[EN] Footprints of the Book: Building a Sustainable Publishing Future in Africa

I had an important exchange on 17 July with a young Guinean writer. He expressed great admiration for the efforts made by the African Observatory of Professional Publishers (OAPE) to revitalise the publishing industry across the continent — and even beyond. During our conversation, he earnestly asked me: “Do you truly believe things can change?”

He seemed surprised that fields as serious as literature, the arts, and cultural creation in general were often secondary — and sometimes completely sidelined — by administrative priorities. At the same time, he shared his disappointment with some publishing professionals in his country, remarking that “even they fail to grasp the importance of works of wit.”