Call for applications: LABAF 2013

The Lagos Book & Art Festival, or LABAF as it’s often called, is a landmark event on Nigeria’s cultural calendar with sprawling book displays, exhibitions, live music and drama performances and of course, nuanced literary events that take time out to dig deep into the content of books.

According to CORA Art & Cultural Foundation, the organizers of the festival, "LABAF is self-styled as Africa’s Biggest Culture Picnic because we don’t just put together a book fair, a performance concert, a literary festival or an art expo. What we do is a healthy fusion of all four in a festival atmosphere, and for the past 14 years, the festival has become an important destination for families, literary and art enthusiasts, culture producers, children and even lovers. We have had people who came as children years ago still attending now as young adults. We have also had people who met at the festival grounds for the first time years ago, still attending as married couples. What keeps them coming back is the way the festival allows them to engage with culture in a fun atmosphere - that is why it is Africa’s Biggest Culture Picnic.”

The CORA Publishers' Forum is a key event which happens during the course of the festival. The Publishers’ Forum provides a concentrated space for key publishers in Nigeria to gain critical insight into their current operations within the context of the challenges facing their industry, brainstorm on their findings and identify key steps that can be taken as individual businesses or as a collective to improve their bottom line. The aim of the publisher’s forum is to help the nation’s book industry thrive.
The Publishers' Forum is to be seen as a 'focus group' or a strategy session with key facilitators as guides. The forum is targeted at principals of publishing houses who seek to grow their market and are willing to engage in creative thinking towards identifying strategies that can make this possible for them whether within a collective or through their individual operations. The expectation is that cogent strategies would emerge from the session which can be immediately implemented or could be built upon in future.

Up to 8 publishers will be selected for the invitation programme; the invited publishing houses will present their publications at an African Collective Stand at the Book Fair.

The grant comprises of travel costs to Lagos, participation in a workshop on 13.11. & 14.11.2013, a stand at LABAF and accommodation & daily allowance during the workshop and the Book Fair (12 – 17.11.2013). Costs for the transportation of books and other materials to be exhibited as well as costs related to the participation are not covered.

All publishing houses from sub-Saharan Africa (except Nigeria) may apply for the grant. Priority will be given to smaller and innovative publishing houses with a range of publications that are of interest to the Nigerian, as well as to the African book market.

Publishers producing mainly text books will not be considered. Publishers who have not yet participated in LABAF will be given precedence. The grant is restricted to one person per publishing house and is not transferable to a fellow employee.

Please note that the language of communication during the fair is English, which means that a good command of the English language is an essential requirement for each participant. For selected participants it is mandatory to participate during the entire period covered by the invitation programme (13 – 17.11.2013).
All interested candidates across Sub-Saharan Africa, please fill in the form and email it to the Goethe-Institut Nigeria, Att.: Ms Cathrene Okoh.

Deadline for all applications is 22.07.2013.