Needed; Book Readers and Publishers in Uganda

We attended a book fair  held on the 14th March 2014 at the Uganda Manufacturer's Association  Show Grounds in Lugogo, Kampala, Uganda.
The book fair was a quiet affair attended by not more than 200 people in the time I was there. The publishers who made their appearance included Moran Publishers, Fountain Publishers, Vision, Femrite and a lot of newer publishing groups like MK and Longhorn. The effort made was very commendable; by the organizers and the publishers who bought stalls. They deserve great thanks. The future of book publishing in Uganda looks bright but could be brighter. More numbers at the book fair would have made us more sure about that.

The Ugandan community needs more readers and more people who can share their resources by helping people and children especially to read. The city lacks libraries.  It is a glaring absence. The one or two public libraries available cannot even attempt to cater to the population of two million plus people in Kampala.   An organization called Children International Uganda is doing something extra for book reading and had a booth at the show. They have box libraries and support different people to host small reading groups mainly for children. It is a great idea that will hopefully expose more children ( and adults) to book reading beyond the curriculum textbooks and  will increase the book reading culture in Uganda. We need it, all societies need a book writing and book reading culture. We hope that at Noonya Books we will contribute to that movement; towards more reading and more reading material accessibility for our communities.

Best,

Noonya Books