World Book Day 2013: A Tale of Two Editors

World Book Day is a global celebration of stories, imagination, and the written word. When books are mentioned, authors naturally take center stage as the creative minds who breathe life into characters, ideas, and narratives that inspire generations. Yet behind every remarkable book stands the editor, whose role is just as vital. Editors refine raw manuscripts, polish language, ensure clarity, and preserve the author’s voice while shaping the work into a masterpiece ready for readers.  Authors spark creation, editors sharpen expression. On this World Book Day,  we spotlight two outstanding book editors.

Philip Ojetola: A remarkable career

Philip Ojetola has built a remarkable career in Nigeria’s literary and publishing world through his careful editorial work and dedication to bringing significant voices to print. At BookCraft Publishers in Ibadan, he has been part of shaping books that carry both cultural depth and international recognition. His editorial work shows a rare ability to engage with established literary icons as well as emerging writers, always ensuring that their ideas reach readers with clarity and impact.

Among the notable works he has edited is Ilorin Praise Poetry by Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, a respected academic, poet and administrator whose career is decorated with awards from the University of Ilorin Alumni Association, the Ilorin Emirate Students Union, Man ‘O’ War Nigeria, Western Illinois University in the United States, and many others.

Ojetola also worked on Alapata Apata by Wole Soyinka, Africa’s first Nobel Laureate in Literature, affirming his place among those trusted to handle works of the highest global literary value. His editorial contribution to Ajayi Crowther: The Triumphs and Travails of a Legend by Femi Osofisan reflects his commitment to theatre and history, as Osofisan is one of Africa’s most celebrated dramatists.

He edited Sarah House by Ifeanyi Ajaegbo, a novel that won the Commonwealth Short Story Competition’s African Regional Prize in 2005 and the Association of Nigerian Authors’ Prose Prize in 2006. This project highlights Ojetola’s role in supporting new literary voices with international appeal. In scholarship, he worked on Achebe or Soyinka: A Study in Contrasts by Kole Omotoso, a text that continues to shape debates in African literary criticism.

The range of authors he has worked with shows the calibre of his editorial career. From Nobel Prize winners to prize-winning novelists and pioneering scholars,  Ojetola has established himself as an editor who strengthens voices that define Nigerian and African literature today. His work with BookCraft Publishers continues to demonstrate the importance of thoughtful editing in bringing ideas, stories and histories to a wider audience.

Abiodun Banire: Twice Book Editor of the Year

For two consecutive years, Kraft Publishers, a major player in Nigeria’s dynamic publishing industry, chose Abiodun Sulaimon Banire as the best of the Editors in its employ. Banire has established a strong reputation in the Nigerian publishing industry through his careful and dedicated editorial work with Kraft Books in Ibadan. His career reflects a deep engagement with literature, scholarship and cultural thought, and the authors he has worked with testify to his role in shaping significant voices in Nigerian writing and intellectual life.

One of the notable titles he has edited is Culture and National Identity: A Challenge to Ijaws in the Diaspora by Barclays Ayakoroma, an accomplished theatre scholar and cultural administrator who has received multiple awards including the Society of Nigeria Theatre Artists’ LifeTime Achievement Award in 2011 and the Award of Artistic Excellence in 2013. Banire also worked on Perspectives on Cultural Administration in Nigeria, a collaborative text by Olu Obafemi and Barclays Ayakoroma. Obafemi is a respected poet, playwright and critic, former National President of the Association of Nigerian Authors, a former Director of Research at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, and recipient of the Nigerian National Order of Merit in 2018.

His editorial experience also extends to poetry, such as Desert Songs of Bloom by Mabel Osakwe, a writer honoured with the British Council Summer School Award in Aberdeen in 1988, Woman of the Year by the American Biographical Institute in 2002, and multiple national distinctions. Banire has also worked with the late Abubakar Gimba, author and economist, whose Conversations from the Letter-Box carries the authority of a writer who served as president of the Association of Nigerian Authors and was the first from Northern Nigeria to hold that office.

Among the diverse titles he has shaped are The Crocodile Girl and In Touch: Journalism as National Narrative by Sam Omatseye, as well as Cultural Studies: Theories, Concepts and Practice by Olu Obafemi, a scholar who later became President of the Nigerian Academy of Letters. Banire’s editorial portfolio also includes Poetics of Rage: A Reading of Remi Raji’s Poetry by E. Egya, who is both a poet and novelist with international recognition, winning the Commonwealth Book Prize (Africa Region) in 2013 and multiple Association of Nigerian Authors awards.

His work with A Thousand Years of Thirst by Denja Abdullahi further underlines his reach into contemporary poetry, as Abdullahi’s collection was shortlisted for the NLNG Nigeria Prize for Literature in 2018. He has also edited Waiting for Dawn by Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, one of Nigeria’s foremost female writers and a winner of the ANA/NDDC Flora Nwapa Prize for Women Writing, among many other awards.

The range of Banire’s editorial work at Kraft Books shows his ability to engage with both creative and scholarly texts, bridging literature, cultural studies and national discourse. From Nobel Merit laureates and ANA presidents to prize-winning poets and internationally recognised novelists, the authors he has worked with demonstrate the stature of his editorial career. Through this work, Banire has played a quiet but vital role in sustaining the richness and visibility of Nigerian literature and cultural scholarship.