The Nairobi International Book Fair 2018 opening ceremony was hosted at the Sarit Centre on September 27, 2018. The ceremony was attended by everyone who was everyone in the Kenyan publishing industry led by the Kenya Publishing Association chairperson Lawrence Njagi and Nairobi International Book Fair Chair Mary Maina. The guest of honour at the event was Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
In prepared remarks, the fair chairperson Mary Maina welcomed all who were at the event which was in its 21st year. Ms Maina promised even more from the fair with 70 local and 20 international exhibitors showcasing their work.
The guest of honour Mr Odinga in his remarks spoke about the need for publishers to produce work that would keep us so engrossed that we could stay away from social media channels.
The most remarkable statement in the afternoon came from the KPA chairman Lawrence Njagi who apart from his usual talking points on the curriculum and VAT on books being unacceptable had new information. Kenya would be hosting next year’s edition of the International Publishers Association seminar for sustainable development for African publishers 2019.
Update: An earlier version of this blog stated that the International Publishers Association will be hosting its congress in Nairobi next year. We have since established, with help from our friends at the New Publishing Standard, that Kenya will not be hosting a congress but a seminar instead. You can read more about it here.
6 replies on “Nairobi International Book Fair 2018 opening ceremony”
James, I’m assured by the IPA’s Bodour Al Qasimi that in fact is is the IPA Sustainable Development Seminar to be held in Kenya 2019, not the IPA Congress which is in 2020.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/ipa-sustainable-development-seminar-to-be-held-in-kenya-2019/
Thanks Mark. I have made the required updates.
An earlier version of this blog stated that the International Publishers Association will be hosting its congress in congress (SHOULD THIS READ ‘NAIROBI’) next year.
Thanks Zahid. Edit has been made.
[…] Just like in 2018, the onus of welcoming the guests to the fair was on its chairman Mary Maina. She started by thanking the guest of honour for accepting their invitation and then spoke a bit about the fair. The events that would be happening over the next few days have the theme “Read. Apply. Freedom.” There are 70 local and 15 international exhibitors showcasing their work among them publishers, printers, government departments, embassies, and a host of other institutions. […]
[…] this story, so I defer first to the James Murua African Literature Blog for details. At the opening ceremony of the Nairobi International Book Fair 2018 on September 27, 2018, the Kenya Publishers Association chairman Lawrence Njagi announced that […]