For over 40 years, Heinemann's African Writers Series (AWS) published the key texts of modern African literature, holding unique importance in the history of postcolonial writing. The aim was to produce a paperback series featuring writing by African authors (initially, this was limited to black African authors) that would be affordable for a general African readership. As African nations won independence, writers like Chinua Achebe began to forge distinctive national literatures throughout the continent. Independence also led to a demand from African schools and universities for contemporary African writing to replace the European bias of existing syllabuses. The AWS took on this role and published works by all the major authors of this period, together with classic earlier texts and new writing, making the series significant in African cultural history.

This online edition includes over 250 volumes of fiction, poetry, drama and non-fictional prose, including works.