eBook Initiatives
Posted on 7th April 2016
Having discovered that piracy and high distribution costs prevents books written by African authors from being widely available and read, we started searching for a new way of doing things. Our hope is that by joining forces with others, we will once again ignite the magic of storytelling and make this accessible to a new generation of African children.
Innovative new ways to read and enjoy stories.
Title: LAGOS_2060
Publisher: DADA books (Design And Dream Arts Enterprises)
ISBN:978-978-934-411-6
Genre: Short Stories
Length: 218 pages
Format: ebook
Projected publication date: October 2013
LAGOS_2060 is an anthology of eight science-fiction short stories set in Lagos, Nigeria in 2060. The date was not chosen at random: 2060 will be the 100 year anniversary of Nigeria’s independence from British rule. This book grants its reader insight into the ways Nigerians perceive their most populous megacity, as well as their future. It was written with passion: Fred Nwonwu, the author of “Annihilation”, points out that “Writing fiction in Nigeria is more of passion than an economic pursuit”.
In 2010, eight writers came together to contribute stories to an anthology on fictional / futuristic takes on the city of Lagos via a workshop tagged LAGOS_2060, conceived to commemorate Nigeria’s golden jubilee. We asked ourselves, what will Lagos evolve into in the next fifty years taking into consideration the mega city’s rich history and on-going urban renewal efforts by the State Government? What will it be like to live in Lagos 100 years after Nigeria gained independence from the British?
The anthology that grew out of the workshop is telling in the different versions of the future it foretells. In LAGOS_2060, an unusual scenario planning exercise achieved through the power and magic of a creative writing programme; there are climate change induced natural disasters actively plugged by doomsday preachers of the day, there are serious government institutions involved in first rate science and more often than not, these institutions tackle and solve the energy crisis to various degrees of success. There are wars and near wars as Lagos threatens to secede from the Nigerian state to have full control of its own economy. There are robots, amphibious speed trains, psychedelic drugs and highly trained security operatives with conflicts of interest, but more importantly, there are the ubiquitous Lagos people, whose industry and inventiveness seems largely unchanged, despite how much their city has travailed in the intervening half century.
The Africa Micro Book Series
As a way to stimulate reading and efficient distribution of ebooks, Afrelib is working in partnership with DADA books and Gluejar in developing crowdfunding campaigns to release creative commons ebooks over the next few months.
The Afrelib sponsored campaigns would be used to raise a fixed amount in return for releasing an Unglued Ebook to the public domain. The campaign would allow users to purchase and download ebook copies. In return, DADA books would agree to issue an Unglued Ebook when a set number of copies of the book have been purchased by individuals (say, 200) through the Unglue.it campaign. All sales of the current, non-CC licensed ebook (with Social DRM) would be final, even if the campaign goal is not reached.
The “Buy-to-Unglue” Campaign would allow readers to sample the book, so that they are buying a known quantity, but no additional premiums would be offered. The price for each download would be no less than the list price for the ebook in the retail. Multiple copies could be purchased and “gifted” (for example, sponsoring a class adoption).
Afrelib will donate up to 10 tablets pre-loaded with the ebooks to partner schools in support of this campaign.
Our Partners
About DADA books:
Established in Nigeria in 2008, DADA books is the publishing arm of Design And Dream Arts Enterprises. Buoyed by the success of our first five titles -The Abyssinian Boy (novel) by Onyeka Nwelue, I am memory (poetry) by Jumoke Verissimo, A Fistful of Tales (short stories) by Ayodele Arigbabu, The Land of Kalamandahoo (childrens’ adventure story) by Ruby Igwe and The Funeral Did Not End (short stories) by Sylva Nze Ifedigbo, we are constantly driven by our passion for breaking fresh talent on the scene and developing titles that derive from popular culture and will appeal to a mass audience.
About Unglueit
Unglue.it is a place for individuals and institutions to join together to make their favorite ebooks free to the world. We work with authors, publishers, or other rights holders who decide on fair compensation for releasing a free, legal edition of their already-published books, under Creative Commons licensing. Then pledges and sales build toward that sum. When the threshold is reached, we make sure the rights holder issues an unglued digital edition; you’re free to read and share it, with everyone, on the device of your choice, worldwide.