Arada Books Addis Abeba

Arada Books è stata una piccola casa editrice indipendente con management italiano dal 2004 al 2022. Arada Books Publishing, a brief history.

Arada Books ha lavorato per valorizzare il patrimonio culturale dell’Etiopia e tutto ciò che lega l’Etiopia al resto del mondo. The history of Arada Books is mostly a history of love and fascination. Almost all the foreigners that visit or even live in Ethiopia are captivated by the particular charm of the country’s culture, history and people. But just a few of them are then able to transform t

he first impact’s suggestion into something else, but this is the case indeed of the founders of Arada Books who, during their residence in the country, took the initiative to fund in 2004 a publishing house, targeted to enhance the availability of high quality publications about the Ethiopian cultural heritage, in a wide and comprehensive sense, approaching it in three major sections: Travel Guides; Language and Literature; History. In 2014 Arada books has been very proud to celebrate its ten years of activity with an important issue: the Vocabolario Italiano-Amarico, a work at the same time practical and of high academic level, the result of an accurate effort by two scholars belonging to the two languages. The dictionary is an indispensable tool to communicate in the shape that the two languages have taken in the contemporary world. Arada has maintained in all its publications the same care and quality: its guidebooks to the most important landmarks of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Aksum and Yeha, Lalibela, Gondar and Lake Tana, The Rock Hewn Churces of Tigray and Harar, are based on extensive research, on site survey and are accompanied by pictures, maps and plans. Arada’s English translation of the splendid The Negus is a work by the official translator of the author, Angelo Del Boca; he and David W.Phillipson, who signs Ancient Churches of Ethiopia, are both eminent scholars. Not to mention Richard Pankhurst and the brilliant illustrator Eric Robson, authors of one of Arada best-sellers, a complete idea of the whole Ethiopian history in less than 70 pleasant pages. History of Ethiopia in Picture. With the same attention Arada has issued a photographic book edited by Paolo Cartocci, Ethiopia 1966, People and Portraits, a great photographic testimonial, as well as the surprising comedies of Menghistu Lemma, the tale of Finn Finn, a little book for children, the Grammar of the Gumuz language, a book of poems written by the most important Konso intellectual, and a survey on the cultural heritage of the Konso people, edited by the anthropologist Enrico Castelli. All the staff of Arada Books Publishing thanks its readers for their attention during these past 10 years and goes on to realize its quality and meaningful work.

07/07/2025

Photos from Arada Books Addis Abeba's post

20/04/2017

"Arada Books will be present at the TUKUL DU LIVRE speaking on "Arada guides: a comprehensive guide-book project in Ethiopia"

Arada Books with its "A Guide to Harar and Surroundings" issued in 2016, "A Guide to Harar" and "A guide to the rock hewn churches of Tigray", has completed the first stage of its ambitious project: to cover all the main touristic destinations in Ethiopia with comprehensive, monographic guides, complete with detailed maps, indexes and bibliographic references.

Arada Books, con la pubblicazione nel 2016 de "A Guide to Harar" e "A guide to the rock hewn churches of Tigray", ha completato la prima fase del suo ambizioso progetto di coprire tutte le principali destinazioni turistiche d'Etiopia con guide monografiche approfondite e basate su ricerche scientifiche. Mappe dettagliate, l'apparato di note e gli indici analitici sono solo alcuni degli strumenti che faciliteranno al viaggiatore un'esperienza diversa e completa del patrimonio storico e turistico d'Etiopia.

19/04/2017

Arada Books will be present at the "Tukul du Livre" Addis Ababa, April 21-22, 2017

20/02/2017

Ethiopians call for state funeral as Richard Pankhurst, champion of Ethiopian culture, dies aged 89 Grieving Ethiopians yesterday called for a state funeral to be bestowed on Richard Pankhurst, scion of Britain’s celebrated suffragette family and for many decades Ethiopia’s most stalwart Western champion.

20/02/2017

Suffragette's historian son Richard Pankhurst dies, Ethiopia mourns Richard Pankhurst, the son of the British women's rights campaigner Sylvia Pankhurst who became one of the world's leading experts on Ethiopian history and culture, has died aged 89.

20/02/2017

Arada Books staff express their grief for the loss of dear Professor Richard Pankhurst. We'll never forget the competent support and human encouragement he reserved for our work, especially in our first steps. We express our heartfelt condolences to all his family.
Arada Books Staff

29/01/2017

Good success in the book stores of the new guide to Harar, the historic Ethiopian city that is the outcome of a brilliant and passionate engineering work...