Cassava Republic Press is a steering African book publishing company established in

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

in 2006 and headed by

Bibi Bakare-Yusuf Bibi Bakare-Yusuf Hon. FRSL (born 1970) is a Nigerian academic, writer and editor from Lagos, Nigeria. She co-founder the publishing company Cassava Republic Press in 2006, in Abuja with Jeremy Weate. Cassava Republic Press was created with a fo ...

,"About Us"
Cassava Republic website. with a focus on affordability, the need to find and develop local talent, and to publish African writers too often celebrated only in Europe and America. Cassava Republic's stated mission is "to change the way we all think about African writing. ...to build a new body of African writing that links writers across different times and spaces." The publishing house is considered to be "at the centre of a thriving literary scene" that has seen Nigerian writers in particular, as well as writers from elsewhere on the African continent, having considerable success both at home and internationally. ''

ThisDay ''This Day'' is a Nigerian national newspaper. It is the flagship newspaper of Leaders & Company Ltd and was first published on 22 January 1995. It has its headquarters in Apapa, Lagos State. Founded by Nduka Obaigbena, the Chairman & Editor-i ...

'' newspaper has stated of the publishing house that "it is credited with innovation. From driving down the cost of books to using digital media to drive sales, Cassava has invariably sought to redefine the African narrative."Solomon Elusoji
"Cassava Republic's Inventive Prowess"
, ''ThisDay'', 27 February 2015. After being based in Nigeria for a decade, Cassava Republic Press launched in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, in April 2016,

Zukiswa Wanner Zukiswa Wanner (born 1976) is a South African journalist, novelist and editor born in Zambia and now based in Kenya. Since 2006, when she published her first book, her novels have been shortlisted for awards including the South African Literary ...

"Bibi Comes to London"
''

New African ''New African'' is an English-language monthly news magazine based in London. Published since 1966, it is read by many people across the African continent and the African diaspora. It claims to be the oldest pan-African monthly in English, as well ...

'', Vol. 561, May 2016. and in 2017 launched in the US, becoming "the first African publisher to open a subsidiary outside the continent", as reported by the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

''. Authors taken on by Cassava Republic who are now internationally known include

Teju Cole Teju Cole (born June 27, 1975) is a Nigerian-American writer, photographer, and art historian. He is the author of a novella ''Every Day Is for the Thief'' (2007), a novel ''Open City'' (2011), an essay collection ''Known and Strange Things'' (20 ...

Elnathan John Elnathan John (born 1982) is a Nigerian novelist, satirist and lawyer whose stories have twice been shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing. Career Elnathan John was born in Kaduna, in north-west Nigeria, in 1982. He attended Ahmad ...

and

Sarah Ladipo Manyika Sarah Ladipo Manyika is a British-Nigerian writer of novels, short stories and essays and an active member of the literary community, particularly supporting and amplifying young writers and female voices. She is author of two well received nove ...

History

In 2006, Bibi Bakare-Yusuf — previously an academic in the UK and Nigeria, holding a PhD in

Gender Studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

from the

University of Warwick The University of Warwick ( ; abbreviated as ''Warw.'' in post-nominal letters) is a public research university on the outskirts of Coventry between the West Midlands (county), West Midlands and Warwickshire, England. The university was founded i ...

— set up a company, with her partner Jeremy Weate, to produce high-quality African literature at a price that would enable it to be enjoyed by as wide an audience as possible. They had no business or publishing experience, "just passion and a desire to see African stories written and owned by Africans. Inspirational figures in publishing such as

Margaret Busby Margaret Yvonne Busby, , Hon. FRSL (born 1944), also known as Nana Akua Ackon, is a Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster, resident in the UK. She was Britain's youngest and first black female book publisherJazzmine Breary"Let' ...

, co-founder of

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

, were our guide", as Bakare-Yusuf has recalled:

"When I moved to Nigeria as an academic, there were all these interesting African writers being published abroad, and they’re not available locally.... So I decided, ‘okay, I’m going to start a publishing company’. Cassava Republic Press. I knew nothing, nothing nothing nothing, about publishing! I knew everything about reading and writing, but nothing about the business of publishing. 150 million people. 77 million of them young people under 30. How do we get those people reading? Those are the people I’m actually interested in converting. We want to convert minds. We want to convert them to question who they are, and also question society."

Explaining the company's name, she says: "

Cassava ''Manihot esculenta'', common name, commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively ...

is a relatively affordable but nutritious food crop found across West Africa and in the

African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from native Africans or people from Africa, predominantly in the Americas. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the West and Central Africans who were e ...

. I wanted a publishing house that will connect Africa to itself and its diaspora and vice versa. The idea of a Republic implies the end of a monarchy and a fresh start.... The strapline or slogan for the company is 'Feeding the African Imagination', which fits nicely with our brand name."Sumaila Umaisha
"Rebuilding the reading and writing culture (interview)"
''New Nigerian'', 17 May 2008. Bakare-Yusuf emphasises the need for Africans to be instrumental in publishing as well as writing books: "We started Cassava Republic Press because we wanted Africans to own the means of production, to be in charge of the storytelling and not just writing the stories but to own the facilities and the infrastructure for telling the stories." Headquartered in

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

, Nigeria, Cassava Republic has built a reputation primarily for literary fiction (with authors including winners of the

Caine Prize The Caine Prize for African Writing is an annual literary award for the best original short story by an African writer, whether in Africa or elsewhere, published in the English language. The £10,000 prize was founded in the United Kingdom in 20 ...

Commonwealth Writers' Prize Commonwealth Foundation presented a number of prizes between 1987 and 2011. The main award was called the Commonwealth Writers' Prize and was composed of two prizes: the Best Book Prize (overall and regional) was awarded from 1987 to 2011; the Best ...

and

Orange Prize The Women's Prize for Fiction (previously with sponsor names Orange Prize for Fiction (1996–2006 and 2009–12), Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction (2007–08) and Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction (2014–2017)) is one of the United Kingdom's m ...

) but also for fiction in other genres, such as crime. In addition, the list includes books for children and young adults, and several titles have been on Nigeria's national curriculum. Among notable authors published by the company are

Lola Shoneyin Lola Shoneyin (born Titilola Atinuke Alexandrah Shoneyin; 26 February 1974 in Ibadan, Nigeria) is a Nigerian poet and author who launched her debut novel, ''The Secret Lives of Baba Segi's Wives'', in the UK in May 2010. Shoneyin has forged a r ...

Helon Habila Helon Habila Ngalabak (born November 1967) is a Nigerian novelist and poet, whose writing has won many prizes, including the Caine Prize in 2001. He worked as a lecturer and journalist in Nigeria before moving in 2002 to England, where he was a C ...

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani Adaobi Tricia Obinne Nwaubani is a Nigerian novelist, humorist, essayist and journalist, who was born in 1976. Her debut novel, ''I Do Not Come To You By Chance'', won the 2010 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book (Africa), a Bett ...

Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ (born 1971) is a Kenyan American poet, author, and academic. He is associate professor of literatures in English at Cornell University and co-founder of the Safal-Cornell Kiswahili Prize for African Writing. His father is the au ...

Chigozie Obioma Chigozie Obioma (born 1986) is a Nigerian writer. He is best known for writing the novels ''The Fishermen'' (2015) and ''An Orchestra of Minorities'' (2019), both of which were shortlisted for the Booker Prize in their respective years of public ...

Abubakar Adam Ibrahim Abubakar Adam Ibrahim (born 1979) is a Nigerian writer and journalist. He was described by German broadcaster Deutsche Welle as a northern Nigerian "literary provocateur" amidst the international acclaim his award-winning novel ''Season of Crims ...

Christie Watson Christie Watson (born 1976) is a British writer and retired nurse. Her first novel, ''Tiny Sunbirds Far Away'', won the Costa First Novel Award in the 2011 Costa Book Awards. Her second novel ''Where Women Are Kings'' also won critical praise. E ...

, John Collins,

Sade Adeniran Sade Adeniran (born 1960s) is a Nigerian novelist whose debut novel, ''Imagine This'', won the 2008 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book in Africa. ''Imagine This'' was originally Self-publishing, self-published by the author. Based in ...

Toni Kan Anthony Kan Onwordi known as Toni Kan (born 11 June 1971) is a Nigerian writer, editor, public relations senior management executive, and teacher. He is author of the collection of short stories, ''Nights of a Creaking Bed'', noted for exploring ...

Doreen Baingana Doreen Baingana (born 1966) is a Ugandan writer and literary arts manager. Her short story collection, ''Tropical Fish,'' won the Grace Paley Award for Short Fiction in 2003 and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize for best first book, Africa Region ...

, and others. In 2014, an associated imprint called Ankara Press was launched, with titles available in digital form as e-books, aiming to publish "a new kind of romance" that challenges conventional stereotypes, reflecting the lives and aspirations of modern African women and men: "We want scenarios that discard dangerous notions of male dominance, control and manipulation. Above all, we want writers who will allow African women to see the best version of themselves in print." Founder Bakare-Yusuf has said: "I felt that our ideas about African literature needed to be more diverse.... We don’t think of African literature in terms of

genre fiction Genre fiction, also known as popular fiction, is a term used in the book-trade for fictional works written with the intent of fitting into a specific literary genre, in order to appeal to readers and fans already familiar with that genre. A num ...

. Yet, genre fiction is the mainstay of many publishing houses all over the world."

Expansion into the UK and US

In 2015 Cassava Republic Press announced plans to launch its titles in the UK in April 2016, with a presence at literary festivals as part of a partnership with the

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lan ...

.Dennis Abrams
"Nigeria’s Cassava Republic Press to Launch in the UK"
''Publishing Perspectives'', 30 November 2015.Jennifer
"A Renewed Interest in Literature from Africa: Trailblazer Cassava Republic Press to Launch in the United Kingdom"
''Books Live'', 25 November 2015. Founder Bakare-Yusuf, now based in

, has described the move as "unprecedented: an African publishing house establishing a base in the UK after nearly ten years in Africa rather than the reverse. This is the birthing of African publishing onto the world stage." Titles launched in the UK include Elnathan John's ''Born on a Tuesday'', Sarah Ladipo Manyika's ''Like A Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun'', Leye Adenle's ''Easy Motion Tourist'', H. J. Golakai's ''The Lazarus Effect'' and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's ''Season of Crimson Blossoms''. Cassava Republic further expanded sales of its titles with a distribution deal to make the company's books directly available in US bookstores in 2017, when Bakare-Yusuf was quoted in ''

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

'' as saying: " ondon and New Yorkgive symbolic legitimization to African writing whether we like it or not and we are acutely aware if that. But we are always saying even if they are the centers for legitimization, the means of production must be owned by Africans." She also said, as reported by ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

'': "Our aim is to show the broader reading audience that there is more to African life and literature than what you might read in the news."Ed Nawotka
"Cassava Republic Brings Africa to America"
''Publishers Weekly'', 30 June 2017. In preference to the conventional route of selling publication rights to US publishers, Cassava Republic instead distributes its own editions to American booksellers through

Consortium A consortium (plural: consortia) is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for ...

, a Minnesota-based distributor, and this represents "a significant new landmark for African literature", according to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'': "Until now, much if not all of the African literature in the West has been filtered through the tastes of European and American publishers and editors, who often select works they judge to be historically significant, educational or prize worthy. Now, for the first time, an African publisher is choosing which books get exported, and as a result, Western readers are gaining access to a greater variety of titles, ranging from contemporary African romance and hard-boiled crime to epic fantasy and children’s books." Plans for Cassava Republic to launch an African-language imprint were announced by Bakare-Yusuf in November 2019.

Awards

Cassava Republic Press won the

Independent Publishers Guild The Independent Publishers Guild (IPG), founded in 1962, is an association set up to support the needs of independent firms in the publishing industry in the United Kingdom, with a current membership of more than 600 companies. The IPG is a not-for ...

's Alison Morrison Diversity Award in March 2018. At the

London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and di ...

in April 2018 Cassava Republic Press received the Inclusivity in Publishing Award, supported by

The Publishers Association The Publishers Association (PA) is the trade organisation serving book, journal and electronic publishers in the United Kingdom, established in 1896. Its mission is to strengthen the trading environment for UK publishers by providing a strong voice ...

. In September 2020, Bakare-Yusuf won the Distinguished Africanist Award from the

African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...

of the United Kingdom. In October 2019, Cassava Republic Press was announced as one of five African organizations each to have been awarded a $20,000 grant from the African Publishing Innovation Fund in order to launch innovative projects that will develop literacy, book accessibility, and the use of indigenous African languages in literature.Jacqulyn Teoh
"Cassava Republic Press, OkadaBooks Receive Inaugural $20,000 Grants Each from the African Publishing Innovation Fund"
''Brittle Paper'', 30 October 2019.

References

External links

Cassava Republic
official website.
Cassava Republic
on Twitter.
Cassava Republic
on Facebook.
Ankara Press
official website. * Emma Shercliff
"Ankara Press: Q&A with Publisher Bibi Bakare-Yusuf"
Africa in Words, 16 January 2015.
"VIDEO—Politics of the Belly vs Poetics of the Belly. Bibi Bakare on Book Culture in Africa"
''Brittle Paper'', 14 August 2013. * Sarah Ladipo Manyika
"Why I chose an African publisher over a western one"
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 20 April 2016. * Kai Ryssdal
"Publisher Cassava Republic is changing the way we read about Nigeria"
''Marketplace'', 8 May 2017. * Frankie Edozien
"How a boutique Nigerian book publisher is breaking into the US market"
''Quartz Africa'', 12 May 2017.
"Diversifying the voices of African literature , Bibi Bakare-Yusuf"
Filmed at TEDGlobal 2017.
"Bibi Yakare Yusuf about the transformation of African literature""Important Book Tips by Bibi Yakare Yusuf"
UniversitaetzuKoeln, 21 August 2019. YouTube. {{Authority control 2006 establishments in Nigeria Book publishing companies of Nigeria Literary publishing companies

History

Expansion into the UK and US

Awards

Further reading

References

External links