Analysis
The International Alliance of Independent Publishers, backed by its international network, ponders the major issues of the ever-changing world of publishing. This analysis sometimes results in the publishing of books, aiming to leverage knowledge, encourage the sharing of experience, ensure better circulation of information and anticipate change.
The collection “État des lieux de l’édition” (“Reports on the publishing world”) will be of special interest to students and teachers of publishing courses and people working in publishing in general.
Éditeurs indépendants : de l’âge de raison vers l’offensive ? [Independent Publishers: moving from the age of reason on to the attack?]
On publisher independence and what we need to think about it
Far from being a caricature, developing a reasoning based on his personal conception of publishing, Gilles Colleu explores some of the characteristics of a typical independent publisher.
What do we mean by independent publisher? Are they necessarily small concerns? Can a major group be independent? In a context of concentration and increasing dominance of financial considerations, how can publishers remain independent while playing their crucial role of putting fresh ideas forward?
Gilles Colleu is a former student of Jean-Marie Bouvaist and has taught alongside him on the Master course at Villetaneuse University. He is now an associate professor in the publishing professions department of the IUT in Aix-en-Provence. He founded the Vents d’ailleurs publishing house and manages it with Jutta Hepke, and for the past 20 years has acted as a consultant to publishers.
In this work, he stresses his conviction that publishing needs to be rooted in a long operating cycle, to build up a catalogue that makes sense and business that is long-lasting.
NB: pages 94 to 97 of this work feature a full, fresh definition of independent publishing, suggested by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
Year of publication: 2006, 160 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 10 : 2-9519747-2-8 ; ISBN 13 : 978-2-9519747-2-2 ; commande en librairie, ou directement à l’Alliance des éditeurs indépendants (tel. 01 43 14 73 66, fax 01 43 14 73 63).
Des paroles et des actes pour la bibliodiversité
Collective work
23 éditeurs indépendants ont pris la parole lors de la rencontre “Les éditeurs indépendants du monde latin et la bibliodiversité“ (Guadalajara, Mexique, novembre 2005), pour témoigner de la spécificité culturelle d’un métier nécessaire, passionnant, essentiel, qu’ils exercent pourtant dans un contexte économique difficile. Leurs interventions ont pu être rassemblées dans cet ouvrage. Elles gardent leur dimension orale et nous plongent dans le contexte et la spontanéité d’une rencontre internationale.
Venus d’Afrique, d’Amériques et d’Europe, ces éditeurs mettent en avant les propositions les plus urgentes pour défendre concrêtement la bibliodiversité.
Year of publication: 2006, 288 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 978-2-9519747-3-9
Protecting the book
The cultural, economic and political stakes of price-fixing
Why did the large majority of European countries choose to protect the book, setting its price through trade agreements or legal measures? How were these protection mechanisms, which make the book into a cultural exception tolerated by the European Commission, gradually implemented? Markus Gerlach offers a broad analysis of price-fixing for books in Europe: he begins by relating the background of this measure and then analyzes the economic effects. In the end he shows the extent to which price-fixing for books, apart from its cultural and economic importance, also assumes an eminently political dimension.
"Proteger o livro" by Markus Gerlach (in Portuguese) - Available in French and Spanish
Year of publication: 2006, 160 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 10 : 2-9519747-2-8 ; ISBN 13 : 978-2-9519747-2-2
Éditer dans l’espace francophone [Publishing in the French-speaking world]
Book legislation, diffusion, distribution and marketing
A through report by Luc Pinhas, in French
Why do books have such restricted circulation in the French-speaking world? Which way does the flow go and which are one-way streets? What current legislation encourages publishing and the marketing of works? Are public policies sufficient? What setbacks are encountered in the marketing of works? Luc Pinhas draws a comprehensive portrait of the state of publishing, including legislation, circulation, distribution and marketing of books in the French-speaking world. This dossier, featuring entries on many themes and geographic locations, provides a complete overview of local realities, illustrated with telling examples. After analysing measures that states, associations and syndicates of publishing and book-store professionals have implemented, the author puts forward some proposals to fuel a much-needed debate. To achieve this and to hear what the main players had to say, especially with regard to the South, a fruitful survey was conducted at the Ouagadougou book fair in November 2004, in partnership with the international Association of French-speaking bookstore managers (AILF) - www.librairesfrancophones.org
Year of publication: 2005, 288 pages, 15 X 21 cm, ISBN 978-2-9519747-1-X