Heinemann African Writers Series
African Writers Series colophon, which was intended to look like an Africanised version of Heinemann's windmill logo, as well as incorporating the letters A.W.
Parent companyHeinemann
Founded1962 (1962)
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Key peopleAlan Hill
Chinua Achebe
Van Milne
Keith Sambrook
Aigboje Higo
Henry Chakava
James Currey

The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann, 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003.[1]

The series has provided an international audience for many African writers, including Chinua Achebe, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Steve Biko, Ama Ata Aidoo, Nadine Gordimer, Buchi Emecheta, and Okot p'Bitek.

History

1958William Heinemann publishes Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart. 2,000 hardcover copies were printed and sold at a price of 15 shillings. The book receives widespread acclaim.[2][3][4]

1959 – Alan Hill, head of Heinemann's educational department, visits West Africa. He finds that Achebe remains largely unknown in his home country of Nigeria due to the small print run and high price of his first novel.[4]

1960 – Heinemann Educational Books (HEB) is set up as a separate company and begins to publicise Achebe in Africa. They start to receive manuscripts from other African authors. Alan Hill recruits Evan McKay Milne, known as Van Milne, a West Africa specialist. He becomes HEB's Overseas Director.[5][4][6][1]

1961 – Van Milne originates the idea of the African Writers Series. Hill explains that the plan was "to start a paperback series, confined to black African authors; the books were to be attractively designed with high quality production, and sold at a very cheap price—as low as 25p at the outset".[6][7]

1962 – Alan Hill and Van Milne launch the African Writers Series with a paperback edition of Things Fall Apart, followed by Cyprian Ekwensi's Burning Grass, and then Kenneth Kaunda's autobiography Zambia Shall Be Free. Chinua Achebe is appointed Editorial Advisor with a salary of £150 a year. This is increased to £250 in 1967.[5][4][1]

1963 – Van Milne leaves Heinemann and is replaced by Keith Sambrook.[5][8]

1964 – Sambrook is concerned that the early selections for the series will not reach the educational market, particularly after the inclusion of Zambia Shall Be Free. He begins collaborating with African and non-African academics to produce publications that would more clearly meet this aim. The first result is A Book of African Verse edited by Clive Wake and John Reed, teachers at the University College of Rhodesia.[8]

1965 – Aigboje Higo is appointed as manager of HEB Nigeria.[5]

1967 – James Currey is appointed to work with Keith Sambrook to develop the series.[5]

1970 – Henry Chakava is appointed as editor of HEB East Africa and becomes managing director in 1975.[5]

1972 – Chinua Achebe leaves his position following the publication of his short story collection Girls At War as the hundredth book in the series. Sambrook, Currey, Higo and Chakava take over editorial duties collectively with the support of Akin Thomas, editorial director of HEB Nigeria.[5][9]

1983 – Heinemann Group is taken over for the first time and goes through a series of takeovers in the coming years.[5]

1984 – James Currey steps down after new management reduces new publications to only one or two a year. Of the 270 titles in the series, 15 are put out of print.[5]

1986 – the series is relaunched by Vicky Unwin, who targets the western academic market due to the drop in spending in the African educational market.[10]

1988 – Keith Sambrook steps down.[5]

1992 – Caroline Avens begins to oversee the series, reducing the backlist and starting to publish more new authors.[11]

1993Adewale Maja-Pearce appointed general editor.[12]

1994Abdulrazak Gurnah appointed as editorial advisor.[12]

2002 – Only 70 of the more than 300 titles in the series remain in print.[5]

2003 – Heinemann announces no new titles will be added to the series. By 2008, only 64 titles remain in print.[5]

Content

The African Writers Series reissued paperback editions of works previously only available as more expensive hardbacks, translated books that had been published in other languages, and published the first works of unknown writers.

The decision to reissue paperback editions of English-language hardbacks followed the early success of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and continued for many years. However, it became clear very quickly that there were not enough works in English, so translations began to be made from French of works by Ferdinand Oyono, Mongo Beti and others. This was followed by translations from Portuguese, Zulu, Swahili, Acholi, Sesotho, Afrikaans, Luganda, and Arabic.[13][14]

At the same time, they published new authors. This started with Ngũgĩ, who helped to expand the reach of the series into East Africa.[15]

This approach provided opportunities for authors from across most of Africa. More than 80 titles published in the series were by Nigerian writers, who were followed by South Africans, Kenyans, Ghanaians, and Zimbabweans. In the first two decades, nearly all were men and it was only in the 1990s that books by women began to appear regularly. Some exceptions to this are early books by Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta.[1]

Novels would make up the bulk of the series, but it extended to poetry, anthologies, short stories, autobiographies, drama, non fiction, and oral traditions.[1]

Design

Six AWS covers, showing the shift in design from 1962 to 1993

Between 1962 and 1986 all the books in the African Writers Series were colour-coded: orange for fiction, blue for non-fiction, and green for poetry and drama. While this highlighted the different genres, all books in the series during this period were numbered to give a clear indication that they belonged to a collection of works by African writers.[16]

Some evolution in cover design did take place during these years. Between 1962 and 1965 a heavy black band was featured at the top of the covers, with a black-and-white illustration below. The black was then replaced by a solid orange block. Later a colophon was added that was intended to look like an Africanised version of Heinemann's windmill logo. In 1971 George Hallett was employed to produce cover photography, which began to replace the use of illustrations.[17]

In 1986, the design was changed to appeal more in western markets. Orange was replaced by a white background with a boxed abstract image. In 1993, it was changed again to incorporate full-colour images.[16]

Reception

The African Writers Series includes five winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: Wole Soyinka (1986), Naguib Mahfouz (1988), Nadine Gordimer (1991), Doris Lessing (2007), and Abdulrazak Gurnah (2021). Books in the series have also won the Commonwealth Prize, the NOMA Award for African Writing, the Caine Prize for African Writing, and Guardian Fiction Prize. In 2002, at a celebration of Africa's 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century, Heinemann was given a prize, as 12 of the titles chosen were from the series.[18]

Bibliography

A definitive bibliography of the series was prepared by Nourdin Bejjit as part of his PhD research at the Open University and included in James Currey's book-length treatment of the series, with some additional information from Heinemann.[19]

NumberAuthorYearTitle
1Achebe, Chinua1962Things Fall Apart
2Ekwensi, Cyprian1962Burning Grass: a story of the Fulani of Northern Nigeria. Illustrated by A. Folarin; cover drawing by Dennis Duerden.
3Achebe, Chinua1963No Longer at Ease. Illustrated by Bruce Onobrakpeya.
4Kaunda, Kenneth D.1962Zambia Shall Be Free: an autobiography
5Ekwensi, Cyprian1963People of the City. Revised edition. (Originally published London: Dakers, 1954.)
6Abrahams, Peter1963Mine Boy. Illustrated by Ruth Yudelowitz. (London: Crisp, 1946; London: Faber, 1954; New York: Knopf, 1955.)
7Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (as Ngugi, James)1964Weep Not, Child
8Reed, John, Wake, Clive, eds1964A Book of African Verse. Later edition published (1984) as New Book of African Verse.
9Rive, Richard, ed.1964Modern African Prose. An anthology compiled and edited by Richard Rive. Illustrated by Albert Adams. Contributions by Peter Abrahams, Chinua Achebe, Es'kia Mphahlele, Abioseh Nicol, Richard Rive, Alfred Hutchinson, Efua Sutherland, Jonathan Kariara, Peter Clarke, Luis Bernardo Honwana, Jack Cope, Cyprian Ekwensi, Amos Tutuola, Camara Laye, James Matthews, Alf Wannenburgh, William Conton, Onuora Nzekwu, and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o.
10Equiano, Olaudah1967Equiano's Travels: His Autobiography; The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African. Abridged and edited by Paul Edwards
11Aluko, T. M.1965One Man, One Matchet
12Conton, William1964The African. (Previously published London: Heinemann, 1960. Boston: Little Brown, 1960.)
13Beti, Mongo1964Mission to Kala: a novel. Translated by Peter Green from the French novel Mission terminée (1957). US edition (New York, Macmillan) published as Mission Accomplished.
14Rive, Richard, ed.1963Quartet: New voices from South Africa. Short stories by Alex La Guma, James Matthews, Richard Rive and Alf Wannenburgh.
15Cook, David1965Origin East Africa: a Makerere anthology devised and edited by David Cook. Prose and verse.
16Achebe, Chinua1965Arrow of God
17Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (as Ngugi, James)1965The River Between
18Obotunde Ijimere1966The Imprisonment of Obatala, and other plays.
19Ekwensi, Cyprian1966Lokotown and Other Stories.
20Gatheru, Mugo1966Child of Two Worlds.
21Munonye, John1966The Only Son.
22Peters, Lenrie1966The Second Round.
23Beier, Ulli, ed.1966The Origin of Life and Death: African creation myths.
24Kachingwe, Aubrey1966No Easy Task.
25Amadi, Elechi1966The Concubine. Heinemann: London.
26Nwapa, Flora1966Efuru.
27Selormey, Francis1967The Narrow Path.
28Cook, David, Lee, Miles, eds1968Short East African Plays in English: Ten plays in English.
29Oyono, Ferdinand1966Houseboy. Translated by John Reed from the French Une vie de boy
30Aluko, T. M.1967One Man, One Wife.
31Achebe, Chinua1966A Man of the People. (Originally published: Nigerian Printing and Publishing, 1959.)
32Aluko, T. M.1967Kinsman and Foreman
33Samkange, Stanlake1967On Trial for my Country
34Pieterse, Cosmo, ed.1968Ten One-Act Plays. Includes "Encounter" by Kuldip Sondhi; "Yon Kon" by Pat Maddy; "The Game" by Femi Euba; "Blind Cyclos" by Ime Ikeddeh; "With Strings' by Kuldip Sondhi; "The Deviant" by Ganesh Bagchi; "Fusane's Trial" by Alfred Hutchinson; "The Opportunity" by Arthur Maimane; "Maama" by Kwesi Kay; and "The Occupation" by Athol Fugard
35La Guma, Alex1967A Walk in the Night and other stories.
36Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (as Ngugi, James)1967A Grain of Wheat.
37Peters, Lenrie1967Satellites
38Oginga Odinga1967Not Yet Uhuru: the autobiography of Oginga Odinga. With a foreword by Kwame Nkrumah.
39Oyono, Ferdinand1969The Old Man and the Medal. Translated by John Reed from the French Le vieux nègre et la médaille.
40Konadu, Asare1967A Woman in Her Prime
41Djoleto, Amu1968The Strange Man.
42Awoonor, Kofi and Adali-Mortty, G.1970Messages: Poems from Ghana.
43Armah, Ayi Kwei1969The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1968.)
44Amadi, Elechi1969The Great Ponds.
45Munonye, John1969Obi.
46Brutus, Dennis1968Letters to Martha: and other poems from a South African prison.
47Salih, Tayeb1969The Wedding of Zein, and other stories. London; printed in Malta: HEB, 1969. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies from the Arabic, and illustrated by Ibrahim Salahi.
48Gbadamosi, Bakare; Beier, Ulli1968Not Even God Is Ripe Enough. Translated from the Yoruba
49Nkrumah, Kwame1968Neo-colonialism: the last stage of imperialism. (Originally published London: Nelson, 1965)
50Clark, J. P.1968America: Their America. London: HEB in association with Andre Deutsch. (Originally published London: Deutsch, 1964.)
51Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (as Ngugi, James)1968The Black Hermit.
52Sellassie, B. M. Sahle1969The Afersata: an Ethiopian novel. London: HEB.
53Palangyo, Peter K.1968Dying in the Sun.136pp
54Serumaga, Robert1970Return to the Shadows.
55Konadu, Asare1969Ordained by the Oracle. 160 pp. Originally published as Come Back Dora, Accra: Anowuo Educational Publ.
56Nwapa, Flora1970Idu.
57Dipoko, Mbella Sonne1969Because of Women.
58Beier, Ulli, ed.1969Political Spider: an anthology of stories from "Black Orpheus".
59Asare, Bediako1971Rebel.
60Honwana, Luís Bernardo1969We Killed Mangy Dog and Other Stories. Translated from the Portuguese by Dorothy Guedes.
61Umeasiegbu, Rems Nna1969The Way We Lived: Ibo customs and stories.
62Okigbo, Christopher1971Labyrinths. With Path of Thunder.
63Ousmane, Sembene1970God's Bits of Wood. Translated by Francis Price.
64Pieterse, Cosmo, ed.19717 South African Poets: poems of exile. Collected and selected by Cosmo Pieterse.
66Salih, Tayeb1969Season of Migration to the North. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies from the Arabic Mawsim al-hijrah ilā al-shamāl.
67Nwankwo, Nkem1970Danda. (Originally published London: Deutsch, 1964)
68Okara, Gabriel1970The Voice. Introduction by Arthur Ravenscroft. (Originally published London: Deutsch, 1964)
69Liyong, Taban lo1969Fixions, and other stories.
70Aluko, T. M.1970Chief, The Honourable Minister.
71Senghor, Léopold Sédar1969Nocturnes. Translated by John Reed and Clive Wake from the French.
72U'tamsi, Felix1970Selected Poems. Translated by Gerald Moore from the French.
73Ortzen, Len, ed.1970North African Writing. Selected, translated, and with an introduction by Len Ortzen.
74Liyong, Taban lo, ed.1970Eating Chiefs: Lwo culture from Lolwe to Malkal. Selected, interpreted and transmuted by Taban lo Liyong.
75Knappert, Jan1970Myths and Legends of the Swahili.
76Soyinka, Wole1970The Interpreters. With introduction and notes by Eldred Jones. London: Heinemann. (Originally published London: Deutsch, 1965.)
77Beti, Mongo1970King Lazarus: a novel. Translated from the French Le roi miraculé (French version originally published Editions Buchet, 1958.)
78Pieterse, Cosmo1972Short African plays. Including: "Ancestral Power" by Kofi Awoonor; "Magic Pool" by Kuldip Sondhi; "God's Deputy" by Sanya Dosunmu; "Resurrection" by Richard Rive; "Life Everlasting" by Pat Amadu Maddy; "Lament" by Kofi Awoonor; "Ballad of the Cells" by Cosmo Pieterse; "Overseas" by Mbella Sonne Dipoko; "This Time Tomorrow" by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o; "Episodes of an Easter Rising" by David Lytton
79Chraibi, Driss1972Heirs to the Past. Translated by Len Ortzen from the French.(Succession ouverte originally published Paris: Denoël, 1962.)
80Farah, Nuruddin1970From a Crooked Rib.
81Mboya, Tom1970The Challenge of Nationhood: a collection of speeches and writings. Foreword by H. E. Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, and postscript by Pamela Mboya.
82Dipoko, Mbella Sonne1970A Few Nights and Days. (Originally published, Harlow: Longmans, 1966.)
83Knappert, Jan1971Myths and Legends of the Congo. Nairobi: HEB.
84Ekwensi, Cyprian1971Beautiful Feathers. (Originally published London: Hutchinson, 1963)
85Onuora Nzekwu1971Wand of Noble Wood.
86Bebey, Francis1971Agatha Moudio's Son. Translated by Joyce A. Hutchinson from the French Le fils d'Agatha Moudio.
87Dadié, Bernard B.1971Climbié. Translated by Karen C. Chapman from the French.
88Beti, Mongo1971The Poor Christ of Bomba. Translated by Gerald Moore from the French Le pauvre Christ de Bombay. (Original French edition published 1956.)
89Maddy, Pat Amadu1971Obasai and other plays.
90Liyong, Taban lo1971Frantz Fanon's Uneven Ribs: poems more and more.
91Nzekwu, Onuora1972Blade Among the Boys. (Originally published London: Hutchinson, 1962.)
92Ousmane, Sembène1972The Money-Order; with, White Genesis. Translated by Clive Wake. London: Heinemann. (Translation of Vehi ciosane; ou, Blanche-genèse; suivi du Mandat, Paris: Présence Africaine, 1965.)
93Knappert, Jan, ed.1972A Choice of Flowers. Chaguo la Maua: an anthology of Swahili love poetry. Edited and translated from Swahili by Jan Knappert.
94Munonye, John1971Oil Man of Obange.
95Ibrahim, Sonallah1971The Smell Of It, and other stories. Translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies.
96Cook, David, Rubadiri, David, eds1971Poems from East Africa.
97Mazrui, Ali A.1971The Trial of Christopher Okigbo.
98Mulaisho, Dominic1971The Tongue of the Dumb.
99Ouologuem, Yambo1971Bound to Violence. Translated by Ralph Manheim from the French Devoi de violence. (Originally published London: Secker & Warburg, 1971.)
100Achebe, Chinua1972Girls At War and Other Stories.
101Head, Bessie1972Maru.
102Omotoso, Kole1971The Edifice.
103Peters, Lenrie1971Katchikali. Poems.
104Themba, Can1972The Will to Die. Selected by Donald Stuart and Roy Holland.
105Lubega, Bonnie1971The Outcasts.
106Reed, John, Wake, Clive, eds1972French African verse. With English translations by John Reed & Clive Wake.
107Dipoko, Mbella Sonne1972Black and White in Love: poems.
108Awoonor, Kofi1972This Earth, My Brother. (Originally published Garden City: Doubleday, 1971.)
109Obiechina, Emmanuel N.1972Onitsha Market Literature.
110La Guma, Alex1972In the Fog of the Seasons' End.
111Angira, Jared1972Silent Voices: poems.
112Vambe, Lawrence1972An Ill-Fated People: Zimbabwe before and after Rhodes. (Originally published with a foreword by Doris Lessing, London: Heinemann, 1972.)
113Mezu, S. Okechukwu1971Behind the Rising Sun.
114Pieterse, Cosmo1972Five African Plays.
115Brutus, Dennis1973A Simple Lust: selected poems including Sirens Knuckles Boots; Letters to Martha; Poems from Algiers; Thoughts Abroad.
116Liyong, Taban lo1972Another Nigger Dead: poems.
117Hakim, Tawfiq al-1973Fate of a Cockroach: four plays of freedom. Selected and translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies.
118Amadu, Malum1972Amadu's Bundle: Fulani tales of love and djinns. Collected by Malum Amadu; edited by Gulla Kell and translated into English by Ronald Moody.
119Kane, Hamidou1972Ambiguous Adventure. Translated from the French by Katherine Woods. (This translation originally published New York: Walker, 1963. Translation of L'Aventure ambiguë. Paris: Julliard, 1962.)
120Achebe, Chinua1970Beware, Soul Brother. Revised and enlarged edition. London: HEB.
121Munonye, John1973A Wreath for Maidens. [S.I.]: Heinemann
122Omotoso, Kole1972The Combat.
123Mandela, Nelson1973No Easy Walk to Freedom.
124Dikobe, Modikwe1973The Marabi Dance.
125Worku, Daniachew1973The Thirteenth Sun.
126Cheney-Coker, Syl1973 Concerto for an Exile: poems.
127Henderson, Gwyneth, Pieterse, Cosmo, eds1973Nine African Plays for Radio.
128Zwelonke, D. M.1973Robben Island.
129Egudu, Romanus, Nwoga, Donatus, eds1973Igbo Traditional Verse. Compiled and translated by Romanus Egudu and Donatus Nwoga. (Originally published 1971 as Poetic Heritage.)
130Aluko, T. M.1973His Worshipful Majesty.
131Lessing, Doris1973The Grass is Singing
132Bown, Lalage1973Two Centuries of African English: a survey and anthology of non-fictional English prose by African writers since 1769.
133Mukasa, Ham1975Sir Apolo Kagwa Discovers Britain. Edited by Taban lo Liyong. (First published in 1904 as Uganda's Katikiro in England.)
134Henderson, Gwyneth, ed.1973African Theatre: eight prize-winning plays for radio. Includes "Make Like Slaves" by Richard Rive; "Station Street" by A. K. Mustapha; "Sweet Scum of Freedom" by J. Singh; "Double Attack" by C. C. Umeh; "Scholarship Woman" by D. Clems; "The Transistor Radio" by K. Tsaro-Wiwa; "Family Spear" by E. N. Zirimu; and "Sign of the Rainbow" by W. Ogunyemi.
135Maran, René1973Batouala. Translated by Barbara Beck and Alexandre Mboukou; introduction by Donald E. Herdeck.
136Sekyi, Kobina1974The Blinkards.
137Maddy, Yulisa Amadu1973No Past, No Present, No Future.
138Owusu, Martin1973The Sudden Return, and other plays.
139Ruheni, Mwangi1973The Future Leaders.
140Amadi, Elechi1973Sunset in Biafra: a civil war diary.
141Nortje, Arthur1973Dead Roots. Poems.
142Sembène, Ousmane1974Tribal Scars and other stories. Translated from the French by Len Ortzen.
143Mwangi, Meja1973Kill Me Quick.
144Fall, Malick1973The Wound. Translated by Clive Wake from the French La plaie.
145Mwangi, Meja1974Carcase for Hounds.
146Ekwensi, Cyprian1975Jagua Nana. (Originally published, London: Hutchinson, 1961.)
147p'Bitek, Okot1974The Horn of My Love.
148Aniebo, I. N. C.1974The Anonymity of Sacrifice.
149Head, Bessie1974A Question of Power. (Originally published London: Davis-Poynter, 1974.)
150Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o1975Secret Lives, and other stories.
151Mahfouz, Naguib1975Midaq Alley. Translated from the Arabic by Trevor Le Gassick.
152La Guma, Alex1974The Stone-Country. (Originally published 1967.)
153Munonye, John1975A Dancer of Fortune. (London: William Heinemann, 1974.)
154Armah, Ayi Kwei1974Fragments.
155Armah, Ayi Kwei1974Why Are We So Blest?: a novel. London: Heinemann.
156Ruheni, Mwangi1975The Minister's Daughter.
157Kayper-Mensah, A. W.1975The Drummer in Our Time.
158Kahiga, Samuel1974The Girl From Abroad.
159Mvungi, Martha1975Three Solid Stones.
160Mwase, George Simeon1975Strike a Blow and Die: the classic story of the Chilembwe Rising. Edited and introduced by Robert I. Rotberg.
161Djoleto, Amu1975Money Galore.
162Kayira, Legson1974The Detainee. London: Heinemann.
163Sellassie, B. M. Sahle1974Warrior King.
164Royston, Robert1974Black Poets in South Africa.
165Etherton, Michael, ed.1975African Plays for Playing. Plays by Nuwa Sentongo, Jacob Hevi & Segun Ajibade. Selected and edited by Michael Etherton. London: Heinemann.
166De Graft, Joe1975Beneath the Jazz and Brass.
167Rabearivelo, Jean-Joseph1975Translations from the Night: selected poems of Jean-Joseph Rabearivelo. Edited with English translations by Clive Wake and John Reed.
168Echewa, T. Obinkaram1976The Land's Lord.
169Samkange, Stanlake1975The Mourned One.
170Mungoshi, Charles1975Waiting for the Rain.
171Soyinka, Wole, ed.1975Poems of Black Africa. Edited and introduced by Wole Soyinka. London: Heinemann.
172Ekwensi, Cyprian1975Restless City and Christmas Gold. London: Heinemann.
173Nwankwo, Nkem1975My Mercedes is Bigger Than Yours.
174Diop, David Mandessi1975Hammer Blows. Translated from the French and edited by Simon Mpondo and Frank Jones. London: Heinemann.
175Ousmane, Sembène1976Xala. Translated from the French by Clive Wake. As Xala: roman, Paris: Présence Africaine, 1973.
176Mwangi, Meja1976Going Down River Road.
177Gordimer, Nadine1976Some Monday for Sure.
178Peteni, R. L.1976Hill of Fools.
179Etherton, Michael (ed.)1976African Plays for Playing 2. Includes Monkey on the tree by Uwa Udensi, Black mamba two by Godfrey Kabwe Kasoma and The tradedy of Mr. No-balance by Victor Eleame Musinga.
180Senghor, Léopold Sédar1976Prose and Poetry. Selected and translated from French by John Reed and Clive Wake.
181Beti, Mongo1978Perpetua and the Habit of Unhappiness. Translated by Clive Wake and John Reed from the French Perpétue et l'habitude du malheur (originally published Paris: Editions Buchet-Chastel, 1974).
182Head, Bessie1977The Collector of Treasures.
183Okara, Gabriel1978The Fisherman's Invocation.
184Farah, Nuruddin1976A Naked Needle.
185Ekwensi, Cyprian1976Survive the Peace.
186Boateng, Yaw M.1977The Return.
187Rugyendo, Mukotani1977Barbed Wire and Other Plays.
188Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o1977Petals of Blood.
189Iroh, Eddie1976Forty-eight Guns for the General
190Samkange, Stanlake1978Year of the Uprising
191Thiong'o, Ngũgĩ wa & Mugo, Micere Githae1976The trial of Dedan Kimathi
192Jahadmy, Ali A. (ed.)1977Anthology of Swahili poetry. Parallel Swahili text and English translation. Selected and translated by Ali A. Jahadmy.
193p'Bitek, Okot1978Hare and Hornbill. Compiled and translated from the Acholi by Okot p'Bitek. London: Heinemann.
194Armah, Ayi Kwei1979The Healers: an historical novel.
195Munonye, John1978Bridge to a Wedding. London: Heinemann.
196Johnson-Davies, Denys (ed.)1978Egyptian short stories. Includes "House of flesh" by Yusuf Idris, "Grandad Hasan" by Yahya Taher Abdullah, "Within the walls" by Edward El-Kharrat, "The performer" by Ibrahim Aslan, "The whistle" by Abdul Hakim Kassem, "Suddenly it rained" by Baha Taher, "The man who saw the sole of his left foot in a cracked mirror" by Lutfi Al-Khouli, "A conversation from the third floor" by Mohamed El-Bisatie, "Yusuf Murad Morcos" by Nabil Gorgy, "The conjurer made off with the dish" by Naguib Mahfouz, "The accusation" by Suleiman Fayyad, "A place under the dome" by Abdul Rahman Fahmy, "The country boy" by Yusuf Sibai, "The snake" by Sonallah Ibrahim, "The crush of life" by Yusuf Sharouni, "A story from prison" by Yahya Hakki & "The child and the king" by Gamil Atia Ibrahim.
197Mahfouz, Naguib1978Miramar. Edited and revised by Maged el Kommos and John Rodenbeck; introduced by John Fowles.
198Cabral, Amilcar1979Unity and Struggle: speeches and writings. Texts selected by the PAIGC; translated from Portuguese by Michael Wolfers.
199Sassine, Williams1980Wirriyamu. Translated from the French by John Reed and Clive Wake.
200Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o1982Devil on the Cross.
201Plaatje, Sol T.1978Mhudi: an epic of South African native life a hundred years ago. (New York: Negro Univ. Press, 1970; Johannesburg: Quagga Press, Ad. Donker, 1975; London: Rex Collings, 1976; Washington, DC: Three Continents Press, 1978).
202Vieira, José Luandino1978The Real Life of Domingos Xavier. Translated from the Portuguese by Michael Wolfers.
203Njau, Rebeka1978Ripples in the Pool. (Nairobi: Transafrica, 1975.)
204Mulaisho, Dominic1979The Smoke that Thunders
205Bebey, Francis1978The Ashanti Doll. Translated from the French by Joyce A. Hutchinson.
206Aniebo, I. N. C.1978The Journey Within.
207Marechera, Dambudzo1978The House of Hunger.
208Brutus, Dennis1978Stubborn Hope: new poems and selections. London: Heinemann.
209Idris, Yusuf1978The Cheapest Nights, and other stories. Translated from the Arabic by Wadida Wassef.
210Amadi, Elechi1978The Slave.
211Kunene, Mazisi1979Emperor Shaka the great: a Zulu epic. Translated from the Zulu by the author.
212La Guma, Alex1979Time of the Butcherbird. (Heinemann, 1979)
213Iroh, Eddie1979Toads of War.
214Beti, Mongo1980Remember Ruben. Translated from the French by Gerald Moore. (Originally published Ibadan: New Horn, 1980.)
215Wolfers, Michael (ed.)1979Poems from Angola. Selected, translated and introduced by Michael Wolfers.
216Yirenkyi, Asiedu1980Kivuli and other plays.
217Biko, Steve1979I Write What I Like: a selection of his writings. Edited by Aelred Stubbs.
218Armah, Ayi Kwei1979Two Thousand Seasons. London: Heinemann.
219Kenyatta, Jomo1979Facing Mount Kenya: the traditional life of the Gikuyu. With an introduction by B. Malinowski. (Originally published London: Secker and Warburg, 1938.)
220Head, Bessie1981Serowe: Village of the Rain Wind.
221Cheney-Coker, Syl1980The Graveyard Also Has Teeth, with Concerto for an Exile: poems. London: Heinemann.
222Vieira, José Luandino1980Luuanda. Translated from the Portuguese by Tamara L. Bender. London: Heinemann.
223Ghanem, Fathy1980The Man who Lost his Shadow: a novel in four books. Translated from the Arabic by Desmond Stewart.
224Kente, Gibson (ed.)1981South African people's plays. Includes uNosilimela by Credo V. Mutwa, Shanti by Mthuli Shezi, Too Late by Gibson Kente & Survival by the Workshop '71 Theatre Company.
225Mahfouz, Naguib1981Children of Gebelawi.
226Farah, Nuruddin1980Sweet and Sour Milk. (Originally published London: Allison & Busby, 1979.)
227Emecheta, Buchi1979The Joys of Motherhood. (Originally published London: Allison and Busby, 1979.)
228Hussein, Taha1981An Egyptian Childhood: the autobiography of Taha Hussein. Translated by E. H. Paxton.
229Mofolo, Thomas1981Chaka: an historical romance. New translation by Daniel P. Kunene. Originally translated from the Sesuto by F. H. Dutton, London & New York: OUP, 1967.
230Feinberg, Barry (ed.)1980Poets to the People: South African Freedom Poems.
231Jumbam, Kenjo1980White Man of God.
232Johnson-Davies, Denys (ed.)1981Egyptian One-act Plays. Selected and translated from the Arabic by Denys Johnson-Davies. Includes The interrogation by Farid Kamil, The Trap by Alfred Farag, Marital bliss by Abdel-Moneim Selim, The wheat well by Ali Salem, and The donkey market by Tewfik al-Hakim.
233Nyamfukudza, S.1980The Non-Believer's Journey; 128 pp.
234Kunene, Mazisi1981Anthem of the Decades: a Zulu epic. Translated from Zulu by the author.
235Kunene, Mazisi1982The Ancestors and the Sacred Mountain: poems. Translated from Zulu.
236Mapanje, Jack1981Of Chameleons and Gods; 80 pp.
237Marechera, Dambudzo1980Black Sunlight.
238Peters, Lenrie1981Selected Poetry; 160 pp.
239Kourouma, Ahmadou1981The Suns of Independence. Translated from the French Les soleils des independances by Adrian Adams.
240Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o1981Detained: A Writers Prison Diary
241Akare, Thomas1981The Slums.
242Aluko, T. M.1982Wrong Ones in the Dock. London: Heinemann.
243Mutloatse, Mothobi (ed.)1981Africa South: contemporary writings.
244Ya-Otto, John with Ole Gjerstad and Michael Mercer1982Battlefront Namibia: an autobiography
245NEVER ASSIGNED.[20]
246Thiong'o, Ngũgĩ wa1982I Will Marry When I Want.
247Head, Bessie 1987 When Rain Clouds Gather
248Bâ, Mariama1981So long a letter. Translated from the French Si longue lettre by Modupé Bodé-Thomas.
249Obasanjo, Olusegun1981My Command: An Account of the Nigerian Civil War, 1967-1970.
250Ousmane, Sembène1981The Last of the Empire.
251Lewin, Hugh1981Bandiet: seven years in a South African prison.
252Farah, Nuruddin1982Sardines. (Originally published London: Allison & Busby, 1981.)
253Aniebo, I. N. C.1983Of Wives, Talismans, and the Dead: short stories. Arranged by Willfred F. Feuser. London; Exeter, N.H.: Heinemann.
254Scanlon, Paul A. (ed.)1983Stories from central and southern Africa. Includes "Beggar my neighbour" by Dan Jacobson, "Kwashiorkor" by Can Themba, "About a girl who met a dimo" by Susheela Curtis, "Hajji Musa and the Hindu fire-walker" by Ahmed Essop, "The sisters" by Pauline Smith, "Tselane and the giant" by B. L. Leshoai, "Johannesburg, Johannesburg" by Nathaniel Nakasa, "Coming of the dry season" by Charles Mungoshi, "A soldier's embrace" by Nadine Gordimer, "Witchcraft" by Bessie Head, "The old woman" by Luis B. Honwana, "Dopper and Papist" by Herman C. Bosman, "The dishonest chief" by Ellis Singano and A. A. Roscoe, "The Soweto bride" by Mbulelo Mzamane, "A sunrise on the veld" by Doris Lessing, "The soldier without an ear" by Paul Zeleza, "Riva" by Richard Rive, "Sunlight in Trebizond Street" by Alan Paton, "The Christmas reunion" by Dambudzo Marechera, "The king of the waters" by A. C. Jordan, "Power" by Jack Cope, and "In corner B" by Es'kia (Zeke) Mphahlele.
255Iroh, Eddie1982The Siren in the Night.
256Bruner, Charlotte H. (ed.)1983Unwinding Threads: writing by women in Africa.
257Calder, Angus, Jack Mapanje & Cosmo Peterse1983Summer Fires: new poetry of Africa.
258Pheto, Molefe1985And Night Fell: Memoirs of a Political Prisoner in South Africa. (Originally published London: Allison & Busby, 1983.)
259NEVER PUBLISHED"A volume called This is the Time was advertised as No. 259, but no such volume exists in any of the library catalogues we consulted. Research in the AWS archive at Reading University reveals that this was a projected anthology of Central and Southern African poetry, which was instead published as When My Brothers Come Home: Poems from Central and Southern Africa, edited by Frank M. Chipasula (Middleton, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1985)."[20]
260NEVER PUBLISHED"Kofi Awoonor's Until the Morning After: Collected Poems 1963-1985 was to have been AWS number 260, but was apparently withdrawn by the author and instead published by Greenfield Review Press, New York, in 1987."[20]
261Anyidoho, Kofi1984A Harvest of our Dreams, with Elegy for the Revolution: poems.
262Nagenda, John1986The Seasons of Thomas Tebo.
263Serote, Mongane1983To Every Birth its Blood.
264De Graft, Joe1977Muntu.
265NEVER ASSIGNED.[20]
266p'Bitek, Okot1984Song of Lawino: &, Song of Ocol. Translated from the Acholi by Okot p'Bitek. Introduction by G. A. Heron; illustrations by Frank Horle. London: Heinemann.
267Idrīs, Yūsuf1984Rings of Burnished Brass.
268Sepamia, Sepho1981A Ride on the Whirlwind: a novel.
269Pepetela1984Mayombe.
270Achebe, Chinua, & C. L. Innes (eds)1985African short stories. Includes "The false prophet" by Sembene Ousmane, "Certain winds from the south" by Ama Ata Aidoo, "The apprentice" by Odun Balogun, "The will of Allah" by David Owoyele, "Civil peace" by Chinua Achebe, "The gentlemen of the jungle" by Jomo Kenyatta, "The green leaves" by Grace Ogot, "Bossy" by Abdulrazak Gurnah, "The spider's web" by Leonard Kibera, "Minutes of glory" by Ngugi wa Thiong'o, "An incident in the Ghobashi household" by Alifa Rifaat, "A handful of dates" by Tayeb Salih, "A conversation from the third floor" by Mohamed El-Bisatie, "Papa, snake & I" by B. L. Honwana, "The bridegroom" by Nadine Gordimer, "The betrayal" by Ahmed Essop, "Protista" by Dambudzo Marechera, "The coffee-cart girl" by Ezekiel Mphahlele, "Snapshots of a wedding" by Bessie Head, and "Reflections in a cell" by Mafika Gwala.
unnumberedRifaat, Alifa1985Distant View of a Minaret.
unnumberedAmadi, Elechi1986Estrangement.
unnumbered Echewa, T Obinkaram 1986 The Crippled Dancer
unnumbered Sembene, Ousmane 1987 Black Docker
unnumbered Rive, Richard 1987 Buckingham Palace, District 6
unnumbered Lopes, Henri 1987 Tribaliks
unnumbered Tambo, Oliver 1987 Oliver Tambo Speaks: Preparing for Power
unnumbered Achebe, Chinua 1988 Anthills of the Savanna
unnumbered Karodia, Farida 1988 Coming Home and Other Stories, includes "Coming Home", "Something in the Air", "The Necklace", "Cardboard Mansions", "Ntombi", "iGoldi", "The Worlds According to Mrs Angela Ramsbotham", "Seeds of Discontent", "The Woman in Green"
unnumbered Wangusa, Timothy 1989 Upon This Mountain
unnumbered Mungoshi, Charles 1989 The Setting Sun and the Rolling World
unnumbered Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o 1989 Matigari
unnumbered Vassanji, M. G. 1989 The Gunny Sack
unnumbered Laing, Kojo 1989 Godhorse
unnumbered Zimuya, Musaemura, Porter, Peter, Anyidoho, Kofi (eds) 1989 The Fate of Vultures, contributions by Tanure Ojaide, Afam Akeh, Gichora Mwangi, Ama Asantewa Ababio, Alex Agyei-Agyiri, Funso Aiyejina, Richard Afari Baafour, Biyi Bandele-Thomas, Philip Bateman, Charles Agboola Bodunde, John Murray Coates, James Putsch Commey, Jonathan Cumming, Achmat Dangor, Kofi Dondo, Patrick Ebewo, Godwin Ede, Ezenwa-Ohaeto, Bode-Law Faleyimu, Francis Faller, Femi Fatoba, Henry Garuba, Arthur K. de Graft-Rosenior, Martin Gwete, Chenjerai Hove, Esiaba Irobi, Frederick Bobor James, Beverley Jansen, Wumi Kaji, Ken N. Kamoche, Lawrence Karanja, Kolosa Kargbo, Boyo Lawal, Masango Lisongwe, Don Mattera, Zondi Mbano, Bennet Leboni, Buti Moleko, Lupenga Mphande, Edison Mpina, Fekessa Mwada, Crispin Namane, Valerie Nkomeshya, Pheroze Nowrojee, Silas Obadiah, Walter Odame, Tanure Ojaide, Felicity Atuki Okoth, Isi Omoifo, Thembile ka Pepeteka, Sobhna Keshval Poona, Kofi Sam, Gloria Sandak-Lewin, Erasmus Elikplim Forster Senaye, Sam Ukal, Michael Andrew Wakabi, Timothy Wangusa, Willie T. Zingani
unnumbered Mahjoub, Jamal 1989 Navigation of a Rainmaker
unnumbered Hove, Chenjerai 1990 Bones
unnumbered Cheney-Coker, Syl 1990 The Last Harmattan of Alusine Dunbar
unnumbered Chinodya, Shimmer 1990 Harvest of Thorns
unnumbered Couto, Mia 1990 Voices Made Night
unnumbered Gool, Reshard 1990 Cape Town Coolie
unnumbered Head, Bessie 1990 A Woman Alone
unnumbered Head, Bessie 1990 Tales of Tenderness and Power
unnumbered Maja-Pearce, Adewale (ed) 1990 The Heinemann Book of African Poetry in English, contributions by Dennis Brutus, Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, Christopher Okigbo, Lenrie Peters, Wole Soyinka, Kofi Awoonor, JP Clark Bekederemo, Syl Cheney-Coker, Arthur Nortje, Steve Chimombo, Jack Mapanje, Kojo Laing, Niyi Osundare, Tanure Ojaide, Musaemura Zimunya, Lupenga Mphande, Frank Chipasula, Molara Ogundipe-Leslie, Odia Ofeimun, Catherine  Obianuju Acholonu, Chenjerai Hove, Gabriel Gbadmosi
unnumbered Cheney-Coker, Syl 1990 The Blood in the Desert's Eye
unnumbered Chipasula, Frank M. 1991 Whispers in the Wings
unnumbered Amechi Akwanya 1991 Orimili
unnumbered Gordimer, Nadine 1991 Crimes of Conscience: Selected Short Stories
unnumbered Vassanji, M. G. 1993 Uhuru Street & other Stories, includes  "In the Quiet of a Sunday Afternoon",  "Ali", "Alzira", "The Beggar", "For a Shilling", "The Relief from Drill", "The Driver", "English Lessons", "The Sounds of the Night", "Leaving", "Breaking Loose", "What Good Times We Had", "Ebrahim and the Businessman", "The London-returned", "Refugee", "All Worlds are Possible Now".
unnumbered Ojaide, Tanure 1991 The Blood of Peace and other poems
unnumbered Achebe, C., and C. L. Innes 1992 Book of Contemporary African Short Stories
unnumbered Osundare, Niyi 1992 Selected Poems
unnumbered Mwangi, Ursula 1992 Striving for the Wind
unnumbered Laing, Kojo 1992 Major Gentl and Achimota Wars
unnumbered Bandele-Thomas, Biyi 1992 The Man Who Came In From The Back Of Beyond
unnumbered Ousmane, Sembene 1992 Niiwam and Taaw
unnumbered Hove, Chenjerai 1992 Shadows
unnumbered Zeleza, Tiyambe 1992 Smouldering Charcoal
unnumbered Tuma, Hama 1993 The Case of the Socialist Witchdoctor and other stories  includes  "By Way of a Prologue", "The Case of the Illiterate Saboteur", "The Case of the Valliant Torturer",  "The Case of the Criminal Thought", "The Case of the Queue Breaker", "The Case of the Treacherous Alphabet", "The Case of the Professor of Insanity", "The Case of the Closet Racist", "The Case of the Presumptuous Novelist", "The Case of the Prison-Mongerer", "The Case of the Incurable Hedonist", "Vendetta", "Betrayal", "It happened in Russia", "Death of a Renegade", "Tales of the Highway Fire", "The Professional", "The Zar Who Liked Human Liver", "In 'The Bar of No Surprises'", "Ten on the Terror Scale", "The Waldiba Story", "Madman, Killer , Saint, You".
unnumbered Bandele-Thomas, Biyi 1993 The Sympathetic Undertaker and Other Dreams
unnumbered Jacobs, Steve 1993 Under the Lion
unnumbered Botha, W. P. B. 1993 The Reluctant Playwright
unnumbered Karodia, Farida 1993 A Shattering of Silence
unnumbered Bruner, Charlotte (ed) 1993 African Women's Writing, including contributions from Catherine Obianuju Acholonu, Ifeoma Okoye, Zaynab Alkali, Orlanda Amarilis, Aminata Maiga Ka, Awuor Ayoda, Violet Dias Lannoy, Daisy Kabagarama, Lina Magaia, Ananda Devi, Tstitsi Dangerembga, Bessie Head, Jean Marquard, Zoe Wicomb, Sheila Fugard, Farida Karodia, Nawal el Sadaawi, Assia Djebar, Gisele Halimi, Leila Sebbar, Andree Chedid
unnumbered Mapanje, Jack 1993 The Chattering Wagtails of Mikuyu Prison
unnumbered Mahjoub, Jamal 1994 Wings of Dust
unnumbered Hirson, Denis (ed), with Trump, Martin 1994 South African Short Stories, including contributions from  Njabulo Ndebele, Dugmore Boetie, Ernst Havemann, Jack Cope, Elise Muller, Herman Charles Bosman, Breyten Breytenbach, Ivan Vladislavic, Hennie Aucamp, Etienne van Heerden, Bartho Smit, Can Themba, Bheki Maseko, Mango Tshabangu, Dan Jacobson, Nadine Gordimer, Ahmed Essop, Bessie Head, Christopher Hope, Alan Paton, Zoe Wicomb
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 In the Ditch
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 Second-class Citizen
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 Head Above Water
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 Gwendolen
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 Kehinde
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1994 Destination Biafra
unnumbered Chimombo, Steve 1994 Napolo and the Python
unnumbered Sam, Agnes 1994 Jesus is Indian and other stories, including  "High Heel", "Jesus is Indian", "Poppy", "A Bag of Sweets", "A Well-Loved Woman", "Nana and Devi", "Sunflowers", "Two Women", "Innocents", "The Seed", "Jellymouse", "Maths", "The Story Teller", "And They Christened It Indenture"
unnumbered Couto, Mia 1994 Every Man is a Race
unnumbered Tansi, Sony Lab'ou 1995 The Seven Solitudes of Lorsa Lopes
unnumbered Beyala, Calixthe 1995 Loukoum, or the "Little Prince" of Belville
unnumbered Darko, Amma 1995 Beyond the Horizon
unnumbered Head, Bessie 1995 The Cardinals with Meditations and other stories, including "Earth and Everything", "Africa", "My Home", "A Personal View of the Survival of the Unfittest", "Where is the Hour of the Beautiful Dancing of the Birds in the Sun-Wind?", "Poor man", "Earth Love".
unnumbered Chipasula, Stella and Frank (eds) 1995 African Women's Poetry, includes contributions by Daniele Amrane, Leila Djibali, Ana Greki, Malika O'Lahsen, Queen Hatshepsut,  Andree Chedid, Malak'Abd al-Aziz, Joyce Mansour, Rachida Madani, Amina Said, Irene Assiba d'Almeida, Ama Ata Aidoo, Abena P.A. Busia, Rashidah Ismaili, Molara Ogunidpe Leslie, Maria Manuela Margrido, Alda do Espirito Santo, Annette M'Baye d'Erneville, Marina Gashe, Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, Mwana Kupona binti Msham, Micere Githae Mugo, Stella M Chipasula, Shakuntala Hawoldar, Assumpta Acam-Oturu, Alda Lara, Maria Eugenia Lima, Amelia Veiga, Gwendolen C Konie, Noemia de Sousa, Jeni Couzeyn, Ingrid de Kok, Amelia Blossom Pegram, Ingrid Jonker, Lindiwe Mabuza, Zindzi Mandela, Geina Mhlophe, Phumzile Zulu, Kristina Rungano
unnumbered Collen, Lindsey 1995 The Rape of Sita
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1995 The Slave Girl
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 1995 The Bride Price
unnumbered Jacobs, Steve 1995 The Enemy Within
unnumbered Botha, W. P. B. 1995 Wantok
unnumbered Sobott-Mogwe, Gaele 1995 Colour Me Blue, includes "Telling Stories", "Rendering up the Glebe", "Hello, Goodbye", "Jomo", "Five to One", "Motho Fela", "The Road Ahead", "Bahmumagading", "In Confinement", "Hide Them Under The Bed", "The Battle of Jericho", "Colour Me Blue", "Mare", "Smile of Fortune", "Another Little Peace of our Hearts", "Dread", "The Birds in her Garden", "Revenge is Sweet".
unnumbered Beyala, Calixthe 1996 Your Name Shall Be Tanga
unnumbered Beyala, Calixthe 1996 The Sun Hath Looked Upon Me
unnumbered Accad, Evelyn 1996 Wounding Words: A Woman's Journal
unnumbered Pepetela 1996 Yaka
unnumbered Mahjoub, Jamal 1996 In the Hour of Signs
unnumbered Jacobs, Rayda 1996 The Eyes of the Sky
unnumbered Botha, W. P. B 1997 A Duty of Memory
unnumbered Darko, Amma 1998 The Housemaid
unnumbered Kanengoni, Alexander 1998 Echoing Siliences
unnumbered King-Aribisala, Karen 1998 Kicking Tongues
unnumbered Kwakye, Benjamin 1998 The Clothes of Nakedness
unnumbered Vera, Yvonne 1999 Opening Spaces: Contemporary African Women's Writing, including contributions by Ama Ata Aidoo, Melissa Tandiwe Myambo, Lindsey Collen, Farida Karodia, Norma Kitson, Veronique Tadjo, Leila Abouela, Ifeoma Okoye, Lilia Momple, Sindiwe Magona, Chiedza Musengezi, Monde Sifusniso, Gugu Ndlovu, Anna Dao, Milly Jafta
unnumberedOguine, Ike2000A Squatter's Tale
unnumbered Ndibe, Okey 2000 Arrows of Rain
unnumbered Emecheta, Buchi 2000 The New Tribe
unnumbered Sinyangwe, Binwell 2000 A Cowrie of Hope
unnumbered Chinodya, Shimmer 2001 Dew in the Morning
unnumbered Abouela, Leila 2001 The Translator
unnumbered Andreas, Neshani 2001 The Purple Violet of Oshaantu
unnumbered Momplé, Lilia 2001 Neighbours: the story of a murder
unnumbered Chinodya, Shimmer 2001 Can We Talk and Other Stories,  including "Hoffman Street", "The Man Who Hanged Himself", "Going to See Mr B.V.", "Among the Dead", "Brothers and Sisters", "Snow", "The Waterfall", "Play Your Cards", "Strays", "Bramson", "Can We Talk".
unnumbered Tadjo, Veronique 2001 As the Crow Flies
unnumbered Tadjo, Veronique 2002 The Shadow of Imana: Travels in the Heart of Rwanda
unnumbered Aidoo, Ama Ata 2002 The Girl Who Can and Other Stories, including "Her Hair Politics – a very short story", "Choosing – a moral of the world of work", "The Girls WHO Can", "Comparisons or Who Said a Bird Cannot Aather a Crab?", "Nutty", "She-Who-Would-Be-King (with apology to Rudyard Kipling", "Heavy Moments", "Some Global News - A short-four-voice report", "About the Wedding Feast", "Lice", "Payments", "Male-ing Names in the Sun", "Newly-Opened Doors", "Nowhere Cool".
unnumbered Mapanje, Jack (ed) 2002 Gathering Seaweed: African Prison Writing, including contributions from Kenneth D. Kaunda, Agostinho Neto, Oginga Odinga, Kwame Nkrumah, Jomo Kenyatta, Eddison J. Zvibogo, Felix Mnthali, Steve Biko, Jeremy Cronin, Moncef Marzouki, Ken Saro-Wiwa, Joseph Mwangi Kariuki, Sam Mpasu, Yves Emmanuel Dogbe, Kwame Safo-Adu, Albie Sachs, Dennis Brutus, Jose Craveirinha, Ahmed Fouad Negm, Wole Soyinka, Kofi Awoonor, Ingopapele Madingoane, Fatima Meer, Edison Mpina, Ogaga Ifowodo, Leila Djabali, Obafemi Owolowo, Molefe Pheto, Tshenuwani Simon Farisani, Abdellatif Laabi, Syl Cheney-Coker, Koigi wa Wamwere, Maina wa Kinyatti, Jack Mapanje, Muhammad Afifi Mattar, Tahar Djaout, Nelson Mandela, Antonio Jacinto, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, Breyten Breytenbach, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Caesarina Kona Makhoere, Kunle Ajibade, Tandundu E. A. Bisikisi, Pitika Ntuli, Jaki Seroke, Fela Anikulapo-Kutu, Christine Anyanwu, Mzwakhe Mbuli
unnumbered Pepetela 2002 Return of the Water Spirit
unnumbered Aidoo, Ama Ata 2003 Changes: A Love Story
unnumbered Mengara, Daniel 2003 Mema

[21]

Digitisation and relaunch

In 2005 Chadwyck-Healey Literature Collection began to digitise the series, which was completed in 2009.

It was then relaunched by Pearson Education in 2011, which began reissuing titles from the original list as 'Classics' and a number of new works.[22][23][24]

New titles included:

  • The purple violet of Oshaantu by Neshani Andreas (2011)
  • Woman of the Aeroplanes by B. Kojo Laing (2011)
  • Search Sweet Country by B. Kojo Laing (2011)
  • The Lovers by Bessie Head (2011)
  • How Shall We Kill the Bishop and other stories by Lily Mabura (2012)
  • The Grub Hunter by Amir Tag Elsir (2012)
  • Sterile Sky by E. E. Sule (2012)
  • Mindblast by Dambudzo Marechera (2015)

In 2018 Pearson signed a digital license agreement for the series with Digitalback Book.[25]

The relaunched African Writers Series logo, designed by Stephen Embleton Nov 2021

In December 2021, Abibiman Publishing and the James Currey Society in Oxford announced that the series would be relaunched again. The new series will be edited by the James Currey Fellow at Oxford University, Stephen Embleton. Embleton stated: "Our mandate is clear and threefold: build on the legacy of the original African Writers Series, actively seek works written in African languages, and have the writers of this Continent at the helm."[26]

African Writers Series, logo 2021

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Bejjit, Nourdin (2009). The Publishing of African literature: Chinua Achebe, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and the Heinemann African Writers Series 1962 - 1988 (phd thesis). The Open University. doi:10.21954/ou.ro.0000eb1c.
  2. Hill, Alan (1988). In pursuit of publishing. London: J. Murray in association with Heinemann Educational Books. p. 120. ISBN 0-7195-4434-3. OCLC 23769680.
  3. Currey, James (2008). Africa writes back : the African writers series & the launch of African literature. Oxford: James Currey. pp. xxx–xxxi. ISBN 978-0-8214-1843-7. OCLC 230198710.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Bejjit, Nourdin (2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 14. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Currey, James (2008). Africa writes back : the African writers series & the launch of African literature. Oxford: James Currey. pp. xxx–xxxi. ISBN 978-0-8214-1843-7. OCLC 230198710.
  6. 1 2 Hill, Alan (1971). "The African Writers Series". Research in African Literatures. 2 (1): 18–19. ISSN 0034-5210.
  7. Hill, Alan (1988). In pursuit of publishing. London: J. Murray in association with Heinemann Educational Books. p. 123. ISBN 0-7195-4434-3. OCLC 23769680.
  8. 1 2 Bejjit, Nourdin (6 September 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 15. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  9. Bejjit, Nourdin (6 September 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 21. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  10. Bejjit, Nourdin (6 September 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 22. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  11. Bejjit, Nourdin (6 September 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 23. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  12. 1 2 Bejjit, Nourdin (6 September 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 24. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  13. Bejjit, Nourdin (6 June 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 17–18. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  14. "Heinemann African Writers Series" Archived April 29, 2015, at the Wayback Machine at African Studies Centre, Leiden.
  15. Bejjit, Nourdin (6 June 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 20. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  16. 1 2 Bejjit, Nourdin (6 June 2019). "Heinemann African Writers Series: History, editorship, and markets". Logos. 30 (1): 15–24. doi:10.1163/18784712-03001003. ISSN 0957-9656.
  17. "Judged by Its Covers | Josh MacPhee". Lapham's Quarterly. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
  18. Clarke, Becky (2003). "The African Writers Series: Celebrating Forty Years of Publishing Distinction". Research in African Literatures. 34 (2): 164. ISSN 0034-5210.
  19. Currey, James (2008). Africa writes back : the African writers series & the launch of African literature. Oxford: James Currey. pp. 301–310. ISBN 978-0-8214-1843-7. OCLC 230198710.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Matt Kibble, The Digitisation of the African Writers Series.
  21. James., Currey (2008). Africa writes back : the African writers series & the launch of African literature. Oxford: James Currey. ISBN 9780821418437. OCLC 230198710.
  22. "Pearson revives African Writers Series, calls for submissions". Archived 21 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine, Naija Stories, 4 August 2011.
  23. Norbrook, Nicholas (29 February 2012). "Publishing Africa Writers Series celebrates 50 years". The Africa Report.
  24. "A celebrated selection of literature from Africa" Archived 2014-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, Pearson.
  25. "Digitalback Books acquires a license for the iconic Heinemann African Writers Series!". us15.campaign-archive.com. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  26. "Abibiman Publishing and the James Currey Society are relaunching the African Writers Series. Read our press release and objectives". Twitter. 11 December 2021. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.