James Currey

James Currey is an academic publishing imprint specializing in African studies and African literature. The company was established in 1984 by James Currey, a South African-born publisher whose earlier career had been closely connected with African literary publishing. Since 2008, the imprint has operated within Boydell & Brewer, while retaining its distinctive editorial identity and its emphasis on scholarship about Africa and the African diaspora. Currey’s professional formation began at the Cape Town office of Oxford University Press. He later worked in London with The New African, a liberal publication that had moved into exile after facing apartheid-era repression in South Africa. During this period he encountered and helped present the work of writers including Chinua Achebe, Bessie Head, Wole Soyinka, Dennis Brutus, Zeke Mphahlele, and James Ngugi, later known as Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. This literary and political experience shaped his approach to publishing African writing and scholarship. Currey joined Heinemann Educational Books and, from 1967, helped manage the African Writers Series with Keith Sambrook. The series played an important role in bringing modern African literature, particularly English-language writing, to wider international readerships after the Second World War. Currey’s later independent company extended that commitment beyond literary fiction into academic disciplines and research fields. Its publishing program has covered anthropology, archaeology, history, politics, economics, development studies, gender studies, literature, theatre, film studies, and the humanities and social sciences more broadly. A central characteristic of the imprint has been its effort to connect African scholarship with international academic distribution while keeping books accessible to readers and students in African markets. Currey advocated coordinated international print runs, shared production costs, regional printing, and co-publishing arrangements. Its East African Studies activity, for example, developed through collaboration involving Heinemann Kenya and Ohio University Press. These arrangements were intended to support scholarly quality and international availability without making books prohibitively expensive in African countries. The 2008 move into Boydell & Brewer gave James Currey the infrastructure of a larger specialist academic publisher while preserving the imprint’s focus. Its authors and subjects have included influential scholars and writers such as Bethwell Ogot and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. The imprint’s catalogue continues to serve universities, researchers, libraries, and readers interested in African history, culture, literature, politics, society, and intellectual life. James Currey’s wider legacy has also been commemorated institutionally. The James Currey Collection at St Cross College, University of Oxford, opened formally in 2019. A James Currey Prize for African Literature was established in 2020 by Onyeka Nwelue, and the James Currey Society has supported related literary and academic activities. In 2022, the society held the inaugural James Currey Literary Festival at Oxford’s Weston Library. These initiatives are associated with Currey’s influence on African literary culture rather than being publishing products of the imprint itself.

James Currey was founded in 1984 by James Currey, a South African-born publisher with extensive experience in African literary and educational publishing. Before establishing the company, Currey worked at the Cape Town branch of Oxford University Press. He also contributed to The New African, a liberal publication that had relocated to London after apartheid authorities suppressed its activities in South Africa. His work there brought him into contact with a generation of major African writers and political commentators. Currey joined Heinemann Educational Books and in 1967 took responsibility, together with Keith Sambrook, for the African Writers Series. The series had been created to publish and circulate African writing, especially literature in English, and became a major channel through which African authors reached readers outside the continent. Currey’s experience editing and promoting this work informed the independent publishing house that later carried his name. The company’s initial purpose was to address gaps in the availability of serious books about Africa. In the 1980s, Currey argued that economic pressures and the commercial priorities of large publishing companies had contributed to an academic book shortage affecting African studies. He promoted smaller specialist publishers as an important means of sustaining scholarship and literary culture. His proposed solution involved producing sufficient international print volumes while using regional editions, shared printing arrangements, and co-publishing to keep prices suitable for African markets. This model became visible in the imprint’s work with African studies series, including East African Studies-related publishing involving Heinemann Kenya and Ohio University Press. The catalogue expanded beyond literature into anthropology, archaeology, history, politics, economics, development studies, gender studies, theatre, film, and other humanities and social science disciplines. The imprint became associated with both established scholars and influential African writers, including Bethwell Ogot and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. In 2008, James Currey became an imprint of Boydell & Brewer. The transition placed the brand within a larger academic publishing organization while maintaining its specialization in Africa-focused scholarship and literature. James Currey has continued to function as a recognizable specialist imprint rather than being absorbed into a general-interest list. The brand’s influence has also been preserved through archival, literary, and educational initiatives. The James Currey Collection at St Cross College, University of Oxford, opened formally in 2019. In 2020, the James Currey Prize for African Literature was created by Onyeka Nwelue, with the James Currey Society administering the prize and a related fellowship in cooperation with the African Studies Centre at Oxford. The inaugural James Currey Literary Festival followed in 2022 at Oxford’s Weston Library. These activities reflect the continuing cultural importance of Currey’s contribution to African publishing, although they are connected to the wider James Currey legacy and society rather than necessarily to the commercial imprint’s own operations.

1. 2022First James Currey Literary Festival

   The inaugural James Currey Literary Festival was held at Oxford’s Weston Library.

   Source
2. 2020James Currey Prize for African Literature established

   A prize for unpublished African-focused fiction in English was established in James Currey’s name.

   Source
3. 2019James Currey Collection opens at Oxford

   The James Currey Collection was formally opened at St Cross College, University of Oxford.

   Source
4. 2008Becomes a Boydell & Brewer imprint

   James Currey entered a new organizational phase as an imprint of Boydell & Brewer.

   Source
5. 1986Currey addresses the shortage of African academic books

   At a Royal African Society symposium, James Currey discussed the shortage of academic books in Africa and advocated international co-publishing, shared production, and regionally accessible editions.

   Source
6. 1984James Currey founded

   James Currey established an independent publisher focused on African literature, African studies, and related academic fields.

   Source

A specialist academic imprint combining rigorous scholarship with a longstanding commitment to African intellectual, literary, and cultural production. Its distinctive value proposition is international academic distribution alongside attention to affordability and accessibility for African students and institutions.

• African Studies MonographsAcademic books

  Research monographs addressing African history, politics, economics, anthropology, archaeology, development, gender, and related areas. These books are primarily intended for scholars, students, libraries, and institutions seeking specialized research on Africa and its societies.

• African LiteratureLiterary and scholarly publishing1984

  The imprint publishes and supports work connected with African literary traditions, criticism, literary history, and major African writers. This strand reflects James Currey’s roots in the African Writers Series and its continuing role in bringing African writing and scholarship to international readers.

• East African StudiesAcademic series

  An area of publishing associated with James Currey’s long-running African studies program. The series and related books have used international and regional co-publishing arrangements, including cooperation with Heinemann Kenya and Ohio University Press, to circulate specialist scholarship.

• Humanities and Social SciencesAcademic books

  Books covering literature, theatre, film studies, cultural studies, and wider humanities and social science subjects. This broad scope allows the imprint to connect area studies with disciplinary research and cultural analysis.

• 2008Move into the Boydell & Brewer publishing groupM&A

  James Currey had developed as an independent specialist publisher centered on African literature and scholarship. A relationship with a larger academic publishing group offered additional publishing and distribution infrastructure.

  What changed. The brand became an imprint of Boydell & Brewer while retaining its African studies and African literature focus.

  Aftermath. The imprint continued its specialist publishing program within Boydell & Brewer, including academic books and series related to African studies.

  Source

• 2022Inaugural James Currey Literary Festival held in Oxford

  The first James Currey Literary Festival took place at the Weston Library in Oxford under the auspices of the James Currey Society, with support from the British Council and other organizations. The Pan African Writers Association also honored James Currey as Grand Patron of the Arts.

  Other
  Source
• 2020James Currey Prize for African Literature established

  Onyeka Nwelue established the James Currey Prize for African Literature for unpublished English-language fiction set in Africa or concerning Africans in Africa and the diaspora. The inaugural winner was Ani Kayode Somtochukwu.

  Other
  Source
• 2019James Currey Collection opens at St Cross College, Oxford

  The James Currey Collection was formally opened at the University of Oxford’s St Cross College during an event that included the launch of a book on Ethiopian warriorhood and discussions involving African writers and publishers.

  Other
  Source
• 2008James Currey becomes an imprint of Boydell & Brewer

  James Currey joined Boydell & Brewer as an imprint, continuing its African studies and African literature publishing program within the larger specialist academic publishing group.

  M&A
  Source

1. James Currey
2. James Currey official website