Books, manuals, reports, reference works, and online publications/databases
1965
An International Bibliography of Non-Periodical Literature on Documentation and Information [with R. J. Machesney]. Oxford: Robert Maxwell.
New Reference Tools for Librarians, 1964–1965. Oxford: Robert Maxwell. [Previous edition: 1964]
1966
The Freetown Vademecum [with G. Williams]. Freetown: Fourah Bay College Bookshop.
1968
Writings by West Africans. Freetown: Sierra Leone University Press.
1975
Publishing in Africa in the Seventies: proceedings of the International Conference on Publishing and Book Development, held at the University of Ife, Nigeria, December 16–20, 1973. Ile-Ife: University of Ife Press, 1975. [Hans Zell was the conference director, and joint editor of proceedings with E. Oluwasanmi and E. McLean.]
1989
The African Book World and Press: a directory/Répertoire du Livre et de la Presse en Afrique. 4th rev. ed. Oxford: Hans Zell Publishers. [Previous editions: 1977, 1980, 1983]
A New Reader’s Guide to African Literature [with C. Bundy and V. Coulon]. London: Heinemann Educational Books. [Previous edition: with H. Silver (1972) A Reader’s Guide to African Literature. London: Heinemann Educational Books.]
1996
Publishing and Book Development in Sub-Saharan Africa: an annotated bibliography [with C. Lomer]. Oxford: Hans Zell Publishers.
[Notes:
Later, substantially recast 2008 ed., published as Publishing, Books and Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa: a critical bibliography.
Supersedes (1984) Publishing and Book Development in Africa: a bibliography/L’Édition et le Développement du Livre en Afrique: une bibliographie. Paris: UNESCO.
Supplementary volumes to the 1996 edition, published as:
(1997) A Bibliography of Publishing and the Book Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa – 1996. London: Association for the Development of Education.
(1998) A Bibliography of Publishing and the Book Chain in Sub-Saharan Africa – 1997. London: Association for the Development of Education.]
1998
A Handbook of Good Practice in Journal Publishing. 2nd rev. ed. London and Oxford: International African Institute and African Books Collective.
2000
African Books in Print/Livres africains disponibles. 5th ed. Two vols. London: Bowker-Saur/Reed Business Information.
[Note: (2006) C. Lomer (ed.), 6th ed. Berlin: K. G. Saur and (2011) e-book version. Berlin: De Gruyter.
Previous editions: 1975, 1978, 1984, 1993.]
The Electronic African Bookworm: a web navigator. 2nd rev. and updated ed. Oxford: African Books Collective. [Previous edition: 1998]
2001
Book Marketing and Promotion: a handbook of good practice. Oxford: International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications.
2002
The African Publishing Companion: a resource guide [print edition and online]. Lochcarron: Hans Zell Publishing.
2004
Using Google for African Studies Research: a guide to effective web searching. Pilot edition (September).
2006
The African Studies Companion: a guide to information sources. 4th rev. and expanded edition (print and online) Lochcarron: Hans Zell Publishing.
[Note: 5th ed. [n.d.]. Leiden: Brill. Online only, subscription-based, at http://www.brill.com/publications/online-resources/african-studies-companion-online. Previous editions: 1989, 1997, 2003.]
2008
Publishing, Books and Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa Online.
Publishing, Books and Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa. A critical bibliography [print edition and online]. Lochcarron: Hans Zell Publishing.
Articles, book chapters, and internet documents
Partial list from over 200 articles, book review essays, and reports published from 1972 to 2024. Other/earlier articles, reports, and bibliographic essays published in: African Book Publishing Record; African Literature Today; African Research and Documentation; Africana Journal; The Bookseller; A Current Bibliography on African Affairs; Focus on International and Comparative Librarianship; Library Journal; Library Review; New African; West Africa.
1974
‘Children’s book publishing in Africa today’, Interracial Books for Children 5 (1/2): 3–5.
1975
‘Publishing in Africa in the seventies: problems and prospects’ in D. A. Clark (ed.) Acquisitions from the Third World. London: Mansell Information/Publishing.
1977
‘Publishing progress in Africa 1975–1976: problems in securing information and the role of The African Book Publishing Record’ in Progress in African Bibliography. SCOLMA Conference 1977 Proceedings. London: SCOLMA.
1979
‘African writers and their publishers’, Zeitschrift für Kulturaustausch 3: 290–301.
‘Multinationals role in publishing’, West Africa (3 September): 1601–2.
1981
‘Die Entwicklung des Buch- und Verlagswesens in Schwarz-Africa in den 80er Jahren. Ein Jahrzehnt der Herausforderung und Chancen’ in Buch und Lesen International. Berichte und Analysen zur Buchmarkt-Forschung. Gütersloh: Verlag für Buchmarkt- und Medien Forschung.
1983
‘Writing rights and wrongs for African children. Report on a seminar on creative writing and publishing for children in Africa today, Freetown, Sierra Leone, 12–14 January, 1983’, West Africa 3421: 607–10.
1984
‘Current publishing in Africa’, in B. Lindfors (ed.)Research Priorities in African Literatures. Oxford: Hans Zell Publishers/K. G. Saur.
‘Introduction’ in S. Taubert and P. Weidhaas (eds) The Book Trade of the World, vol. 4: Africa. Munich: K. G. Saur.
1987
‘African scholarly publishing in the eighties’, Scholarly Publishing 18 (2): 97–107.
‘The other famine’, Libri 37 (4): 294–306.
‘A professional library for African publishers’, African Book Publishing Record 13 (3): 161–5.
1990
‘Africa – the neglected continent’, Logos 2 (1–2): 19–27.
1992
‘African publishing: constraints and challenges, and the experience of the African Books Collective’ in P. G. Altbach (ed.) Publishing and Book Development in the Third World. Oxford: Hans Zell Publishers.
1993
‘Publishing in Africa: the crisis and the challenge’ in O. Owomoyela (ed.) A History of Twentieth-Century African Literatures. Lincoln NE and London: University of Nebraska Press.
Contributed entries on francophone African publishing and francophone African literary magazines in P. France (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Literature in French. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
1994
‘Buying and selling rights: the prospects, and the constraints, for African publishers’, African Publishing Review [Harare] 3 (6): 13–17.
‘The growth of publishing in sub-Saharan Africa: a chronology and some landmarks’, African Book Publishing Record 20 (3): 175–9.
‘Publishing and book development in Africa 1993: a checklist of recent literature’, Bellagio Publishing Network Newsletter 9: 11–17.
1995
‘Effective promotion and marketing, and the size of the export market for African books’, African Publishing Review [Harare] 4 (2): 16–18.
‘Publishing and book development in Africa 1994: a checklist of recent literature’, Bellagio Publishing Network newsletter 14 (supplement).
‘Publishing in Africa’ in P. G. Altbach and E. S. Hoshino (eds) International Book Publishing: an encyclopaedia. New York NY: Garland Publishing.
1996
‘African journals in a changing environment of scholarly communication’ in APEX ‘96 Catalogue. A collective exhibit of African periodicals at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair, 1996. Harare and London: Zimbabwe International Book Fair Trust and Southern African Book Development Education Trust.
‘Publishing and book development in sub-Saharan Africa 1995: a checklist of recent literature’, Bellagio Publishing Network Newsletter 17 [18 pp. supplement].
‘A sixteen-year Japanese contribution to African publishing’, Logos 7 (2): 162–7.
1998
‘African journal publishers in a digital environment’ in P. G. Altbach and D. Teferra (eds) Knowledge Dissemination in Africa: the role of scholarly journals. Chestnut Hill MA: Bellagio Publishing Network Research and Information Centre.
‘The production and marketing of African books: a Msungu perspective’, Logos 9 (2): 104–8.
Contributor to J. Middleton et al. (eds), The Encyclopedia of Sub-Saharan Africa. New York NY: Charles Scribner’s Sons/Macmillan Library Reference USA.
1999
‘African publishers – “mostly liars and cheats”?’ in J. Gibbs and J. Mapanje (eds), The African Writers’ Handbook. Oxford: African Books Collective.
‘The author’s bookshelf’ in J. Gibbs and J. Mapanje (eds) The African Writers’ Handbook. Oxford: African Books Collective.
‘Internet resources for African writers’ in J. Gibbs and J. Mapanje (eds) The African Writers’ Handbook. Oxford: African Books Collective.
‘The production and marketing of African books: a Msungu perspective’, Logos 9 (2): 104–8.
2000
‘African publishers, booksellers, and book trade organizations on the World Wide Web’, African Book Publishing Record 26 (3): 189–93.
‘The fifth edition of African Books in Print: new features and old problems’, African Research and Documentation 82: 31–8.
Contributor to G. D. Killam and R. Rowe (eds), The Companion to African Literatures. Oxford: James Currey Publishers.
2001
‘The best of the web: some recommended web sites and resources’ [as at January 2001]
http://www.inasp.info/psi/bmp/bestof.html
‘The internet for the book professions’ [as at January 2001]
2003
‘The internet, e-commerce, and Africa’s book professions’, Bellagio Publishing Network Newsletter 28: 10–15.
‘The rise and rise of journal subscription prices in African studies’, Africana Libraries Newsletter 111: 7–9.
2005
‘The perilous business of reference publishing in African studies’ in V. K. Evalds and D. Henige (eds) Africanist Librarianship in an Era of Change. Lanham MD: Scarecrow Press.
2006
‘Using Google Scholar for African studies research’, Africana Libraries Newsletter 118.
2007
‘Reviewing reviews – a publisher’s perspective’, African Research and Documentation 104: 9–13.
2008
‘Publishing in Africa: where are we now? Part one: some spurious claims debunked’, Logos 19 (4): 187–95.
2009
‘Publishing in Africa: where are we now? Part two: accomplishments and failures’, Logos 20 (1): 79–90.
Also published (parts one and two combined) in African Book Publishing Record 35 (4): 309–21.
2013
‘How many books are published in Africa? The need for more reliable statistics’, African Book Publishing Record 39 (4): 397–406.
‘Oxford University Press in postcolonial Africa: a review essay’, African Research and Documentation 121: 69–75.
[Book review essay of C. Davis (ed.) Creating Postcolonial Literature: African writers and British publishers. Basingstoke: Palgrave-Macmillan.]
‘Print vs electronic, and the “digital revolution” in Africa’, African Book Publishing Record 39 (1): 1–19.
2016
‘African publishing coming of age’ [Review article], Logos 27 (3): 52–60.
[Book review essay of K. Kamau and K. Mitambo (eds) Coming of Age: strides in African publishing. Essays in honour of Dr. Henry Chakava at 70. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers.]
‘Book donation programmes for Africa: time for a reappraisal? Two perspectives’, African Research and Documentation 127: 3–137 (Part I).
‘Indigenous publishing in Africa – the need for research, documentation, and collaboration’ in K. Kamau and K. Mitambo (eds) Coming of Age: strides in African publishing. Essays in honour of Dr. Henry Chakava at 70. Nairobi: East African Educational Publishers.
‘Publishing and the book in Africa: a literature review for 2015’, African Book Publishing Record 42 (1): 11–37. [Published as ‘Reference resources. Publishing and the book in Africa – a literature review.’]
‘Publishing and the book in Africa: a literature review for 2016’, African Book Publishing Record 43 (2): 120–70.
2017
‘The African university press – a gloomy picture’, University World News Global Edition 475, 22 September.
https://www.academia.edu/34690740/The_African_University_Press_-_A_Gloomy_Picture [with Appendix added]
2018
‘African book industry data and the state of African national bibliographies’, African Book Publishing Record 44 (4): 363–89.
‘Publishing and the book in Africa: a literature review for 2017’, African Book Publishing Record 44 (2): 116–67.
‘Publishing in African languages: a review of the literature’, African Research and Documentation 132: 3–90.
2019
‘Indigenous publishing in sub-Saharan Africa: a chronology and some landmarks’, African Research and Documentation 136: 36–61.
‘Publishing and the book in Africa: a literature review for 2018’, African Book Publishing Record 45 (2): 128–80.
‘Publishing in Africa: where are we now? An update for 2019. Part I’, Logos, 30 (3): 7–25.
‘Publishing in Africa: where are we now? An update for 2019. Part II’:Logos 30 (4): 16–36.
2020
‘Digital vs print resources at African university institutions: a discussion document’, African Research and Documentation 138: 3–16.
‘Publishing and the book in Africa: a literature review for 2019’, African Book Publishing Record 46 (2): 132–87.
2021
‘African publishers’ associations on the web: an inventory and directory’, African Book Publishing Record 47 (3): 228–33.
‘Women in African publishing and the book trade: a series of profiles’ [Series I], African Book Publishing Record 47 (1): 8–43.
2022
‘Nigerian university presses: a bleak picture’, Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation 1: 12–30.
‘Women in African publishing and the book trade: a series of profiles – Series II’, African Book Publishing Record 48 (2): 112–53.
2023
‘Publishing and the book sector in Africa today: a synopsis’, African Book Publishing Record 49 (1): 1–12.
2024
‘“Action plans” to support the African book industries: current initiatives in progress, and an inventory of earlier projects’, African Book Publishing Record 50 (4): 312–21.
‘African literary journals and little magazines: an inventory’, African Book Publishing Record 50 (1): 7–29.
‘Henry Chakava: an annotated bibliography’, Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation 3: 65–79.
Book reviews
Over 120 book and journal reviews published, notably in African Book Publishing Record (‘Professional reading’ column); African Research and Documentation (later Africa Bibliography, Research and Documentation) and West Africa. Recent book reviews are freely accessible at academia.edu
