At home
The originating publisher keeps its own territory, its own edition, its own price and its own printing. Nothing about the book's life at home changes, and no rights leave the country permanently.
Abroad
Olongo Publishing licenses the rest of the world, sets the book up as a properly catalogued edition with its own ISBN, and prints it close to the reader who orders it — so a copy reaches Minneapolis or London without crossing an ocean or a customs desk.
Why it works this way
Nobody loses a market
A publisher in Lagos has spent years building its readers, its booksellers and its price point. Buying world rights would take all of that away in exchange for a cheque. Splitting territory leaves it exactly where it is.
Shipping is the enemy
The reason these books are unavailable abroad is rarely rights. It is freight, customs and the cost of moving paper across an ocean. Printing in the reader's own country removes the problem rather than paying for it.
The edition is catalogued properly
Our editions carry their own ISBNs and full trade metadata, which is what allows a library to order one and a bookshop to find it. An uncatalogued reprint is invisible however good the book is.
The book comes back in both places
Where a title has also fallen out of print at home, the arrangement gives the originating publisher a reason to reissue it there at the same time. That was the case with An African Abroad in 2022.