Our Story And The Future of Publishing

It all started like a joke. As we try to embark on book distribution at the earlier stage, we were very careful to go for books that were locally produced so as to encourage local authors and create more jobs for the people, but we were unpleasantly surprised to find that not even a single publisher in our area has ever promoted such authors. As a result, these local authors were forcefully pushed into their shells and were not doing much at the time we needed them most.

Through careful search for solution, we came up with an idea – an idea that has truly transformed the lives of many people today – floating a printing and publishing outfit that encourages local authors! In our first attempt of printing and publishing books based on the knowledge we had about printing, we were faced with a big problem – the problem of low readership culture.  It was a terrible demon that wanted to frustrate our efforts of creating jobs and impacting people for greater achievements in life.

The problem was so much that we kept losing money in every investment made. It used to be a huge joke to us whenever we come across people talking about low readership culture in Africa. To us, it looked as if nothing much has been done in the past All that the market had to offer were the imported books of foreign authors and a handful of more recent composition of local ones, with their numerous additions, insertions, and general expansions. Which isn't to say that we didn't appreciate those additions at all; it was just that we were looking for something a little more traditional – something indigenous. Yet, it seemed that if we weren't interested in the "cookie-cutter" approach to book publishing that is widespread today, then we would be entirely out of luck in finding the right position for ourselves.

Truthfully, we knew what the solution would be earlier on: If the type of books we needed to bring into the market didn't exist then we would simply print and publish them ourselves. Printing is an established tradition in this part of the world, dating back over a thousand years, and so, we’re glad venturing into the business of our Fathers. Historically speaking, as the needs and attitudes of different communities changed, many people responded with new systems of publishing suitable for each community's circumstances and needs. Personally inspired by this precedent, we set out to do our work. It took a good deal of time and effort to get a hold of the correct messages, compile and edit them, and design an attractive and usable layout, but before we knew it we had a new concept in our hands - the first edition of Guide To Effective Prayer, which was published under the label of Fire-Brand Int’l Ministries. This book truly proved its worth in people’s hands.

Then came the company. The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PalmGate Global Ventures Inc, was born to the famous Ejiogu family, noted for their passion for farming. His grand father – the great Anuogbadike took farming a little bit farther than his contemporaries that he was widely known as EZEJI – king of yam. The Ohazurumee himself, his father was respected for his ability to transform his large farm land into a palm oil company that sustained his large family through to establishment.

When he came to the Northern Nigeria in 1993 to establish his own business, the spirit of God ministered to him to keep the legacy. He quickly understood the charge and recalled that he could be nowhere today except by the mercy of God. God kept and sustained the entire family through farming, with palm produce, as the major source of their wealth. As a result, the gate of prosperity was opened to him through God’s given resources – the palm tree.

Therefore, when we decided to open a company that would oversee all other business outlets already on ground, the charge to keep the legacy came to mind. PalmGate Global Ventures was chosen and God gladly appended His signature to it. After printing the first book single-handedly, God used it to open doors for us, and a number of individuals who were also interested in purchasing their own copies approached us. Many people had exciting questions for us - What was so special about indigenous works? Why weren't we happy with the books of already established authors available out there in the market? And who exactly did we think we were, just going ahead and printing our own books and encouraging local authors to write more books? While we were busy explaining ourselves to friends and customers alike, we also began exploring the unfolding possibilities presenting themselves to two booklovers with a dream.

If the books we wanted to read weren't being published, then we could publish them ourselves. All the translations of books that we wished we had, all the fascinating stories that never made it to print, all the words that got lost somewhere along the way - as the owners of a publishing company, we would be in the prime position to realize countless literary dreams. Without further delay, we decided to officially incorporate and with that PalmGate Printing & Publishing Company was born. As a corporate entity, we would have the material means to bring books into the world; but as people of principle, we would never let our company be just another company.

As Publishers, we refuse to exploit literature. One of the most beautiful developments of the post-modern world is the rise of the Internet as a means of communication, publication, and inspiration. Users across the world can access a vast and diverse collection of music, art, and literature with great ease and from the comfort of their own homes. Even more exciting is the role the Internet plays in sharing media on the personal level, through online communities and file-sharing (P2P) networks. An author publishing in this post-modern, digital environment will quickly find his or her works distributed throughout the globe, across virtual networks and on hard-drives everywhere.

While it is true that some media companies and industry associations are terrified at the thought of their creative content being distributed (for free!) across the Internet by users, listeners, and readers, we see this as an opportunity to further expose our (potential) readers to our books and authors. We offer a free electronic edition of so many books we publish, in the hopes that readers will share it with their friends and families. It makes little sense to us to "lock up" our books under restrictive and archaic copyright schemes; therefore, we encourage all our authors to release their works under liberal and open Creative Commons licenses. As the first publishing company in the world to fully embrace this approach to copyrighting, we hope that eventually other publishing houses - and other companies in the media industry - will follow suit. This "publishing revolution" of ours doesn't just end with a new approach to copyright, however.

As a corporation, we are dedicated to environmentally sustainable practices. In our eyes, one of the biggest benefits of marketing electronically-published-and-distributed books is the ecological impact (or lack thereof!) of a publishing plan which does not rely on paper. As nature enthusiasts, we have a love of the land that doesn't disappear when we step into the office; why should we sacrifice forests to make books?

All of our books and products reflect our dedication to environmental sustainability and the responsible use of the Earth's limited resources. Therefore, in addition to making editions of all our books available electronically, we guarantee that nearly all of our regular editions are printed on post-consumer recycled paper. Our goal is to ensure that as a publishing company we also encourage our readers (and authors) to act conscientiously as stewards of our shared natural resources.

As human beings, our vision goes beyond our books. We genuinely enjoy reading the books we publish, but we're even more interested in the lives and stories behind those books. Our authors come from radically different walks of life and represent many diverse cultures and perspectives. We publish their books because we want to share those perspectives with the rest of the world - a world that is torn up by fear and misunderstanding. We hope that each book we publish will make a meaningful impact on the world, increasing our knowledge and mutual understanding bit by bit.

History has proven time and again that through publishing books, a community can successfully preserve its culture for posterity. When thoughts, ideas, values, and customs are put down on paper they are no longer bound to a single time and place but become available for the world to read forever after. In fact, this might be called the essence of publishing: Every book shares with readers a glimpse at what once was, what now is, and what - eventually - could be. Our commitment to publishing, therefore, is also a commitment to preserving the ideas and values we love, so that they may be read and studied now and in the future.