The continent’s writers are being celebrated, but only for catering to Western tastes.
In this compelling article, African author Nwaubani conveys his concern with the idea that African writers are primarily writing stories for Western audiences and not African audiences. Due to the lack of publishing infrastructure within Africa, the success of African authors seems to rely on gaining the approval of Western publishing companies. He claims that successful African authors have learned to tailor their stories to a Western audience by resorting to the same stereotypes that Africans resent. Until Africa has its own successful publishing industries, African authors will continue to vie for Western support and will never truly write stories for their fellow Africans.