African Minds publishes predominantly in higher education studies, music, urban studies, and science and technology studies authored by African academics and thinkers as well as international academics who have a close affinity with the continent.

Mission and Values

African Minds offers a new publishing channel to authors frustrated by a lack of support from traditional book publishers as well as with publishing’s anachronistic and lengthy approach to making knowledge available. African Minds is therefore not a traditional, commercial publisher.

The number of titles published per year is determined by the number of manuscripts received and the outcome of each manuscript reviewed. While there are some constraints in terms of capacity to manage titles, its model of outsourcing many of the production processes allows African Minds to take on more than the current number of books published.  

Governance

African Minds was founded by François van Schalkwyk in 2008. African Minds is registered in South Africa (4 Eccleston Place, Somerset West, Cape Town, 7130) and its legal status is that of a trust (Trust no. IT2864/2012).

Our governance model is based on the Board of Trustees, elected based on their abiding belief in the values of the organisation, particularly open access to knowledge about and from the African continent. The African Minds Editorial Board is appointed by the Board of Trustees and consists of independent scholars who are experts in their respective disciplines.