Sitting in the lounge of the United Kenya Club in Nairobi, Kiarie Kamau, the chairman of the Kenya Publishers Association and now in his tenth year as CEO of East African Educational Publishers reminisces on how far the Nairobi International Book Fair (NIBF) has come since the turn of the century.
“In 1999, the Nairobi Book Fair was held in Uhuru Park, a humble beginning; but this week it’s a full house of exhibitors at the Sarit Centre in Westlands as an international book fair, complete with exhibitors from Uganda, China, Turkey, India and the United Kingdom to add to the local colour and pomp.”
Indeed, the Nairobi International Book Fair is the key literary event in Kenya, attracting thousands of visitors – both adults and children to its stands – drawn by both a love of words but also the search for book bargains there; and only the Rabat International Book Fair in the Maroc is its continental equal (although the RIBF is more of a Francophone and Arabic book bazaar).
To a large extent, the recent explosive growth of the Nairobi Intl Book Fair is due to the tireless efforts of the KPA post-Covid, and as its CEO James Odhiambo says, “the resilience and dedication of stakeholders/ publishers across the book value chain, the unyielding pursuit of creativity and innovation by writers, and the steadfast support of Kenya’s reading public.”
Both KPA chairman Kiarie and CEO Odhiambo confidently state that the Kenyan publishing industry has come of age.
“A new era of self-sufficiency in book publishing has begun, and the sector’s growth trajectory is both assured and irreversible,” Kiarie Kamau says. “This progress has been significantly reinforced by the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which is exerting profound influence across global industries, and publishing is no exception.”
Artificial Intelligence has already proven to be a powerful instrument in such areas as editing, proofreading, quality assurance, translation, metadata generation, and market analytics.
“Within our industry,” the EAEP CEO says, “publishers are fully aware of the transformative potential of AI and other modern technologies, and are integrating them to drive greater efficiency, improve quality, and expand the frontiers of book development and production.”
So are editors, proof-readers and other staff going to be replaced by AI?
Kiarie Kamau chuckles, then says: “AI is increasingly being deployed as an enabler; augmenting human creativity rather than displacing it. So, not soon.”
During the Book Fair, KPA devote particular attention to AI in various talks — not only to highlight its positive contributions to the publishing value chain, but also to examine the ethical and legal considerations that accompany its adoption.
“In its continuous endeavour to push boundaries and remain relevant in a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the Kenyan publishing industry has embraced and invested significantly in digital learning materials.
"As a result, the market now offers a wide range of interactive digital content as well as e-books. It is, therefore, accurate to affirm that publishers in Kenya have proactively adapted to the disruptions brought about by digital technology — disruptions that have fundamentally transformed the creation, distribution, and consumption of books,” says KPA Chair Kamau.
Another key highlight of this year’s Fair will be the celebration of the life and legacy of the late literary luminary, Prof Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o.
Celebrated Kenyan author and scholar the late Ngugi wa Thiong’o.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Through his prolific writing, Prof. Ngũgĩ placed Kenya firmly on the global literary map, with his works studied across Africa and in many parts of the world.
In recognition of his monumental contribution, the Kenya Publishers Association will posthumously induct Prof Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o into the prestigious KPA Hall of Fame. In addition, this year’s edition of the Book Fair magazine, Book News, has been dedicated to his memory, featuring carefully curated articles and tributes in his honour.
“It’s a great honour from KPA,” Dr Nducu wa Ngugi said, “and a thoughtful decision that shows the promotion of memory in the creative economy.”
Author Nducu wa Ngugi poses with his book, which was released in August 2014. Nducu wa Ngugi is the son of renowned author Professor Ngugi wa Thiong'o.
Photo credit: Pool
Kiarie Kamau believes that the Kenyan publishing industry is experiencing a golden era, driven by the government’s commitment to ensuring a one-to-one textbook-to-learner ratio in public schools.
“Since 2018, more than 200 million textbooks have been supplied to learners across the country. This achievement has been made possible through a robust collaboration between the Kenya Institute of Curriculum Development (KICD) and the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA).
"Every learner in Kenya now has access to a textbook for each learning area; the government has successfully delivered on its promise of providing high-quality teaching and learning materials; publishers have benefitted through government tenders; authors and professionals within the book value chain have reaped financial rewards; numerous jobs have been created in the industry; and the government has, in turn, gained through the taxes remitted by publishers.”
But with the next major supply of textbooks taking place between October and December 2025, focusing on Grade 10 books for Senior Secondary, publishers are desperate for the government to expedite outstanding payments for previously supplied textbooks – a whopping Sh2.6 billion.
Left unsaid is the threat of a lacuna of books for learners, come January, 2026.
Then there is the perennial aggravation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on books. “At 16 per cent, this tax significantly increases the cost of books, putting them out of reach for the average Kenyan,” says EAEP CEO Kiarie. “Knowledge, however, is not a luxury — it is a public good and a catalyst for national development. By taxing books, we inadvertently tax education, creativity and innovation. We therefore urge the government to consider scrapping VAT on books as a deliberate policy intervention.”
“As an industry, we are deeply committed to sustainability, recognising that publishing consumes tonnes of paper each year,” says KPA CEO James Odhiambo.
“Publishers carry a moral responsibility to contribute actively to the replenishment of our nation’s forest cover, and this commitment is firmly anchored in the KPA’s 10-Point Transformational Agenda, which emphasizes the imperative of Going Green.”
KPA’s ‘Going Green’ journey began at the end of May this year during the Regional Book Fair in Kisii, where they planted hundreds of trees as a demonstration of ‘Going Green’. “Building on that momentum, we are taking this initiative a step further at the Nairobi International Book Fair by launching a city-wide tree-planting exercise across all sub-counties in Nairobi,” he says.
To ensure sustainability and accountability, each publishing firm has been assigned specific primary schools to spearhead tree-planting activities, under the initiative “Going Green: Adopt-a-School.”
Kenyan publishers’ biggest challenge, according to Kiarie Kamau, continues to be the menace of piracy — particularly of digital products — which are frequently sold at throwaway prices through social media platforms. “This illegal trade undermines the investments of publishers and authors, while denying the industry much-needed revenue, and should be fought harder.”
Another pressing challenge is the high cost of living, which has eroded the purchasing power of many Kenyans. As a result, while publishers continue to benefit from government textbook tenders, the sale of general reading materials through bookshops has declined sharply.
Tony Mochama, alongside Betty Kilonzo, Ciku Kimani and David Maillu, will lead a “Popular Literature” panel for eKitabu at the Nairobi Intl Book Fair.
