9/4/2002
EAST LANSING, Mich. - A historic agreement has been signed giving African-published books a wider audience in the United States and Canada.
Michigan State University Press and the African Books Collective have entered into a partnership designed to raise the profile of African-published books and disseminate them more widely in North America. The agreement was recently signed at a special ceremony in Zanzibar during the Arusha IV Seminar "Strengthening Scholarly Publishing in Africa," an event organized by the Dag Hammarskj�ld Foundation and the African Books Collective.
"The agreement is an important step forward and opens up new opportunities for African books, which had been put at a disadvantage in the North American market because we did not have a U.S. marketing and distribution point," said Walter Bgoya, chairperson of the African Books Collective.
Fredric Bohm, MSU Press director, along with Mary Jay, executive director of the African Books Collective, signed the agreement.
"We will work together to increase the visibility and sales of books representing the best cultural product from Africa - the wealth of its scholarship, fine literary writing and children's books emanating from within the African culture," Bohm said. "The university will become the first U.S. publishing house to have a critical mass of African-published books."
Under the terms of this new arrangement, beginning Jan. 1, 2003, MSU Press will begin to market and distribute a growing number of African-published books in North America. The partnership will be launched formally at the African Studies Association in Washington, D.C., in December.
MSU Press is the scholarly publishing arm of its parent institution, Michigan State University. It helps to carry out the institution's mission through the publication of research and intellectual inquiry that make significant contributions to scholarship in the arts, humanities, sciences and social sciences. MSU Press markets and distributes a growing number of distinguished foreign and domestic publishers.
The African Books Collective is the non-profit, Oxford-based worldwide marketing and distribution outlet for more than 30 African publishers and more than 1,000 titles from Africa - scholarly works, literature and children's books. It was founded and is owned and governed by a group of African publishers. Its mission is to strengthen indigenous African publishing through collective action and to increase the visibility and accessibility of the wealth of African scholarship and culture.
For more information, contact MSU Press at (517) 355-9543 or visit www.msupress.msu.edu or www.africanbookscollective.com