About Kurukan Publishing

WHO WE ARE

A Publishing House for All of Africa

Kurukan Publishing is an independent pan-African publishing house founded on a conviction that is both simple and radical: every African deserves to access literature and knowledge in their own language.

Africa speaks in thousands of voices. From North to South, from the Arabic of the Maghreb to the Zulu of the Cape; from East to West, from Amharic to Wolof, this continent carries within it an extraordinary linguistic wealth that the world has barely begun to hear. Our mission is to ensure that this wealth becomes a strength, not a barrier.

We publish today in French, English and Portuguese. But our ambition goes far beyond these three languages inherited from colonial history. Each title we publish is a step toward our true objective: a publishing house that belongs to all of Africa, in all of its languages.

WHY KURUKAN?

The Kurukan Fuga Charter (1236)

In 1236, after his victory at Kirina, Emperor Soundjata Keïta gathered representatives from across the Mali Empire at Kurukan Fuga. There, they proclaimed a charter of 44 articles establishing:

  • Protection of the weak, women, and children
  • Social justice and equity
  • Preservation of knowledge and oral tradition
  • Environmental stewardship
  • Freedom of expression and trade

This charter predates the European Enlightenment by five centuries and embodies values that remain universal today.

Our Name, Our Mission

We chose “Kurukan” because our work as publishers mirrors the Charter’s original purpose: preserving and transmitting knowledge across generations.

Just as the Charter was passed down orally for 800 years through griots (traditional storytellers), we transmit African thought through the written word—making it accessible to readers worldwide.

Kurukan Publishing is more than a name. It’s a commitment to intellectual decolonization and authentic African voices.

UNESCO Recognition

In 2009, UNESCO inscribed the Kurukan Fuga Charter on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, recognizing its significance as one of the earliest formulations of human rights and democratic governance.

OUR CATALOG

Three Domains, One Continent

Our editorial choices are guided by one question: what does Africa need to read, think, and build?

Fiction

Contemporary and historical novels, chronicles and literary works that explore African realities in their full complexity — not the Africa of stereotypes, but the Africa of lived experience.

Essays

Critical analyses of governance, economics, society and the contemporary challenges facing the continent. Texts that ask difficult questions and propose structural answers.

Social Sciences

Rigorous research on politics, finance, technology, artificial intelligence and the transformations reshaping African societies. Knowledge that serves the continent’s sovereignty.

OUR DIFFERENCE

What Sets Us Apart

Kurukan Publishing does not define Africa by the languages of its colonizers. We define it by its own voices, all of them.

  • Simultaneous Multilingual Publishing: Every title is published simultaneously in multiple languages, guaranteeing equal quality and access across linguistic communities.
  • Pan-African Distribution: Our books are available through platforms adapted to each geographic region, with pricing in local currencies (FCFA, Naira, Kwanza, Euros, Dollars, Reais) and payment methods suited to each market including mobile money across the continent.
  • An Expanding Linguistic Horizon: We publish today in French, English and Portuguese. Arabic, Swahili, Hausa and other major African languages are on our roadmap. We move deliberately, one language at a time, toward a truly continental catalog.

  • Editorial Independence: As an independent publisher, we answer only to the quality of the work and the relevance of our mission. No external agenda shapes our editorial choices.