How many Kenyans knew in the past week – September 24-28 – that the Nairobi International Book Fair happened at the Sarit Centre in Westlands, Nairobi? How many journalists knew that this event happened? If they did, how many radio stations, TV stations, newspapers and online media reported this annual event?
Why would the book fair be worth bothering about? Because anyone in the media industry needs literate audiences. The media needs readers and listeners who understand what they are reporting. They need audiences with capacity for critical evaluation of the content produced by writers and journalists.
So, why does the Nairobi International Book Fair receive little coverage in the media over the days it happens over the years? Shouldn’t this event be a major news item in this country, considering that it is probably the biggest book fair in Eastern Africa? Shouldn’t it be widely reported because it is where authors meet readers, writers meet publishers, publishers meet printers and booksellers meet book buyers?
The book fair is not just a place where books and people with interest converge. It is also a seeding ground for future writers. It is a fertile ground for business ideas and projects in the book industry, which include manufacturers of products that go into book production and service providers to the industry. It also offers opportunity for the local book industry, writers, critics and enthusiasts, to meet with their counterparts from beyond the borders of the country.
The book fair should be a major part of the cultural calenders of Nairobi and the country. What are the items on Nairobi’s cultural calender? What would the concerned government officials offer a visitor to this country as a cultural menu in the course of the year? A visit to the Mara? The Maasai curio market? The famous Carnivore experience? Visit to the beaches at the Coast?
If the government were to finally have a cultural calender, the Nairobi International Book Fair must be a key item on it. Why? Because it is free. It showcases the best of Kenya’s writing. It is right in the city and next to all other attractions of Nairobi and Kenya. It is a great space for networking with the global publishing industry.
The media has to invest more in this book fair if it wishes to contribute to a sustained reading culture in a country, where every now and then some politician or government official or ordinary Kenyan complains about a poor reading culture. The media has always been a big promoter of literacy. It must play this role all the time.
