Kenya Publishers Association website ... needs an uplift

As an avowed book enthusiast, any news on that revered product always catches my eye; so it was that I came across this news item in today's Daily Nation, 'Book on female cut wins annual prize.'
It said Blossoms of the Savannah by Henry Ole Kulet and published by Longhorn Publishers had won the Jomo Kenyatta Literary Prize in the English category. It added that Dr K. W. Wamitila's Unaitwa Nani? published by Vide Mua won in the Kiswahili category. Winners got Ksh150,000 each.
Just like that.
I wanted more: who had won in what category, what the judges said, what the winners said, how the books are doing in the market name it. Where else to look for this than the Kenya Publishers Association website, www.kenyapublishers.org?.
I didn't have it offhead so I googled, got it, clicked and voila, I was in.
Simple enough, not complicated and not self-praising.

About us. Objectives. Partners. members. Photo Gallery.
Upcoming events. View members.

Then the usual: 'To advertise your book here call this number or that number.'
Each of these sections is detailed kiasi cha haja, as they say in our numerous Swahili Bulletins. For instance, KPA has 17 objectives, the second of which is 'to promote and protect by all lawful means the interests of the publishing industry in Kenya.' Very nice.
Its partners are listed as the African Publishers Network, The International Publishers Association, the Kenya Booksellers and Stationers Association, Kenya Institute of Education, KOPIKEN, The Ministry of Education and the National Book Development Council of Kenya. Again, good and encouraging - so they are not in some cocoon of a kind?
Anyway, what left a bitter taste in the mouth was the absence of information on the 2009 Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature Literature. All I got was:

Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature Award (JKPLA)
The Judging of the JKPLA is on going and winners will be
announced during the closing ceremony of the 12th Nairobi International Bookfair
on Saturday, 26th September 2009. The total titles received for the the prize
were 65, 34 English and 31 in Kiswahili covering Adult, Youth and Children
categories.

Period. Nothing more, not even the full list of the nominees!
I thought, well, being publishers - and not lawyers - they felt no need for full disclosure. Those who need to know, know; the rest, well, they can jump into the nearest pond. I need to know. I need the details - just for the heck of it especially considering my fascination with the industry and its products.
Anyway, let's forgive KPA for that omission, let's even overlook the fact that in the Jomo Kenyatta notice on their website they wrote 'received' as 'recieved.' Never mind that it is only at a KPA member's office that you will find a collection, nay, concentration of copyeditors and proof readers.
What I can't forgive them for are the typos that litter the captions in the photo gallery; to say nothing of the poor quality of the pictures.
Here:

Mananging Director (Managing Director)
Mrs. Nacy Karimi (Nancy Karimi)
Flaging off (Flagging off)
Macmillain (Macmillan)
Mrs. Mary Mumbuthia (Mbuthia)

I was just wondering: Do KPA members ever visit their site? When they do, do they smile at the kind of typos, poor pictures, dearth of info and outright 'just there like a debe' feeling of the site?

Government vs Publishers: All about the money

Before the ink dried on my last post, Kenyan publishers were already up in arms over the government's plans to stop buying textbooks for public schools starting next year.
The government insists the books purchased so far are enough while the publishers say more books are needed to meet an acceptable pupil-student ratio.
In a sentence: The government doesn't want to spend a shilling more on the book-purchase deal while the publishers want the government to buy even more books.
Poor publishers, what to do!

Cast:
Sam Ongeri, Education Minister: Schools are already saturated with books and buying more would not make any sense
Calistus Mwatela, Education Assistant Minister: The books the government bought for schools since the launch of the Free Primary Education in 2003, were enough to sustain Education - books last (sic) more than any other educational materials.
Nancy Karimi, Kenya Publishers Association boss: The books available per pupil in the country's public schools do not even meet the required standards. The ratio of books-to-pupils in lower primary should not be higher than 3:1 while that of upper primary learners should not exceed 2:1. The government should rethink its decision or lese publishers maybe forced out of business come next year.
John Mwazemba, Macmillan Kenya Publishers Ltd: All one needs to do to prove Prof Ongeri wrong is to visit any public school in the country.
Kakai Karani, Longman Publishers: KPA has made attempts to engage the government in dialogue over the issue but no progress has been made yet.

Additional information:
No. of pupils: Over 8million
Amount of grant:Ksh6 billion
Allocation per child: Ksh650 for learning materials; Ksh 350 for water, electricity and security

Nairobi International Book Fair is here

The 2009 Nairobi International Book Fair is finally here.
I may not attend it but the thought of 25 per cent discount on all books ... I may just attend.
It is coming at a time when the economy is really down.
However, for the book industry, the real concerns are on the unavailability of school texts at two levels:
a) Books for form 3s in Maths and Science - the new syllabus are said to be eithr not there or for those that are there, so inadequate in terms of content.
b) There are complains of a poor students to book ratio. While the publishers say the ratio is still dismal, the Ministry fo Education insists the books are enough and that the funds should now be channeled to other non-book school facilities.
Let's see what the book fair brings up...

Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature - Nominees

The nominees for the Jomo Kenyatta Prize for Literature have been announced.
Here they are, courtesy of Jos Ngunjiri's Maisha yetu blog (http://kenyanbooks.wordpress.com):
1. Adult English Category (Ksh150,000)
a) Hawecha (Longhorn) by Rhodia Mann,
b) Blossoms of the Savannah (Longhorn) by H.R. Ole Kulet
c) The Big Chiefs (EAEP) by Meja Mwangi.

2. Adult Kiswahili Category (Ksh150,000)
a) Kala Tufaha (Phoenix) by Babu Omar
b) Vipanya Vya Maabara (JKF) by Mwendah Mbatiah
c) Unaitwa Nani (Vide Muwa) by Kyalo Wamitila.

3. English Youth Category (Ksh75,000)
a) Lake of Smoke (Phoenix) by Julius Kibera
b) Walk with me Angela (KLB) by Stephen Mugambi.

4. Kiswahili Youth Category (Ksh 75,000)
a) Ngoma za Uchawi (KLB) by Atibu Bakari
b) Kisasi Hapana (OUP) by Ken Walibora
c) Sitaki Iwe Siri (Longhorn) by Bitugi Matundura.

5. Children English category
a) A Mule Called Christmas (Phoenix) by Nyambura Mpesha
b) The Prize (OUP) by Elizabeth Kabui
c) On the Run (OUP) by Mwaura Muigania.

The winners will be announced on Saturday, September 26 at Avalon Restaurant along Riverside Drive.

All the best guys

Successful business book

Here:
http://blog.800ceoread.com/2009/09/15/recipe-for-a-successful-business-book/

Recipe For a Successful Business Bookby Todd Sattersten
David Galanis at the Peeble Creek Partners Blog shares the secret to creating a successful business book:
Start with multiple authors – including an academic from a prestigious business school and a seasoned business consultant plus a business journalist from a major newspaper or magazine (someone has to actually write the book).
Using free graduate student talent from the B-school, develop a database of the performance of thousands of companies over the past decade – more if you want to sound really authoritative. Be sure to select a few unique performance metrics to differentiate your results from all the other formulaic books.
Select the top performing companies and “study” them to determine why they are better than the others. Interviews and visits make things sound much more legitimate. Use “strategy”, “execution”, and “management talent” as this makes for good reading and advice. Always avoid “a great market”, “favorable economic factors”, “lousy competitors”, and “luck” to explain success.
Develop a list of between 8 and 12 characteristics (the chapters of the book) and expound on them. It always helps to close each chapter with a summary list or two so readers of your book can copy it and pass it around at management meetings to impress their peers.
Come up with a catchy title; get a few quotes for the back cover; and publish. Then go on a brief book tour to business meetings around the country; trash the prior books; and wait for