Hans Zell has been author, editor, and publisher on African topics for almost four decades. He has published several reference resources on Africa and African studies, the latest of which is the 4th revised and expanded edition of The African Studies Companion: A Guide to Information Sources. He was twice the winner of the Conover-Porter Award, presented biennially by the Africana Librarians Council of the (US) African Studies Association for "the most outstanding achievement and excellence in Africana bibliography or reference work". He is the founding editor of the quarterly African Book Publishing Record, which he edited from 1975 to 2002.