English

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.

This co-publishing bears the label “Fair Trade Book”.

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!

• Driven by the growth of independent publishing in Latin American countries.
• Revived by the increase in the number of fairs and meetings where creative and local editorial production are showcased.
• Encouraged by the ways in which some public reading and book policies are supporting local intellectual production and bibliodiversity.

Convened in Santiago de Chile on the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd of October 2019, during the Spring of the Book (Primavera del Libro) and the International Conference of Independent Publishers (2019-2021), the Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers (IAIP) declares:

• Its privileged link with reading, a liberating practice that raises consciousness, stimulates critical thinking, nourishes the mind; and with the book, a fundamental support of creation, knowledge and thought, pillar of culture and cultural diversity.

• Its concern about the increasing merger of the book chain, which translates into the marginalisation of local production in bookstores, particularly that of independent publishers; dominates the media, obscuring blocking creation and critical editorial production; and excludes small and medium-sized publishers from public procurements of books.

• Its willingness to promote practices, in the world of publishing, that enable a rich and diverse book ecosystem, that stimulates local intellectual production, translation, and balanced exchanges of books amongst Spanish-speaking countries; strengthens independent bookstores and their presence in cities and communities; grows public, academic and school libraries with diverse and inclusive book collections; reflects bibliodiversity, the cultural diversity in the world of books.

• Its support for public reading and book policies as key drivers of the democratisation of the book in our societies; as systemic strategies strengthening the potential impact of any decision or action; and as mechanisms preventing market concentration, for the benefit of national book industries and local production.

And commits towards:

• Strengthening the collective action of independent publishers in favour of bibliodiversity and the participatory development of sound public reading and book policies.

• Amplifying the voice of independent publishing and increasing exchanges with readers, actors of the world of books and culture and public institutions, through studies, manifestos, documents, regional, national, and international meetings, and through a clear commitment towards the communities concerned.

• Promoting the sharing and diversity of reading, education and training in our communities, from a critical perspective, mindful of being part of a world rich in bibliodiversity, which we must protect today more than ever.

• Constantly interrogating our own production processes and dynamics inherent in the publishing world, in order to improve its impacts on our social and natural environment.

• Identifying and analysing the strategies and good practices in our respective countries, to better implement them where they are lacking.

The aim is to strengthen book ecosystems locally by involving all relevant actors, and to promote a book culture in our societies, a necessary condition to escape manipulation and to build democratic societies for critical and committed citizens.

We call on all independent publishers who share these statements to sign this declaration:

• Silvia Aguilera, Lom ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• German Baquiola, Editorial La Caída and collective of independent publishers of Equator, Equator.
• Nicolas Biebel, Econautas Editorial, Argentina.
• Constanza Brunet, Marea editorial, Argentina.
• Mikel Buldain, Txalaparta, Basque Country.
• Mariela Calcagno, Hacerse de Palabras, Mexico.
• Fabiola Calvo Ocampo, Acracia Proyecto de Investigación Editorial, Colombia.
• Patricia Cocq Muñoz, Cocorocoq Editoras, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Daniela Cortés del Castillo, Loba Ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Mónica Cumar, Ediciones Columba, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Héctor Dinsmann, Libros de la Araucaria, Argentina.
• Rodrigo Fuentes-Díaz, Edición Digital s.a., Editores de Chile, Chile.
• José Gabriel Feres, Virtual Ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Gustavo Mauricio García, Ícono editorial and president of the Colombian Network of Independent Publishers.
• Catalina González, Luna libros and the collective La Diligencia, Colombia.
• Teresa Gottlieb, Editorial Maitri, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Victor Hugo de la Fuente, Editorial Aún Creemos en los Sueños, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Guido Indij, la marca editora, Argentina.
• Eduardo Lira, Escrito con Tiza, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• María Eugenia Lorenzini, Editorial Forja, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Marcelo Mendoza, Mandrágora, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Lucía Moscoso Rivera, Mecánica Giratoria, Ecuador.
• Pablo Moya, Ediciones el Milagro and Mexican Alliance of Independent Publishers Alliance, Mexico.
• Francisca Muñoz, general manager at Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Daniela Navarro, Ediciones Ekaré Sur, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Mabel Andrea Rivera Pavez, Ediciones Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Eduardo Ruiz-Tagle Eyzaguirre, Editorial Rapanui Press, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Luis Daniel Rocca, Taller de edición Rocca and Colombian Network of Independent Publishers.
• Juan Carlos Sáez, JC Sáez editor, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Leonel Sagahón and Jerónimo Repoll, Editorial Tintable, Mexico.
• Alfonso Serrano, La Oveja Roja, Spain.
• Javier Sepúlveda, e-books Patagonia and president of Association Editores de Chile.
• Paulo Slachevsky, Lom ediciones, Editores de Chile, Coordinator RedH AIEI, Chile.
• Mónica Tejos, Simplemente editores, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• María José Thomas, Ocho Libros editores, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Max Valdés Avilés, Vicio Impune Editorial, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Carlos Vela, Editorial Pesopluma and collective of independent publishers of Peru, Peru.
• Marisol Vera, Editorial Cuarto Proprio, Editores de Chile, Chile.

To sign the “Declaration of Santiago de Chile on independent publishing serving communities and diversity”, please contact the Alliance’ team.

Through a partnership with the Editores de Chile collective and publishers member of the Alliance in Latin America and Spain, more than 15 publishers from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Equator, Spain, Mexico and Peru met in Chile, for a 2-day meeting, in the margins of the 8^th Primavera del Libro.

These workshops and meetings are part of the activities of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021: “Rethinking independent publishing, celebrating bibliodiversity!”

On this occasion, the Alliance launched, in Chile, the results of the previously unpublished analysis carried out on public book policies in Latin America.

To read the paper “What new book donation practices can meet the needs of young African readers in libraries?” (IFLA 2014), see here.

Bibliodiversity is cultural diversity applied to the world of books. Echoing biodiversity, it refers to the critical diversity of products (books, scripts, eBooks, apps, and oral literature) made available to readers. Bibliodiversity is a complex, self-sustaining system of storytelling, writing, publishing, and other kinds of production of oral and written literature. The writers and producers are comparable to the inhabitants of an ecosystem. Bibliodiversity contributes to a thriving life of culture and a healthy eco-social system. While large publishers do contribute to publishing diversity through the quantitative importance of their production, it is not enough to guarantee bibliodiversity, which is not only measured by the number of titles available.
Independent publishers, even if they consider their publishing houses’ economic balance, are above all concerned with the content of published products. Independent publishers’ books bring a different outlook and voice, as opposed to the more standardised publications offered by major groups. Independent publishers’ books and other products and their preferred diffusion channels (independent booksellers, among others) are therefore essential to preserve and strengthen plurality and the diffusion of ideas. The word bibliodiversity was invented by Chilean publishers, during the creation of the “Editores independientes de Chile” collective in the late 1990s. The International Alliance of independent publishers significantly contributed to the diffusion and promotion of this notion in several languages, including through the Dakar Declaration (2003), Guadalajara Declaration (2005), Paris Declaration (2007), Cape Town Declaration (2014) and the Pamplona-Iruñea Declaration (2021). Since 2010, International Bibliodiversity Day is celebrated on 21 September.

See the article “Bibliodiversity” on Wikipedia.
The article also exists in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The bibliodiversity, in pictures!

This issue is dedicated to Andre Schiffrin, member of the Scientific Committee of the journal Bibliodiversity.

Follow this link to listen to the “Danse des mots” programme of April 18 2013, focusing on book donations. Yvan AMAR interviews Raphaël THIERRY, following the publication of the article in Africultures, April 8 2013 “Giving is not receiving. Thoughts on book donations in Africa”.

Container full of books inundating the market, books produced in another cultural setting given away free to readers or public libraries, the setup of local branches by publishing groups from abroad aiming to achieve monopoly conditions… Drawing on some examples of practices with damaging consequences to the publishing market in developing countries, Étienne Galliand (founder of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers) presents an overview of the predation to which emerging markets are subjected directly or indirectly. An edifying panorama.

As a complement to this article, you can consult the Guidelines for Fair Publishing Partnerships (in French).

While many African languages exist, publishing in local languages is almost inexistent because of the inherited dominance of colonial languages. However, some publishing houses publish in local languages and by doing so reach an often isolated readership. To preserve texts, promote authors, and widely circulate ideas, some publishers wished to meet to facilitate a flow of translations from one African language to another, to develop bilingual or trilingual co-publishing projects – representatives of Africa’s linguistic diversity.

How can we implement these projects? How can new technologies enable them? From an inventory of publishing practices in national and local languages, carried out by participants especially for this workshop, publishers will propose collective editorial projects that could be implemented in the years to come with the support of the Alliance, amongst others. The creation of an African language book fair will also be at the heart of discussions: this fair could represent the next meeting opportunity for public authorities and lead to measures that promote learning and publishing in national languages.
Through sharing experiences amongst eight African publishers and input from various participants, the workshop’s issues include:
* raising public authorities’ awareness on the development of learning in national languages;
* drafting practical proposals addressed to organisations working for the advancement of local languages;
* formulating recommendations addressed to book professionals and advocating for the creation of a local languages book fair and the development of African language publishing projects.
This workshop is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

From 2009 to 2015, the Alliance developed, on request of publisher members, a modest diffusion and distribution activity in France of youth literature published in Africa (“Lectures d’Afrique(s)”) . This fund addresses a double issue: make literary production published in Africa accessible and visible in the Northern market Northern market and, more modestly, participate in a rebalancing of commercial flow between South and North.
The youth sector, expanding in many regions in the world, is strategic in countries where publishing is emergent – it is indeed through youth literature that tomorrow’s readerships are formed. While catering to their local readership, publishers in Africa also wish to be known internationally. Their participation at book fairs in the North, for instance the Youth Book and Press Fair in Seine-Saint-Denis, reveals the presence of a readership on the Northern markets.