English

Comment Tizan a transformé une sauterelle en vache ? Pourquoi un éléphant et une baleine sont convaincus qu’un petit lièvre est beaucoup plus fort qu’eux ? Autour de Tizan, du compère jaco, du lièvre et des personnages populaires de la tradition orale mauricienne, ce recueil réunit 9 contes rusés et drôles pour découvrir une île Maurice remplie de malice.

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant l’Atelier des nomades (Île Maurice) et les éditions Éburnie (Côte d’Ivoire).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin) et les éditions Vallesse (Côte d’Ivoire).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

Les illustrations de ce livre ont reçu, en 2018, le 1^er prix de la première édition du prix Hervé Gigot pour l’illustration du livre jeunesse en Afrique, initié par les éditions Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin).

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ntsamé (Gabon) et les éditions Elondja (RDC).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

Koné a l’âge de rentrer dans la forêt sacrée pour en ramener un animal fantastique qui l’accompagnera toute sa vie. Mais la forêt est pleine de dangers et les animaux sont devenus difficiles et rares à trouver. Quand Koné rencontre enfin le camélion, comprendra-t-il le message et sera-t-il capable de mener à bien sa mission ?

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ganndal (Guinée Conakry), les éditions Éburnie (Côte d’Ivoire), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin), Graines de Pensées (Togo), les éditions Ntsamé (Gabon) et les éditions Elondja (RDC).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

“Now that we have entered the 21st century, it is difficult to dissociate the end from the means : what to say, and where to say it ? Thus, we find that many authors seeking to promote debate, creativity and critical thinking, justice and equality are published by large conglomerates with multiple editorial labels. Isn’t the transformative power of these works reduced to nothing when they plunge into the workings of the entertainment industry ? It is a fact that transnational corporations, whatever their field of action, are the very expression of the system that dominates us. By choosing them as publishers, do we not somehow leave the world of transformative ideas in the hands of those who lay the foundations of the model we criticise ? Doesn’t that strengthen the control of big capital over the word and our daily lives ? Moreover, how can we not question the cross-industry investment of the business groups that own publishing houses ? And, are these investments neutral ?”

In this open letter, independent publishers invite all the actors of the book industry to reflect with them on their practices and the impacts that result from them. In particular, they call on authors, academics and intellectuals to work on projects whose vocation is to transform the order of things and not to consolidate the status quo, to publish their works in independent publishing houses in their own countries, and to give preference to independent publishing houses when it comes to transferring foreign and translation rights.

As the world suffers the health, social and economic consequences of the pandemic, book ecosystems and independent publishing houses are further weakened and, for some, are trying to survive. If solidarity between creators and book professionals is one of the foundations of bibliodiversity, this solidarity is vital in the current context.

Read the letter here.
This letter is also available in Spanish, French, Arabic and Portuguese.

To be an independent publisher is to question the world, to help make sense of it, today and tomorrow

At a time when every country in the world is affected by the pandemic, we, as independent publishers around the world, are experiencing diverse health, social and economic situations. We are facing different realities, in different timeframes : immediate risks for some sections of the population (India, Madagascar, Indonesia...) ; a pandemic that strikes in contexts of already established political crisis (Haiti, Egypt, Syria...) ; the near absence or delayed implementation of public book policies (Cameroon, Gabon...) ; the resilience of independent publishing houses in the face of big corporations (Australia...).... While our contexts are diverse, our concerns remain collective : fragility of independent structures, uncertainty about the future, concern about possible abuses (surveillance society, pressure on employees, online teaching and learning, etc.).

We are in perpetual questioning, trying to understand our world : what to do, how, with whom, at what pace ?
We need time to understand, to comprehend – which we had planned to do by 2021, as well as our “Rethink and Celebrate” Conference. REthink : to remain a conscious and creative actor, to act, in terms of ecology, social and solidarity economy, new approaches to readers, cooperative practices between professionals, freedom of publishing, fair speech...

Read more below...

See also :
Public book policies website

Digital Lab

Read the text in Arabic :

The International Alliance of Independent Publishers and publishers from the Spanish-language network pay tribute to the memory of the Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda, who died on 16 April 2020 in Oviedo (Spain) as a result of the Coronavirus, after several weeks in hospital.

The Ibero-American Book Fair in Gijón, organised and directed by Luis Sepúlveda for more than a decade, was the setting for the creation of the first network of Spanish-language independent publishers, and the first meeting of Latin American independent publishers was held in 2000.

As a result, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Association of Independent Publishers of Chile, now Editores de Chile, were formed.

Today we pay tribute to a man of generosity, solidarity and commitment to building a more just and humane world.

Ramla, Hindou et Safira. Trois femmes, trois histoires, trois destins liés. Ramla est mariée à Alhadji Issa, l’époux de Safira. Sa sœur Hindou épousera son cousin Moubarak. À toutes, l’entourage familial n’aura qu’un seul et unique conseil : Munyal ! Patience !

Violences conjugales, physiques et morales, intrigues, alliances, maraboutismes... Munyal, les larmes de la patience brise les tabous, rompt le silence et lève le voile complice de la condition de la femme dans le Sahel.

Née à Maroua au Nord du Cameroun, Djaïli Amadou Amal vit à Douala. Walaande, l’art de partager un mari et Mistiriijo, la mangeuse d’âmes, ses deux premiers romans, l’ont classée parmi les valeurs sûres de la littérature africaine contemporaine. Mynual, les larmes de la patience a reçu en 2019 le Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique ainsi que le Prix de la Presse panafricaine 2019.

Coéditeurs : Eburnie (Côte d’Ivoire), Ganndal (Guinée Conakry), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Le Fennec (Maroc), Proximité (Cameroun), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin), Sankofa & Gurli (Burkina Faso), Tombouctou (Mali)
Date de publication de la version panafricaine : 2020, 11,5 X 19 cm
Édition première au Cameroun : Proximité, 2019

Cette coédition solidaire porte le label Le livre équitable.

Couverture de la version marocaine de la coédition :

The first videos of the Conference here : Abidjan (May 2019) ; Santiago de Chile (October 2019)

The Conference is a process carried out over 3 years. It has commenced in 2019, with several workshops and meetings : Madrid (April 2019), Geneva (May 2019), Abidjan (May 2019), Santiago de Chile (October 2019).

The Conference will continue well into 2020… to end in 2021 in Pamplona, Basque Country.

In 2021, the Alliance will celebrate its 20 years of existence !

• 20 years is an appropriate age to remind ourselves of our core beliefs, commitments, responsibilities. The Alliance was built on trust, solidarity, humanity, and a profound belief in the social, emancipatory and liberating role of the book. Convinced also that the principles it defends are intertwined with its practice : thus, the principles of reciprocity and equity feature largely in the exchanges that characterise the governance of the association : namely that of respect, listening and curiosity… ;
• 20 years is the opportunity to celebrate this shared journey while pursuing this journey, to RETHINK together ;
• 20 years is also an opportunity to report on our activities, projects, and advocacy carried out by the Alliance ; to celebrate our incredible achievements ; but also to learn from our mistakes and mishaps ;
• 20 years is an age whereby we want to go further and further, to remain a conscious and creative actor in terms of ecology, social economy and solidarity, of new ways of reaching readers, of collaborative practices amongst professionals in the field, of freedom of publishing, of fair speech…
• 20 years is the age when we dream, hope, believe, where we want to dance and laugh ;
• 20 years is an important anniversary, it is an anniversary that we do not want to forget and that we shall celebrate !

Follow the Conference on the Alliance website and social networks !

African literature in French is today better represented and better known in Europe than in Africa, where its distribution remains hampered by many obstacles. However, there are solutions, which require the mobilisation of various stakeholders in the book industry. One solution is co-publishing, based on a joint trade agreement. The publication of « L’Ombre d’Imana » by Véronique TADJO, a groundbreaking example of pan-African co-publishing, proves that it is possible, through joint action, to create the conditions necessary for a (re)appropriation by Africa of its literature. To make this possible, the Alliance is appealing to everyone, authors, publishers and institutions alike, to join forces and promote the bibliodiversity at the heart of the francophone spirit. This appeal is endorsed by many authors and book industry professionals.

These 80 recommendations are built on the principles upheld in the 2014 International Declaration of independent publishers, an important document promoting bibliodiversity, signed on September 20th 2014, by more than 400 independent publishers from 45 countries.

They raise the necessary prerequisites, divided by themes, for the development, maintenance and strengthening of bibliodiversity in concerned countries. Some recommendations are accompanied by tools and projects (existing or to be developed in the context of the 2015-2016 Alliance programme of activities), enabling a practical implementation of independent publishers’ proposals.

Contents of the 80 recommendations & tools in support of bibliodiversity :

* Public policies safeguarding bibliodiversity
* Proposals and actions supporting digital bibliodiversity
* The Amazon system, a threat to bibliodiversity ?
* Essential measures for publishing in local and national languages
* Methods for rethinking book donations
* Proposals and actions to develop solidarity publishing partnerships
* Activities to strengthen diversity in youth publishing

For all book actors to take ownership of these recommendations and tools, we invite you to contact us with your comments, suggestions, ideas, and proposals that could enhance and strengthen this document.