A Colonial Affair: Heinemann Educational Books and the African Market

This article attempts to provide historical explanations for the role which Heinemann Educational Books (henceforth HEB) played in the emergence of an African literature in English. Whereas the reluctance of British companies to publish for Africa was in a large measure determined, albeit indirectly, by contemporary colonial policies and interests, the open, wholehearted encouragement of African writings in the 1960s and 1970s suggests a radical shift in the attitudes of British publishers. This shift arguably occurred at a time when the entire publishing industry in England witnessed a profound readjustment following the war years. Yet, more importantly, the full-scale ‘decolonization’ process in Africa, as in the rest of the empire, forced British publishers, such as HEB, to adopt new strategies to keep their businesses going in Africa. This article seeks to shed light on Alan Hill as the architect of HEB and his publishing projects in the African continent.