THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY IN GHANA: WAYS TO PROMOTE LOCAL AUHTORS AND WRITING

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ABSTRACT Literature has been described as the reflection of society through the eyes of the member of that society. Literature comes in many forms; writing, drama, songs, dance as well as stories. Throughout the history of Ghana there has been a strong representation of the societal values of the people through the work of authors such as Ama Atta Aidoo, Ayi Kwei Armah, Kofi Awonoor and Kofi Akpabli. However, over the years the amount and quality of writing coming from the country has reduced drastically. With the reduction these works of written literature, such as poems, novels and short stories; only the stories that were written before are still in circulation and are the constant images that the world has of Ghana. The reduction in the amount of written literary works can be attributed to certain factors. The cost of printing high quality books in the country, the over concentration on the publication of textbooks, the taxes imposed on the materials needed in the production of high quality publication, low quality and quantity of writing, low reading culture as well as the lack of creative writing nurturing in the youth of the country to enable them to do more in the area of creative arts. This thesislooks at the promotion of local authors and novels. This can be achieved through the reallocation of taxes on needed printed material, increased quality of printing, authors engaging in reader engagement activities, book signings and readings and also the introduction of a Ghanaian book review.

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