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42-536: The African Writers Series (AWS) is a collection of books written by African novelists, poets and politicians. Published by Heinemann , 359 books appeared in the series between 1962 and 2003. The series has provided an international audience for many African writers, including Chinua Achebe , Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o , Steve Biko , Ama Ata Aidoo , Nadine Gordimer , Buchi Emecheta , and Okot p'Bitek . 1958 – William Heinemann publishes Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart . 2,000 hardcover copies were printed and sold at

84-494: A West Africa specialist. He becomes HEB's Overseas Director. 1961 – Van Milne originates the idea of the African Writers Series. Hill explains that the plan was "to start a paperback series, confined to black African authors; the books were to be attractively designed with high quality production, and sold at a very cheap price—as low as 25p at the outset" . 1962 – Alan Hill, Tony Beal and Van Milne launch

126-461: A clear indication that they belonged to a collection of works by African writers. Some evolution in cover design did take place during these years. Between 1962 and 1965 a heavy black band was featured at the top of the covers, with a black-and-white illustration below. The black was then replaced by a solid orange block. Later a colophon was added that was intended to look like an Africanised version of Heinemann's windmill logo. In 1971 George Hallett

168-719: A digital license agreement for the series with Digitalback Book. In December 2021, Abibiman Publishing and the James Currey Society in Oxford announced that the series would be relaunched again. The new series will be edited by the James Currey Fellow at Oxford University, Stephen Embleton. Embleton stated: "Our mandate is clear and threefold: build on the legacy of the original African Writers Series, actively seek works written in African languages, and have

210-518: A number of Heinemann authors who protested by taking their works to other publishers, including The Bodley Head , of which Greene was a director. Heinemann Publishing was established in the United States in 1978 as a U.S. subsidiary of Heinemann UK. Heinemann published books for school teachers of language arts K–12 and continues to this day. BTR bought Thomas Tilling in 1983, and were not interested in its publishing division, so Heinemann

252-626: A price of 15 shillings. The book receives widespread acclaim. 1959 – Alan Hill, head of Heinemann's educational department, visits West Africa. He finds that Achebe remains largely unknown in his home country of Nigeria due to the small print run and high price of his first novel. 1960 – Heinemann Educational Books (HEB) is set up as a separate company run by Alan Hill with Tony Beal as his deputy, and begins to publicise Achebe in Africa. They start to receive manuscripts from other African authors. Alan Hill recruits Evan McKay Milne, known as Van Milne,

294-538: A separate company in Portsmouth, New Hampshire to sell their educational works in the US market. When Tilling was purchased by BTR plc in 1983, BTR sold off all their non-industrial assets; Heinemann was sold to Octopus Publishing Group . Octopus merged with Reed International in 1987, who then sold their entire trade-oriented publishing assets to Random House in 1997. Heinemann ELT (English Language Teaching) division

336-466: Is appointed as manager of HEB Nigeria. 1967 – James Currey is appointed to work with Keith Sambrook to develop the series. 1970 – Henry Chakava is appointed as editor of HEB East Africa and becomes managing director in 1975. 1972 – Chinua Achebe leaves his position following the publication of his short story collection Girls At War as the hundredth book in the series. Sambrook, Currey, Higo and Chakava take over editorial duties collectively with

378-721: The African Writers Series , spearheaded by Alan Hill and West Africa specialist Van Milne , to focus on publishing the writers of Africa such as Chinua Achebe , who was the first advisory editor of the series. Heinemann was awarded the 1992 Worldaware Award for Social Progress. The series was relaunched by Pearson in 2011. Inspired by the African Writers Series, Leon Comber launched the Writing in Asia Series in 1966 from Singapore. Two Austin Coates books in

420-569: The Open University and included in James Currey's book-length treatment of the series, with some additional information from Heinemann. In 2005 Chadwyck-Healey Literature Collection began to digitise the series, which was completed in 2009. It was then relaunched by Pearson Education in 2011, which began reissuing titles from the original list as 'Classics' and a number of new works. New titles included: In 2018 Pearson signed

462-696: The 1960s, Oyono had a long career of service as a diplomat and as a minister in the government of Cameroon. As one of President Paul Biya 's top associates, he ultimately served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1992 to 1997 and then as Minister of State for Culture from 1997 to 2007. He was also Chairman of UNICEF from 1977 to 1978. Oyono was born near Ebolowa in the South Province of Cameroon. After obtaining his secondary education in Yaoundé , Oyono studied in Paris. Following Cameroon's independence, Oyono

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504-411: The African Writers Series with a paperback edition of Things Fall Apart , followed by Cyprian Ekwensi's Burning Grass , and then Kenneth Kaunda's autobiography Zambia Shall Be Free . Chinua Achebe is appointed Editorial Advisor with a salary of £150 a year. This is increased to £250 in 1967. 1963 – Van Milne leaves Heinemann and is replaced by Keith Sambrook. 1964 – Sambrook is concerned that

546-594: The United Kingdom and the Scandinavian countries. In 1985, President Paul Biya recalled Oyono from London and appointed him as Secretary-General of the Presidency of Cameroon. Oyono remained in the post for about a year before Biya instead appointed him as Minister of Town Planning and Housing in 1986. The post of Secretary-General of the Presidency was historically very powerful, but Oyono's stint in

588-548: The branding of "Heinemann's International Library", edited by Edmund Gosse . In 1893, Sydney Pawling became a partner. They became known for publishing the works of Sarah Grand . The company published the British version of Scribners ' Great Educators series under the title Heinemann's Great Educators series, but did not include credits for the original American editor, Nicholas Murray Butler , an omission for which they were criticized. Between 1895 and 1897, Heinemann

630-407: The bulk of the series, but it extended to poetry, anthologies, short stories, autobiographies, drama, non fiction, and oral traditions. Between 1962 and 1986 all the books in the African Writers Series were colour-coded: orange for fiction, blue for non-fiction, and green for poetry and drama. While this highlighted the different genres, all books in the series during this period were numbered to give

672-745: The company in 2001. Pearson purchased the UK, South African, Australian and New Zealand arms of Harcourt Education in May 2007, while Houghton Mifflin purchased the American operations a few months later. Pearson sold the school library publisher Heinemann-Raintree to Capstone Publishers in 2008. Egmont Group sold its UK book division to HarperCollins in 2020. Penguin Random House merged William Heinemann with Hutchinson to form Hutchinson Heinemann in 2021. In 1957, Heinemann Educational Books (HEB) created

714-506: The company, including Graham Greene , Edward Upward , J. B. Priestley and Vita Sackville-West . Throughout, the company was also known for its classics and international catalogue, and in the post-WWII era, the company focused on educational materials. Through the 1950s, the company was slowly taken over by Tilling Group 's investment arm. In 1953 they opened offices in The Hague for sales in continental Europe, and in 1978 they opened

756-711: The country's subsequent reunification on 14 May 2010; the play was part of festivities marking Cameroon's 50th year of independence from France. During a visit to Cameroon by Ban Ki-moon , the Secretary-General of the United Nations , the 80-year-old Oyono died suddenly in Yaoundé on 10 June 2010. Reportedly Oyono fell ill at the presidential palace after a reception for the Secretary-General; he received immediate medical attention and an ambulance

798-484: The early selections for the series will not reach the educational market, particularly after the inclusion of Zambia Shall Be Free . He begins collaborating with African and non-African academics to produce publications that would more clearly meet this aim. The first result is A Book of African Verse edited by Clive Wake and John Reed, teachers at the University College of Rhodesia . 1965 – Aigboje Higo

840-534: The early success of Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and continued for many years. However, it became clear very quickly that there were not enough works in English, so translations began to be made from French of works by Ferdinand Oyono , Mongo Beti and others. This was followed by translations from Portuguese, Zulu, Swahili, Acholi, Sesotho, Afrikaans, Luganda, and Arabic. At the same time, they published new authors. This started with Ngũgĩ, who helped to expand

882-441: The government to his advanced age and poor health. He had been criticised for reportedly not working at his ministry for months at a time. After leaving the government, Oyono was thought to retain a great deal of influence as "an unofficial adviser" to Biya. Biya appointed him as a roving ambassador on 30 June 2009. As the representative of President Biya, Oyono attended a play commemorating Cameroon's independence struggle and

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924-402: The left-hand page, and a literal translation on the right hand page. The series has been called "the most significant" of the parallel-text translations. Since 1934, it has been co-published with Harvard University . On Heinemann's death in 1920 a majority stake was purchased by U.S. publisher Doubleday , with Theodore Byard , who had previously been a professional singer, joining to lead

966-501: The office was associated with a weakening of it under President Biya; significantly, Oyono was moved from the Secretariat-General to an ordinary ministry—effectively a demotion. Although Oyono was dismissed from the government in 1990, he was subsequently appointed as Minister of Foreign Relations on 27 November 1992, serving in that position until he was instead named Minister of State for Culture on 8 December 1997. Oyono

1008-468: The offices. A subsidiary company was established in The Hague in 1953; originally intended to distribute works in English to continental Europe, it eventually began to directly print Heinemann's books as well. The company was later acquired by conglomerate Thomas Tilling in 1961. When the impending takeover became known, Graham Greene (who had been with Heinemann since his first work in 1929) led

1050-488: The reach of the series into East Africa. This approach provided opportunities for authors from across most of Africa. More than 80 titles published in the series were by Nigerian writers, who were followed by South Africans, Kenyans, Ghanaians, and Zimbabweans. In the first two decades, nearly all were men and it was only in the 1990s that books by women began to appear regularly. Some exceptions to this are early books by Flora Nwapa and Buchi Emecheta . Novels would make up

1092-724: The series have also won the Commonwealth Prize , the NOMA Award for African Writing, the Caine Prize for African Writing , and Guardian Fiction Prize . In 2002, at a celebration of Africa's 100 Best Books of the Twentieth Century, Heinemann was given a prize, as 12 of the titles chosen were from the series. A definitive bibliography of the series was prepared by Nourdin Bejjit as part of his PhD research at

1134-458: The series remain in print. 2003 – Heinemann announces no new titles will be added to the series. By 2008, only 64 titles remain in print. The African Writers Series reissued paperback editions of works previously only available as more expensive hardbacks, translated books that had been published in other languages, and published the first works of unknown writers. The decision to reissue paperback editions of English-language hardbacks followed

1176-636: The series, Myself a Mandarin and City of Broken Promises , became bestsellers, but the series, after publishing more than 70 titles, was to fold in 1984 when Heinemann Asia was taken over by a parent group of publishers. In 1970, the Caribbean Writers Series—modelled on the African Writers Series—was launched by James Currey and others at HEB to republish work by major Caribbean writers. Ferdinand Oyono Ferdinand Léopold Oyono (14 September 1929 – 10 June 2010 )

1218-466: The support of Akin Thomas, editorial director of HEB Nigeria. 1983 – Heinemann Group is taken over for the first time and goes through a series of takeovers in the coming years. 1984 – James Currey steps down after new management reduces new publications to only one or two a year. Of the 270 titles in the series, 15 are put out of print. 1986 – the series is relaunched by Vicky Unwin, who targets

1260-420: The western academic market due to the drop in spending in the African educational market. 1988 – Keith Sambrook steps down. 1992 – Caroline Avens begins to oversee the series, reducing the backlist and starting to publish more new authors. 1993 – Adewale Maja-Pearce appointed general editor. 1994 – Abdulrazak Gurnah appointed as editorial advisor. 2002 – Only 70 of the more than 300 titles in

1302-421: The writers of this Continent at the helm." Heinemann (publisher) Through the 1920s, the company was well known for publishing works by famous authors that had previously been published as serials . Among these were works by H. G. Wells , Rudyard Kipling , W. Somerset Maugham , George Moore , Max Beerbohm and Henry James , among others. This attracted new authors to publish their first editions with

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1344-581: Was Cameroon's Permanent Representative to the United Nations; he acted as President of the United Nations Security Council in place of the United Kingdom's Ivor Richard at the 1,866th meeting of the Security Council on 16 December 1975, and was Chairman of UNICEF from 1977 to 1978. From 1982 to 1985 he again served as ambassador to various countries: first as ambassador to Algeria and Libya, then as ambassador to

1386-518: Was a diplomat, politician and author from Cameroon . His literary work is recognised for a sense of irony that reveals how easily people can be fooled. Writing in French in the 1950s, Oyono had only a brief literary career, but his anti-colonialist novels are considered classics of 20th century African literature ; his first novel, Une vie de boy —published in 1956 and later translated as Houseboy —is considered particularly important. Beginning in

1428-797: Was a member of the Cameroonian delegation to the United Nations in 1960, when the country was admitted to the UN. Oyono subsequently served as Cameroon's ambassador to various countries from 1965 to 1974. He was briefly the Ambassador to Liberia in 1965, then served as ambassador to the Benelux countries and the European Communities from 1965 to 1968 and as ambassador to France, with additional accreditation for Spain, Italy, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, from 1969 to 1974. From 1974 to 1982 he

1470-652: Was a member of the National Commission for the co-ordination of President Biya's re-election campaign in the October 2004 presidential election and was the president of the campaign's support and follow-up committee in the South Province. After nearly ten years as Minister of State for Culture, Oyono was dismissed from the government on 7 September 2007. Oyono was thought to be a close friend of Paul Biya, and observers attributed his departure from

1512-484: Was called Oriental scholarship. When, two years after Trübner's death, his company was taken over by the firm of Kegan Paul , Heinemann left and founded William Heinemann Ltd in Covent Garden , London , in 1890. The first title published was Hall Caine 's The Bondman , which was a "stunning success", selling more than 450,000 copies. The company also released a number of works translated into English under

1554-553: Was called, but he quickly died. Later in the day, President Biya released a statement expressing sadness regarding Oyono's death, although the statement gave no details. Secretary-General Ban, meanwhile, expressed sadness during a speech to the National Assembly of Cameroon . An official funeral was held for Oyono with a series of events beginning on 24 June 2010 and concluding with his burial at Ngoazip, near Ebolowa, on 26 June. Oyono's novels were written in French in

1596-572: Was employed to produce cover photography, which began to replace the use of illustrations. In 1986, the design was changed to appeal more in western markets. Orange was replaced by a white background with a boxed abstract image. In 1993, it was changed again to incorporate full-colour images. The African Writers Series includes five winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature : Wole Soyinka (1986), Naguib Mahfouz (1988), Nadine Gordimer (1991), Doris Lessing (2007), and Abdulrazak Gurnah (2021). Books in

1638-764: Was put on the block. Heinemann was purchased by the Octopus Publishing Group in 1985, and shortly afterwards sold the sprawling Heinemann HQ in rural Kingswood, Surrey for development; Octopus was purchased by Reed International (now Reed Elsevier) in 1987. Heinemann Professional Publishing was merged with Butterworths Scientific in 1990 to form Butterworth-Heinemann . Random House bought Heinemann's trade publishing (now named William Heinemann) in 1997. Egmont Group bought Heinemann's children's publishing and Macmillan Education bought Heinemann ELT in 1998. Remaining Heinemann's educational unit became part of Harcourt Education when Reed Elsevier purchased

1680-455: Was sold to Macmillan Education in 1998. Eventually, the rest of international division was sold to Pearson Education and the US division to Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2007. Most of these successors (with exception of Macmillan Education) continue to use the imprint. William Heinemann began working in the publishing industry under Nicolas Trübner , who was a major publisher of what

1722-405: Was the publisher of William Ernest Henley 's periodical New Review . In the late 1890s, Heinemann and the American publisher Frank Doubleday financially supported Joseph Conrad during his initial attempt at writing what eventually became The Rescue , and Heinemann was the British publisher for Conrad's The Nigger of the 'Narcissus' in 1897. One of the company's businesses at that time

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1764-592: Was to sell English books to a Japan that was beginning to be interested in items of Western culture. Heinemann sold to the Japanese bookstore Maruzen translations of the works of Dostoyevsky and 5000 copies of Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution by Peter Kropotkin. In 1912, the company began publishing the Loeb Classical Library series, publications of ancient works with the Greek or Latin text on

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