Cassava Republic Press

Cassava Republic Press
Founded2006; 18 years ago (2006)
FoundersBibi Bakare-Yusuf and Jeremy Weate
Country of originNigeria
DistributionNigeria: Yellow Danfo
UK: MPP
US: Consortium Books
Ghana: Smartline
South Africa: Pan Macmillan SA[1]
Key peopleBibi Bakare-Yusuf
Publication typesBooks
ImprintsCassava Republic Press; Ankara Press
Official websitecassavarepublic.biz/about-us-4/

Cassava Republic Press is a steering African book publishing company established in Nigeria in 2006 and headed by Bibi Bakare-Yusuf,[2][3][4] 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.[5][6] 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."[2] 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.[7][8] ThisDay 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."[9]

After being based in Nigeria for a decade, Cassava Republic Press launched in London, England, in April 2016,[10][11] and in 2017 launched in the US,[12] becoming "the first African publisher to open a subsidiary outside the continent", as reported by the Financial Times.[13]

Authors taken on by Cassava Republic who are now internationally known include Teju Cole, Elnathan John and Sarah Ladipo Manyika.[14]

  1. ^ "Contact Us", Cassava Republic.
  2. ^ a b "About Us", Cassava Republic website.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference PP was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Bibi Bakare-Yusuf" Archived 2018-09-29 at the Wayback Machine, Aké Arts & Book Festival.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Umaisha was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Bridle, James (1 June 2010), "Cassava Republic", booktwo.org.
  7. ^ Ogunlesi, Tolu (6 October 2015), "A new chapter in Nigeria’s literature", The Financial Times.
  8. ^ Adebisi, Yemi (12 February 2011), "Nigeria: Cassava Republic Captures Book Industry", Daily Independent (Lagos). AllAfrica.
  9. ^ Elusoji, Solomon (27 February 2015), "Cassava Republic's Inventive Prowess", ThisDay. Archived 3 July 2015 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ^ Wanner, Zukiswa (May 2016), "Bibi Comes to London", New African, Vol. 561.
  11. ^ "Nigerian Publishing House Cassava Republic Comes to the UK This April", What's On Africa (Royal African Society), April 2016.
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference PW was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Fic, Maggie (27 November 2016). "Publisher's expansion brings Nigerian writers to world stage". Financial Times.
  14. ^ Piesing, Mark (6 December 2016). "Nigeria's Bibi Bakare-Yusuf: 'Our Brand Is Growing'". Publishing Perspectives.