Heinemann’s African Writers Series and the Rise of James Ngugi

Abstract

Of the 359 books that constitute the bulk of Heinemann Educational Books’ (HEB) influential African Writers Series (AWS), a number of noted volumes have received considerable critical attention. There has been far less academic interest in the global history of the series and the particular circumstances of how each volume of this series came into existence. Even scholars who have produced biographies of some prominent African writers like Chinua Achebe and Ngugi1 have, curiously enough, overlooked their correspondence with the publishers. Other critics who tried to investigate the connections between Heinemann and African literature eventually put forward some controversial and unverified conclusions devoid of solid archival information to back their hypothetical arguments.