Maputo Book Fair Aims to Build Industry

A new book festival will launch in Mozambique in November. The Maputo International Book Fair (MIBF) aims to build infrastructure and commercial opportunities for the local book trade, according to Sandra Tamele, President of the Mozambican Publishers and Booksellers Association (AMEL).

Tamele spoke with Publishing Perspectives about the event's goals. She explained the festival combines a professional B2B fair with a public cultural event.

A Dual-Purpose Festival

The MIBF is designed for both the book trade and the general public. It merges two models rarely seen together in Mozambique. One is a professional fair with rights trading, matchmaking, and training. The other is a public event to make books visible and accessible to readers.

Tamele said traditional book fairs in Mozambique are often modest. They might involve a tent, a few tables for publishers, and limited publicity. Her experience at international fairs in Sharjah, Frankfurt, and Bologna showed her what a book fair could be. The MIBF is an attempt to bring that experience home.

The goal is to reduce the precarity of publishing and bookselling in Mozambique. The fair wants to help create the skills, relationships, and commercial opportunities needed for a genuine book industry.

The Mozambican Publishing Landscape

Mozambique has a population of roughly 32 million people. The formal book market is extremely small in relation to this size. The association currently identifies 27 publishers and seven established booksellers. Newer informal sellers operate on social media platforms like Instagram.

Tamele sees a need to understand the market and bring all participants together. A complete book-industry ecosystem does not yet exist. Distribution is limited. Print runs are small. Bookselling infrastructure is scarce. Many people have learned through practice rather than formal training.

Demand exists for children's books, educational publishing, and fiction. The market is highly price-sensitive. Access remains a major issue. Print is still dominant. Digital publishing and audiobooks are beginning to create new possibilities.

Opportunities for Partnership

Foreign publishers and service providers can work with Mozambican counterparts through partnership. Opportunities include translation, co-publishing, rights exchanges, and distribution partnerships. Service providers can help with editing, design, printing, and digital publishing.

Translation is a specific area of importance. Mozambique is a multilingual country. Portuguese is the official language, but many African languages are spoken. Developing publishing in local languages and building translation capacity represents a cultural and commercial opportunity.

There is also interest in turning literature into an export. Tamele believes books should be treated as a cultural product Mozambique can export. The association is working with institutions that support small and medium enterprises. They advocate for books to be recognized within export-development strategies.

International Participation at MIBF

The fair seeks international participation at several levels. Foreign publishers and literary agencies can join the professional program. This includes rights meetings, matchmaking, and manuscript pitching. Publishers can also exhibit and explore rights opportunities with Mozambican firms.

International organizations, technology providers, and distributors can participate through partnerships and workshops. Opportunities exist for cultural partnerships and sponsorship. This could involve bringing authors to Mozambique or supporting children's programming.

Tamele emphasized the desire for concrete engagement. The goal is for international partners to come to Maputo, understand the market's realities, and find ways to do business together. The MIBF is intended as a platform for entering meaningful relationships with the Southern African book market.

A key point of context is the scale of the infrastructure gap. Tamele noted that until she opened a bookshop in Marracuene in November 2025, the town had neither a bookshop nor a public library. She stated the absence of a developed industry does not mean a lack of talent or appetite for books. The missing element is the backbone that allows talent to become an industry. This includes distribution, professional training, investment, and infrastructure.

For more information about MIBF or to participate, contact amelmaputo@gmail.com.