The Kenyan publishing industry stands at a crossroads – one defined not by innovation or growth, but by disunity, confusion, and self-inflicted wounds. For years, publishers have lamented dwindling government tenders and missed opportunities. Yet, the greatest enemy of publishing today isn’t policy or funding delays – it’s the publishers themselves. Selfishness. Greed. Undercuttings.
With the recent release of KPEEL funds targeting over 20 counties to boost literacy and learning outcomes, one would have expected publishers to rally together, present a united front and maximize returns through structured distribution channels. Instead, what we see is chaos: publishers undercutting one another, offering direct discounts to schools and sidelining bookshops and other distributors l – the very lifeblood of the school book ecosystem.
In their rush to chase short-term sales, publishers have forgotten a fundamental truth: bookshops run schools. These retail partners are the bridge between publishers and the classrooms that keep the industry alive. Undercutting them doesn’t just destroy the market structure – it dismantles decades of trust, partnership and efficiency in book distribution.
This same disunity has already cost the industry billions. When publishers failed to present a coordinated approach in previous government tenders, the result was predictable – confusion, rejection and loss. Now history threatens to repeat itself, this time under the guise of “aggressive marketing.” What good is competition when it cannibalizes your own industry?
Even more worrying is the silence from the Kenya Publishers Association (KPA) – the moribund and toothless dog. Where are the leaders who should be setting boundaries, enforcing fair play and protecting the integrity of the trade? Their silence has created a vacuum – one now filled by a few greedy players whose self-interest threatens to collapse the very system that sustains them.
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The Booksellers Association, once a powerful voice in the industry, faded away due to similar internal divisions. Are publishers heading down the same road? If they don’t wake up now, the publishing landscape could soon resemble the ruins of what was once a proud, united and profitable sector.
It’s time for publishers to remember the power of unity – to respect the chain that feeds them and to rebuild trust with bookshops. The government has opened the door through literacy funding; whether publishers walk through it together or trip over each other’s feet will determine the future of Kenyan education publishing.
The message is simple: United, publishers thrive. Divided, they perish.
By Ashford Kimani
Ashford teaches English and Literature in Gatundu North Sub-county and serves as Dean of Studies.
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