By Musonda Mukuka
Stakeholders in Zambia’s literary industry recently gathered at the Mulungushi International Conference Centre for the second annual Platinum Author’s Conference, where a pressing issue took centre stage: the country’s ongoing ISBN crisis.
Zambia currently lacks a functioning system to issue International Standard Book Numbers, a gap that continues to affect how books are published, distributed and tracked on the global stage.
How Did We Get Here?
Until 2015, the University of Zambia managed the country’s ISBN system. However, as publishing activity increased and more authors began producing work, the university’s capacity to handle the growing demand became strained.
Responsibility was then transferred to the Booksellers and Publishers Association of Zambia, a private network of publishers and booksellers.
This transition, however, did not resolve the problem. BPAZ accumulated debts with the international ISBN agency and failed to consistently upload the required metadata for registered books.
These shortcomings ultimately led to its deregistration, leaving Zambia without a recognised ISBN authority.
Why ISBNs Matter
An ISBN serves as a unique identifier for every published book, enabling it to be recognised across international markets and systems. It carries essential information about a publication, including its country of origin, publisher, author and edition.
Without an ISBN, books face significant barriers.
They are difficult to catalogue in libraries, cannot easily be distributed through formal channels and are often excluded from major retail platforms.
In effect, books published without ISBNs remain largely invisible within the global publishing ecosystem, limiting their reach and impact.
The Consequences for Writers
The absence of a functional ISBN system has had serious consequences for Zambian authors. Visibility in formal markets has declined, making it harder for writers to access wider audiences. This challenge is especially acute in a country where many authors rely on self-financing to publish their work.
In the absence of a trusted local system, some writers have unknowingly purchased ISBNs from illegitimate or unverified sources.
These numbers often turn out to be invalid, leaving authors with books that cannot be properly recognised or distributed. As a result, stakeholders are now advising writers in Zambia to avoid buying ISBNs from local sellers until a legitimate system is restored.
A Temporary Solution
Despite the challenges, there has been some progress. Through the collective efforts of industry stakeholders, Zambia has recently been assigned Namibia as a temporary issuer of ISBNs.
This arrangement provides authors with a legitimate, though foreign, channel through which they can obtain valid ISBNs while the country works toward restoring its own system.
While this compromise is far from ideal, it offers a measure of relief. For now, Zambian writers at least have a credible way to secure ISBNs and participate, however indirectly, in the global publishing landscape.
