From Campfires to Kindles: The Journey of Storytelling and Publishing

I vividly remember the first time I finished a storybook — it was a recommended text back in nursery school. Then came the structured readings of primary and secondary school, and later, literature recommended for major exams like JAMB. (The Last Days at Forcados High School, anyone?)

Whether or not you consider yourself a book lover, chances are you’ve read a novel or storybook at some point. And if you’re like me — someone who reads for pleasure — you’ve probably gone through dozens, if not hundreds, of them.

But here’s a question we rarely ask:

How do these stories actually get to us?

We know them as books, but behind every story that reaches readers lies a process — publishing.

What Is Publishing, Really?

At its core, publishing is the process of making content — written, visual, or audio — accessible to the public. It spans writing, editing, design, printing, marketing, and distribution. Traditionally, publishing meant printed materials like books and newspapers. But in today’s digital age, it includes e-books, audiobooks, podcasts, blogs, and even apps.

Once, publishing was an exclusive domain. Only a few had the means to produce and distribute books. Today, almost anyone can write and publish a story, thanks to self-publishing platforms and digital tools.

A Brief History of the Craft

Storytelling itself is ancient — older than writing. In early societies, knowledge and stories were passed orally, from one generation to the next, often around fires.

Then came writing — and with it, the first forms of publishing. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng created the first known movable type printing press in the 11th century. Later, in the 15th century, Johannes Gutenberg introduced the mechanical movable-type press in Europe, triggering a revolution in how information was shared.

What followed was the rise of traditional publishing: authors would submit manuscripts, publishers would handle production and distribution, and authors would receive royalties in return.

With the rise of the internet in the 1990s, self-publishing emerged — giving writers direct access to readers, without going through gatekeepers.

More recently, we’ve seen the growth of hybrid publishing — a model that blends the credibility of traditional publishing with the flexibility of self-publishing.

Publishing: The Engine of Storytelling

At the heart of it, publishing is about more than printing and selling books — it’s about connection. It’s how ideas travel, how voices are amplified, and how knowledge is preserved.

Storytelling is how humans make sense of the world. Publishing is how those stories reach minds beyond the storyteller’s own.

From spoken words around ancient fires to printed pages, and now to digital libraries in our pockets — the tools have changed, but the drive remains the same.

We tell stories. We listen. We share.

And thanks to publishing, we continue to do so across centuries, cultures, and continents.

by Imaan Ayoola