African Writers Series

African Writers Series

African Writers Series has been published by Heinemann since 1962. The series has been a vehicle for some of the most important African writers, ensuring an international voice to literary masters including Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Steve Biko, Ama Ata Aidoo, Nadine Gordimer, Buchi Emecheta and Okot p'Bitek.

Founded in 1962, it provided a forum for many post independence African writers, and provided texts with which many African universities could begin to redress the colonial bias then prominent in the teaching of literature. The books were designed for classroom use, issuing works solely in paperback to make them affordable for African students.

The idea of the series came from Heinemann executive Alan Hill. The first series editor was the Nigerian Chinua Achebe – who became one of Africa's most famous writers. Achebe focused first on West African writers, but soon the series branched out, publishing the works of Ngugi wa Thiong'o in East Africa, and Nadine Gordimer in South Africa. Achebe left the editorship in 1972.

After a fairly prosperous beginning, the series faced difficulties that mirrored those which faced the continent as a whole. By the mid-1980s, only one or two new titles a year were being published, and much of the back catalogue had fallen out of print. By the early 1990s, however, the series had begun to revive, having recently branched out to publish new work, to republish texts originally published in local release, and to publishing translated works.

ee also

*List of African writers

External links

* [http://www.africanwriters.com Heinemann - African Writers Series]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • List of African writers by country — This is a list of prominent and notable writers from Africa, including poets, novelists, children s writers, essayists, and scholars, listed by country. Algeria *Jean Amrouche (1907 ndash;1962) *Marguerite Taos Amrouche (1913 ndash;1976) *Rachid… …   Wikipedia

  • African literature — Introduction       the traditional oral and written literatures together with the mainly 20th century literature written mostly in European languages but also to an increasing extent in the many languages of the sub Saharan region. Traditional… …   Universalium

  • African Americans in Omaha, Nebraska — are central to the development and growth of the 43rd largest city in the United States. The first free black settler in the city arrived in 1854, the year the city was incorporated.Pipher, M. (2002)… …   Wikipedia

  • African American literature — is the body of literature produced in the United States by writers of African descent. The genre traces its origins to the works of such late 18th century writers as Phillis Wheatley and Olaudah Equiano, reaching early high points with slave… …   Wikipedia

  • African American culture — in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of African ethnic groups to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African American culture is rooted in the… …   Wikipedia

  • African American history — is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of captive Africans held in the United States from 1619 to 1865.… …   Wikipedia

  • African-American Book Publishers in the United States, 1960-1980 — African American Book Publishers in the United States, 1960 1980While African American book publishers have been active in the United States since the second decade of the nineteenth century, the 1960’s and 1970’s saw a proliferation of… …   Wikipedia

  • African Union — الاتحاد الأفريقي (Arabic) …   Wikipedia

  • African military systems to 1800 — refers to the evolution of military systems on the African continent prior to 1800, with emphasis on the role of indigenous states and peoples within the African continent. Patterns of the military art generally moved from the simple to the more… …   Wikipedia

  • Traditional African religion — Main article: Religion in Africa An early 20th century Igbo medicine man in Nigeria, West Africa. The traditional religions indigenous to Africa have, for most of their existence, been orally rather than scripturally transmitted.[1] …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”