Book Fair, Sharjah Book Fair, London Book Fair, or the Cartagena Book Fair to buy rights for titles they think would work for their markets. For many years, there have been few opportunities for people who want to get rights in on the African continent.
The 2023 Ambassadors are:
- Asare Konadu Yamoah – Adaex Educational Publications Ltd, Ghana
- Bieke van Aggelen – African Literary Agency, Netherlands
- Goretti Kyomuhendo – African Writers Trust, Uganda
- Jessica Powers – Catalyst Press, US
- Molly Slight – Scribe Publishing, UK
- Maureen Masamba – Dzuka Publishing Company Limited, Malawi
- Mutesi Gasana – Ubuntu Publishers, Rwanda
- Olivia Snaije – Publishing Perspectives/The African Report
- Raphaël Thierry – Ægitna Literary Agency, France
- Samuel Kolawale – University Press, PLC, Nigeria
- Stefanie Hirsbrunner – InterKontinental, Germany
- Valeria Paolini – Horizons Project, Italy
Other events
Of course, it’s not just the Rights Café and panels that will be on offer as the usual book fair fare will be on offer from opportunities to get sign copies of books from your favourite writers. Our best bet to know what is happening would be to follow the Maisha Yetu Facebook page which is the unofficial home of the book fair (click here).
So much to do and see at this year’s fair. Please make sure you rock up folks. Especially if you are already published.
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