This article explores the history of two Tanzanian publishing houses and the remarkable life and career of Walter Bgoya, former general manager of Tanzania Publishing House (1972–90) and managing director of Mkuki na Nyota, which he founded in 1991. Using the lens of microhistory, and drawing from extensive interviews with Bgoya and conversations with two colleagues and three authors, the article first chronicles his early life and ideological formation and what influenced his career in book publishing. It then examines the key achievements and challenges faced by these publishing houses in different times of austerity (e.g. Structural Adjustment Programmes, foreign investment with conditionalities, declining state support and high printing costs), along with the complex ways in which Bgoya has navigated the shifting, often uncertain, political, financial and legislative landscapes, while retaining his intellectual freedom and core Pan-Africanist beliefs. Constraints have not hampered Bgoya's pursuit of ambitious projects or his commitment to publishing relevant and progressive books, either written by African authors or on African matters. I suggest that reducing the scale and identifying how specific conditions of austerity have affected the choices made by a publisher over time can yield insights into the ways in which cultural institutions have contributed to knowledge production and dissemination in postcolonial Africa.

本文探讨了坦桑尼亚两家出版社的历史，以及坦桑尼亚出版社前总经理（1972-90 年）和他于 1991 年创立的 Mkuki na Nyota 董事总经理 Walter Bgoya 的非凡生活和事业。微观历史，并从对 Bgoya 的广泛采访以及与两位同事和三位作者的对话中汲取灵感，这篇文章首先记录了他的早年生活和意识形态形成以及对他的图书出版事业的影响。然后，它考察了这些出版社在不同紧缩时期（例如结构调整计划、有条件的外国投资、国家支持下降和印刷成本高）所面临的主要成就和挑战，以及 Bgoya 驾驭这种转变的复杂方式。 ，通常是不确定的，政治的，金融和立法环境，同时保留他的知识自由和核心泛非主义信仰。限制并没有妨碍 Bgoya 追求雄心勃勃的项目或他致力于出版相关和进步的书籍，无论是由非洲作家撰写的还是关于非洲事务的书籍。我建议缩小规模并确定具体的紧缩条件如何影响出版商随着时间的推移做出的选择，可以深入了解文化机构在后殖民非洲为知识生产和传播做出贡献的方式。要么是非洲作家写的，要么是关于非洲事务的。我建议缩小规模并确定具体的紧缩条件如何影响出版商随着时间的推移做出的选择，可以深入了解文化机构在后殖民非洲为知识生产和传播做出贡献的方式。要么是由非洲作家写的，要么是关于非洲事务的。我建议缩小规模并确定具体的紧缩条件如何影响出版商随着时间的推移做出的选择，可以深入了解文化机构在后殖民非洲为知识生产和传播做出贡献的方式。