It is this Sunday March 17 that the third edition of the Paris African Book Fair ends. Since Friday, around thirty conferences have allowed the public to discover renowned African authors and others less known. Also on the program are signing sessions. More than 250 authors are invited. The event takes place in the heart of the French capital, in the town hall of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.
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Behind a table adorned with the colors of Côte d’Ivoire, guest country of the third edition of the African Book Fair, Pierrette Faust is all smiles. A successful French-speaking author in her country, she is proud to present her novels in Paris: “ The French language does not belong to us, but we have appropriated this language and we try to convey our ideas, our sensitivities through this language. »
In the aisles of the exhibition rooms, Hubert Diabiré, a great fan of historical books, discovered, surprised, the profusion of works on the displays: “ Back in the day, I read a lot of African books, but for a while now, I haven’t been interested, so I don’t know the current authors. »
Asked if for him, this show is a sort of chance to discover new authors, Hubert Diabiré adds: “ Oh yes, I think so. I discovered this, by chance, when they are in the 3rd edition. This is the first time I have come to this show. »
The African Book Fair includes 80 publishers, around thirty of whom come especially from Africa, 250 invited authors, a quarter of whom are self-published.
Érick Monjour, head of the Show, considers that “ this allows many authors to be able to present books, to have the pleasure of writing without waiting for a publisher to accept them and that, he adds it’s new because today we have printing-on-demand possibilities that didn’t exist before. »
This method is regularly used for children’s books and is a way to bring a new audience to reading.
Youth comics and African superheroes
Junior Mac Donald Beckley is author and illustrator of Muntu Warriors, a children’s comic book which features African superheroes. Self-published in France, he has so far sold 2,500 copies of his works. With his comics, he wants to convey African stories, tales and legends throughout the world.
I did market research to see what people would like to see and, the majority, it was African superheroes. I grew up with manga, comics and cartoons until today and that’s what gave me my passion.
Junior Macdonald Beckley, author and illustrator
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