When Nigerians think about publishing houses, they remember the labels on the textbooks from their school days. Those names, etched on the minds of the young and old alike, have become a part of the educated populace’s national experience.
Bookcraft doesn’t quite fit into this mold; it’s not known principally for producing textbooks for school children. It’s more a publisher of creative fiction, memoirs, and treatises- the sort of material that only true book lovers would read of their own accord.
Nevertheless, it’s survived and thrived for over three decades in an environment that hasn’t been kind to many supposedly similar establishments. In that time, it’s put out works from such authors as Wole Soyinka, JP Clark, Niyi Osundare, and Okey Ndibe. The mix of authors they have published tells the story of a willingness to take in the new while keeping in touch with the past that made them well known in literary circles.
That roaster of writers, representing several generations of the arts in Nigeria, continues to be expanded. Thanks to international partnerships and savvy acquisitions, this book publishing house has grown its scope and reach and is connecting with younger, more diverse reading audiences. One of such achievements was a joint publishing partnership it entered into with the UK-based Methuen publishers to make Wole Soyinka’s memoir, You Must Set Forth at Dawn, available there.
Like other major publishers, Bookcraft has embraced e-commerce in its drive to connect with buyers who want to be able to order and receive books from wherever they are. At their online store (which you’ll find on their website), you can purchase biographies of famous Nigerians, commentaries on the country’s arts and politics, and poetry anthologies.
Some of their published titles are also available as ebooks on Okadabooks, a Nigerian platform, and on international online outlets like Amazon and Kobo.
But there are physical locations where its books are sold as well, in these cities: Abeokuta, Abuja, Ibadan, Ile-Ife, Ilorin, Kaduna, Lagos, Port-Harcourt, and Uyo. These centers give people living in those cities the chance to purchase books published by Bookcraft if they can’t order online.
Intending authors who would like to be published with Bookcraft can submit their manuscripts on its website. They will be required to fill certain basic details about the manuscript into a form, and upload the document itself there. If it determines that the work is the sort of thing they like,they will be contacted by the publisher and discussions of the terms of a possible contract may begin from that point.
Featured image source: bookcraftafrica.com