Arts Diaspora
Nana Ayebia Clarke, a Ghanaian publisher who teamed up with her British husband to set up Ayebia Clarke Publishing in 2003 in Oxford, UK, has been so successful in publishing cutting-edge African books that even Queen Elizabeth II has taken notice. In her New Year Honours List, the Queen made Nana Ayebia (herself a Queen in her native Ghana) an honorary MBE (Member of the British Empire). Tom Mbakwe tells the story of the woman who has always worked with books.
Arise Nana Ayebia
British publishing, the Ghanaian-born Nana Ayebia Clarke turned her full attention to telling the African story in 2003 when she started her own publishing house in Ox- fordshire in the UK. It is a task she has so far accomplished with great aplomb. It thus came as no surprise when the
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Queen of England, in recognition of her achievements, awarded her an honorary MBE for her contribution to the British publishing industry. Now she has set her sights on the transformation of the African literary landscape, and she is doing it with remarkable effect. Interestingly she is also a Queenmother of her paternal hometown of Larteh, enstooled in 2006. Her traditional title is Nana Ama Ayebia I, Adantahemea of Akuapem Guan (a warrior queen). Nana Ayebia was among 47 individu-
als on the Queen’s New Year Honours list who received various categories of award in April. Reacting to the news of the ac- colade, Nana Ayebia, who has been in the publishing industry since 1991, said: “I am deeply honoured and humbled. Te award is an acknowledgement of the huge con- tributions that Ghanaians and Africans in the Diaspora are making to world knowl- edge. Ghana made me. I dedicate this award to Ghana and all Ghanaians, and especially to my husband David, and my son Kweku.” She commended Ghanaian and African
92 | June 2011 New African
O A LARGE EXTENT IT HAS BEEN a veritable homecoming of an illustrious daughter of Africa. Having cut her literary teeth in the highly competitive world of
writers, teachers, academics and critics, who often work in difficult and sometimes restrictive conditions, for their unwavering commitment to telling African stories; and praised the reading public for sustaining the African book market. “It is proof that Africans are capable of engineering and managing their own institutions to the highest standards,” she said, adding: “Te award will inspire me to become even more radical in my approach, in the selection and publication of works that speak to an authentic African sensibility in a progres- sive way, by encouraging writers to be bold and fearless in their portrayal of the African identity in all its ramifications.” Nana Ayebia’s background serves her
well. She holds a BA (Hons) from the Open University and a Masters degree from the University of Oxford. She worked as the literature submissions editor for the fa- mous Heinemann African and Caribbean Writers Series at Oxford for 12 years, where she was part of a team that published and promoted a vast list of prominent African and Caribbean writers, including Nobel prize-winning authors Wole Soyinka and Derek Walcott, Chinua Achebe, Ama Ata Aidoo, Nadine Gordimer, Ayi Kwei Armah, Buchi Emecheta, Ngugi wa Tiong’o, Kofi Awoonor, Kofi Anyidoho and others. After the African Writers Series stopped pub- lishing new work, Nana Ayebia founded Ayebia Clarke Publishing Limited with her husband David in October 2003 as a way of promoting new talent and taking African writing and publishing to new heights.
Before emigrating to the UK in 1974, she worked as a sales assistant at a United Trad- ing Company (UTC) departmental store in Accra where she sold copies of the famous African Writers Series. Driven by passion, she has remained on a career path that gives her meaning.
Within a short time, Ayebia Clarke Pub- lishing has established itself as a leading international brand of quality that publishes African and Caribbean literature from both established and new authors, thereby filling the huge gap left by Heinemann. Distri- bution and marketing channels span the globe, covering Africa, the UK, Europe, the USA and other parts of North America. Ayebia Clarke books, rooted in the African identity, seek to bring a wealth of African ex- periences to world audiences and strategically focus their sales on schools, colleges, and universities for adoption on curriculum reading lists. What drives her quest? In a recent interview, Nana Ayebia said she would like to see more narratives ex- perimenting with form and breaking new ground and generally pushing forward the boundaries – stories that are steeped in African sensibil- ity and cross boundaries and locales. She would also like to see more African publishers, editors, booksellers, review-
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