Two publishers, Lagos-based Ouida Books imprint Tanja and Nairobi-based Paivapo, are collaborating on a new anthology of children’s stories. Edited by the Nairobi-based Gambian journalist and media trainer Maimouna Jallow, Story Story, Story Come collects 12 folktales by writers from across the continent: South Sudan, Nigeria, South Africa, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Zambia, Cameroon, and Zimbabwe. The stories “take us on journeys to Mali, Niger, the Sahara Desert, the Caribbean and the Americas. They celebrate our continent, pay homage to our traditional art forms, our history and our stories.”

Paivapo, founded by novelist Zukiswa Wanner, will publish the anthology in East Africa, and Tanja, an imprint of Ouida Books, founded by Lola Shoneyin, will do the same in West Africa. In both regions, it will appear on 15 December. In South Africa, however, it will be out on 3 December.

The stories are illustrated by Olusayo Ajeniunmobi. The cover image is by Shubnum Khan and its graphic design is by Megan Ross. So far, the anthology has been translated into isiXhosa, by Siphiwo Mahala and Mandla Matyumza, as Chosi Ntsomi, and into Shona, by Wanner, as Paivapo, Dzepfunde. There are plans for it to be translated into KiSwahili, Tshivenda, Ndebele, and Bemba. 

Story Story, Story Come will be launched on 15 December at the Re-Imagined Storytelling Festival in Nairobi.

Find out more on Re-Imagined Stories.