Booksellers have warned that poor distribution, high transport costs, weak promotion, rising production costs and strained partnerships are undermining the country’s publishing and bookselling ecosystem.
They gave the warning during a panel session at the 5th National Conference on Reading and Annual General Meeting of the Network of Book Clubs and Reading Promoters (NBRP) in Abuja on Thursday.
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Dotun Eyintade, Chief Executive Officer of Rovingheights Bookstore, said bookstores are more than just sellers of books but critical connectors between publishers and readers.
“Bookstores are probably just the point where readers come to buy books. But they are also places where we create community,” Mr Eyintade said.
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He explained that book clubs, reviews and in-store conversations help readers discover books and each other, keeping reading culture alive even as more interaction shifts online.
Hauwa Aliyu, CEO of Adams Pages Bookstore, said her store has invested in building literary communities, creating vibrant book clubs and initiating school reading competitions.
These, she noted, help young people build confidence in themselves and help grow into future leaders.
Distribution and promotion woes
Despite their role, booksellers said the industry faces major challenges in distribution, promotion and affordability.
Ms Aliyu explained that high transportation costs have made it increasingly difficult to move books from Lagos to other parts of the country, especially Abuja.
“Sometimes, the cost of logistics consumes most of the profit. By the time the books get to us, the margins are almost gone,” she said.
She also stressed that publishers need to support promotion more actively. “For a book to gain visibility, there has to be buzz from the publishers, authors, and bookstores. Social media alone cannot carry the weight.”
The bookseller also urged publishers to treat them as partners rather than bypass them in school supply deals, warning that coordinated marketing and distribution strategies are needed for success.
“Publishers should invest in coordinated marketing and sensible release-day distribution so bookstores can plan inventory and events,” she said.
Self-publishing and marketing
Comfort Chenge, founder and managing director of Fordham Publishers, highlighted the growing challenges of self-publishing, particularly marketing and distribution.
Ms Chenge said many first-time authors are excited to see their manuscripts in print but are often left with unsold copies stacked in their homes for years.
She explained that her company has developed a model where self-publishing authors can also opt for structured marketing services, ensuring their books reach schools and relevant audiences.
“It is very important for both authors and publishers to think about the audience first, and to create structures for distribution,” Ms Chenge added.
Booksellers also advised independent authors to prepare detailed proposals and commit to sustained promotion beyond book launches.
“We want to work with authors who are serious about promoting their books beyond the launch event,” Mr Eyintade said.
Rising costs and accountability
Patrick Oguejiofor, publisher at Mazariya Books and a former Chairperson of the Association of Nigerian Authors, said the collapse of Nigeria’s once-robust distribution networks has worsened the challenges facing the industry.
“Books are poorly distributed. The big publishing companies had strong networks in the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s, but many of them have disappeared,” he said.
Mr Oguejiofor argued that even books of average quality can find readers if distribution is functional.
“What Nigerians are looking for are books that are well designed and accessible. Without a proper distribution network, even the best manuscripts will not reach their market,” he noted.
Ms Chenge also drew attention to affordability, saying rising paper and printing costs have driven up book prices.
She urged schools and parents to buy directly from publishers to avoid unnecessary markup costs by middlemen and called for stronger regulation to distinguish genuine publishers from printers posing as publishers.
The way forward
Kabura Zakama, Coordinating Director of Kairos Tablets and Scrolls Limited, said only collaboration across the book value chain can sustain Nigeria’s reading culture.
Mr Zakama noted that without collaboration, no individual person, publisher, writer, library, would be able to develop any audience.
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He said, “When we all work together, then we will be able to develop a larger audience for our books.”
He explained that while book launches often attract large donations, the donated copies rarely reach those who need them most. Therefore, calling for deliberate efforts to channel books into schools and libraries so that readers, not just donors, benefit.
“The one who gives five million for ten copies is not going to read one page. We need to ensure books are reaching real audiences, young people, students, and libraries where they can be freely accessed,” Mr Zakama said.
The sessions closed with a call for authors, publishers, booksellers and libraries to strengthen partnerships and develop concrete models for distribution, affordability and accountability.
“You don’t have to own it to read. But unless authors, publishers, booksellers and libraries work together, we cannot build the audiences we need for a true reading nation,” Mr Zakama said.
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