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Uncensored Teheran Book Fair, 2-14 May, Europe and North America

16 Iranian publishers from the diaspora organize from May 2nd to May 14th, in the same time than the Teheran Book Fair (May 3rd-13th) the “Uncensored Teheran Book Fair”.
This Book Fair will occur successively in 9 European and North American cities:

  • 2-3 May: London
  • 5-6 May: Stockholm
  • 9-10 May: Paris
  • 11-12 May: Cologne
  • 12-14 May: Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam
  • then in Toronto and Los Angeles

This event represents a way for the Iranian publishers to have “their” book fair, to show and sell some books that are forbidden in Iran.

Find all details (in Farsi) on the website www.uncensoredBook.com and on the social networks through the hashtag #UncensoredBook. And for any other details, do not hesitate to contact the publishing house Naakojaa, who has initiated the Book Fair.

The International Alliance of independent publishers supports this touring book fair, as part of the activities in favour of freedom of publishing. If you are interested by publishing in Farsi, we also recommend you to have a look on Publishing in Persian language, study realised by the Alliance in 2015.

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Assembly of Swiss and Francophone publishers at the Geneva Book and Press Fair (Switzerland), 26 and 27 April 2017

For the 3rd year in a row, the Assembly of Swiss and Francophone publishers will be held during the Geneva Book Fair. Taking the opportunity of having several Swiss and francophone publishers’ representatives, these meetings will be held over two days: the first day will examine the issues of book exportation and circulation in the Francophone space, while the second will focus on the issue of who will take over the publishing profession in Switzerland. New in 2017, practical workshops in small groups will be offered to participants. These three workshops are organised through the support of the Alliance:

  • Editorial partnerships: an alternative to exportation
  • Communication strategies: how to sell and promote Francophone literature?
  • Exportation of books: what are the challenges? Pricing, regulations, tariff barriers and censorship.

Information and accreditation here.

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Public book policies in the Arab world and viewpoints of Chile and France / Tunis Book Fair (Tunisia), 24 March – 2 April 2017

In partnership with the Tunis Book Fair and the Union of Tunisian Publishers, and thanks to the support of the Fondation de France and the French Institutes of Tunis and Beirut, the Alliance will organise a day focusing on public book policies in the Arab world, on Thursday 30 March. Publishers from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia will present a panorama of public book policies in their respective countries: Chilean and French publishers will speak on what is being implemented in their countries – a dialogue and exchange between professionals and public authorities, between continents, between cultures.

This day was initiated in the context of the Bibliodiversity Observatory and the mapping work of public book policies in Latin America and in the Arab world, on-going at the Observatory.

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The Indies at Livre Paris 2017 (France), 24-27 March 2017

Meetings not to be missed, more than 15 publisher members of the Alliance in 9 countries! More information to be coming here.

* Friday 24 March, 10.00 - 12.00 - BIEF stand (U18)
B2B: copyright transfers in the French-speaking countries / meetings between publishers from sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti, and French publishers – facilitated by the Alliance, in partnership with BIEF

* Monday 27 March, 9.00 - 16.00 - SNE Forum (U14)
“Creation, partnerships and promotion: developing opportunitides for French-speaking publishing” / 3 round tables (children books, literature and human and social sciences) in the presence of Francophone publishers – facilitated by BIEF, in collaboration with the Alliance

* Tuesday 28 March, 9.30 - 13.00 - Centre national du livre
Meeting of publishers from the French-language network of the Alliance / On the agenda: exchanges about the study of digital printing hub in West Africa done by Gilles Colleu (Vents d’ailleurs, France) : presentation of the study on French publishing industry and its social and environmental impacts, conducted by the Bureau for the Appraisal of Social Impacts for Citizen information (BASIC).

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Indie Book Day, 18 March 2017

Next March 18th, it is the “Indie Book Day”!
You are invited to go in an independent bookshop, to buy a book published by an independent publisher, and to post a picture of the book, or you with the book, on the social networks, with the hashtag #indiebookday.

The Indie Book Day was created by German independent publishers; today, independent collectives in Italy (ODEI), in UK (IPG) are organizing the Indie Book Day. Tomorrow, the Indie Book Day could exist in your country!

More information here.
Facebook.

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The Alliance wishes you a new year 2017 in the colors of bibliodiversity!

A teasing for coming activities:

Bibliodiversity Observatory
*Online Resources: mapping on public Book policies in Latin America and in the Arab world…
* Research and innovations: a renovated Digital Lab; study on digital print in French-speaking Africa;
* Advocacy: study on freedom of publishing; professional meeting on public Book policies in the Arab world and in Europe, in partnership with Tunis Book Fair.

Workshops and thematic meetings
* Know-how and experiences exchanges between peers about digital publishing, non-fiction publishing, economic models…
* Sharing information and collaborations between organisations from different sectors about independence, about governance, about social and solidarity economy…
* Spaces dedicated to rights transfer: sells, exchanges, even barter between independent actors
* Collective stands on international book fairs: Frankfurt, but also “alternative” book fairs…

Fair publishing partnerships
*Publication of two books in the collection “Terres solidaires”: Palestine, written by Hubert Haddad, and Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit, written by Mutt-Lon
*Translation into Spanish and German of Bibliodiversity, A Manifesto for Independent Publishing, written by Susan Hawthorne
* Being Feminist Today, collective book
* Co-publishing in Spanish of Manual de edición. Guía para tiempos revueltos, written by Manuel Gil and Martín Gómez, originally published by CERLALC

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Workshop “Creation and graphic design in children’s book publishing”, Paris, 27-29 November 2016

Few days before the Seine-Saint-Denis children’s Book Fair in Montreuil (30 November-5 December 2016), twelve children’s book publishers and graphic designers from Benin, Brazil, France, Madagascar, Morocco, Portugal, and Togo will gather for a workshop on creation and graphic design in children’s book publishing. Through knowledge sharing, the participants will work on their on-going projects, tackling issues like text/images layout, pictures processing, specificity of bilingual books, tones and colours tones on books cover...

The workshop aims at:

  • opening new horizons, discovering new approaches, not being stuck with some frames and norms;
  • questioning knowledge and professional practices of the publishers and of the graphic designers;
  • collectively finding resources and solutions to solve some obstacles;
  • sharing some existing (or to-be-created) tools;
  • reinforcing professional partnerships between African, Brazilian and European publishers.

This workshop follows the workshop organized in November 2015 (Graphic design in children’s book publishing - Africa/Europe perspectives). It is supported by the Centre national du livre, the French Institute of Brazil, and the French Institute of Madagascar. All participants agreed to volunteer their services – we thank them once again.

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European collectives and International Committee of independent publishers meeting, Paris, 15-17 October 2016

Representatives from 6 European collectives (Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Switzerland) will meet in Paris, at the invitation of the International Committee of independent publishers (ICIP). The main objectives of this meeting are to share knowledge, discuss business issues, plan partnerships, and build the foundations for future exchanges. This is only the first step towards strengthening an independent publishing open to the world, and guaranteeing bibliodiversity.
A part of this meeting will focus on the governance of the Alliance, as well as an assessment of the Bibliodiversity Observatory, some few months after its creation in July 2016.

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International Bibliodiversity Day, 21 September 2016

Bibliodiversity… it is the daily life of independent publishers, what drives them. Why make it a special day, then? To celebrate Spring Day in the Southern Hemisphere, for books to occupy public spaces, to share, connect, exchange, discuss, and have fun… Because diversity of ideas is essential to the construction of democratic societies, because independent publishers are its actors, together with authors, translators, illustrators, booksellers, librarians…

This year, some planned festivities and activities include:
In Quebec, Mémoire d’encrier publishers, in partnership with the Maison de la Syrie (‘the House of Syria’), facilitate a Quebec-Syria literary meeting
In Syria, Atlas Publishing convene booksellers and publishers in the heart of Damas
In Chile, EDIN collective will distribute a list of independent publishers’ works in the country’s main libraries; filmed activities will be held throughout the day
In Colombia, public spaces (parks, public places) will be animated by publishers from the REIC collective
In Italy, the independent publishers members of the FIDARE get themself heard through a call
In Spain, the ministry of Culture is launching a campaign in favor of bibliodiversity
In Peru, the collective of independent publishers EIP is organizing an Independent Book Fair, from 23 to 25 September, to follow on facebook
In Argentina, the collective of independent publisers EDINAR is planning bookcrossing, literary meetings...

Follow all the activities on the Alliance website and social media.

And have a look on the official B Day 2016 video!

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La Saison de l’Ombre

Author(s) : Léonora MIANO
Publishing countries : Republic of Guinea, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo
Language(s) : French
Price : 2 500 FCFA ; 600 DA ; 45 DM ; 35 000 GNF ; 3 500 RWF

Year of publication of the Pan-African version: 2016, 11,5 X 19 cm
First publication in France: Grasset (2013)

Co-publishers: Apic (Algeria), Eburnie (Ivory Coast), Ikirezi (Rwanda), Jimsaan (Senegal), Ganndal (Guinea), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Le Fennec (Marocco), Proximité (Cameroon)

A Fair Trade Book co-publishing.

Collection Terres solidaires

Created in 2007, the “Terres solidaires” collection is a collective experience. It proposes literary texts from African authors, published by a collective of publishers in Francophone Africa, Through the principle of solidarity co-publishing, texts circulate, are available and accessible for African readers: the local book ecosystem is protected and strengthened.
The “Terres solidaires” collection is supported by the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF).

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Bibliodiversity Observatory

Publishing in Persian Language, a groundbreaking study on publishing in the Persian language

Publishing in Persian language presents a comprehensive and current overview of publishing in Persian language, in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, but also in the diaspora in Europe and the United States.
Articles, penned by Ali Amiri, Beytolah Biniaz, Masoud Hosseinipour, Farid Moradi, Laetitia Nanquette and Dilshad Rakhimov, enable an understanding of editorial markets through historical, economic, political and cultural perspectives.
This study sheds light on the work and publishing list of several independent publishers in Persian language, and thus enabling professional and intercultural exchanges.
Publishing in Persian language is available in Persian and English, and openly accessible on the Website of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, in PDF, ePub and MOBI formats.

Summary of the study:
• Introduction, Beytolah Biniaz
• History of publishing in Iran, Farid Moradi
• Panorama of independent publishing in Iran, Farid Moradi
• Structure of the book market in Iran, Farid Moradi
• Cultural exchanges and translations between Iran and France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States, Laetitia Nanquette
• Persian language publishers in Europe, Farid Moradi
• Publishing in Afghanistan, Ali Amiri
• Panorama of publishing in Tajikistan, Dilshad Rakhimov
• Publishing in Persian language in Uzbekistan, Farid Moradi and Masoud Hosseinipour

Publishing in Persian language, “État des lieux de l’édition” collection (Reports on the publishing world), International Alliance of independent publishers, 2015.
ISBN: 978-2-9519747-7-7 (Persian version)
ISBN: 978-2-9519747-8-4 (English version)

Publishing in Persian language was made possible through the support of the Prince Claus Fund. We thank all contributors, publishers, and professionals who participated to this collective endeavour –and particularly Sonbol Bahmanyar for the coordination of the study.

Collection État des lieux de l’édition

Read the study in MOBI format_in Persian

Read the study in MOBI format_in English

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Publishing in Africa: From independence to the present day, by Walter Bgoya and Mary Jay, 2013

Indigenous publishing is integral to national identity and development: cultural, social, and economic. Such publishing reflects a people’s history and experience, belief systems, and their concomitant expressions through language, writing, and art. In turn, a people’s interaction with other cultures is informed by their published work. Publishing preserves, enhances, and develops a society’s culture and its interaction with others. In Africa, indigenous publishers continue to seek autonomy to pursue these aims: free from the constraints of the colonial past, the strictures of economic structural adjustment policies, the continuing dominance of multinational publishers (particularly in textbooks), regressive language policies, and lack of recognition by African governments of the economic and cultural importance of publishing. African publishers seek to work collectively, to harness the digital age, and to take their place in the international marketplace on equal terms, Africa’s own voice.

This article, by Walter Bgoya and Mary Jay, was originally published in Research in African Literatures, vol. 44, no. 2, Summer 2013, 17-34, published by Indiana University Press.

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The Independent publisher

The socio-economic environment, historical approach and political context are only some of the factors to consider in appreciating, in all its complexity and diversity, the notion of an independent publisher. Independent publishers in Chile, France, Benin, Lebanon, or India work in specific contexts that have direct consequences on their activities. However, although the situation differs from one country to another, it is possible to agree on some criteria in order to define what is an independent publisher. Independent publishers develop their editorial policy freely, autonomously, and without external interference. They are not the mouthpieces for a political party, religion, institution, communication group, or company. The structure of capital and the shareholders identity also affect their independence: the takeover of publishing houses by big companies not linked to publishing and implementation of profit-driven policies often result in a loss of independence and a shift in publishing orientation. Independent publishers, as defined by the Alliance’s publishers, are originating publishers: through their often-innovative publishing choices, freedom of speech, publishing and financial risk-taking, they participate in discussions, distribution, and development of their readers’ critical thinking. In this regard, they are key players in bibliodiversity.

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What new book donation practices in Africa?, IFLA Congress, Lyon (France), 16-22 August 2014

At the 80th IFLA Congress (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), from 16 to 22 August 2014 in Lyon (France), the International Alliance of independent publishers will present a paper on “What new book donation practices can meet the needs of young African readers in libraries?”
This analysis on book donation practices and their impact both on the readers and book industry in French-speaking Africa, is written by Marie Michèle RAZAFINTSALAMA (éditions Jeunes malgaches, Madagascar) and the Alliance team. She is continuing the research and advocacy work begun a number of years ago by a group of publisher-members of the Alliance on book donation challenges for bibliodiversity. This paper is an extension to the workshop on book donations held in March 2013 in Paris (International Assembly of independent publishers).

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

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Bibliodiversity

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!

GIF - 1.3 Mb

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Predation

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).

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Local and national languages: What opportunities for publishing?, 11 to 13 June 2013, Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

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).

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African youth literature: what visibility on the international market?

Publishing countries : Italy

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.

Although African literary output is sold to the general public in the North, is it bought in the context of fairs dedicated to right sells? What are the necessary prerequisites to participate in these professional fairs? Would African literature find buyers?

In partnership with Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Alliance convened eight African publishers in Bologna from the 23rd to the 27th of March 2013.

Through experience sharing and the intervention of a literary agent specialised in rights transfer (mainly at the service of small youth publishing houses), publishers will also work on the following items:
• Identify relevant catalogues for copyrights transfer;
• Develop marketing tools to better present one’s production;
• Negotiate rights and follow-up with business contacts…

Publishers will also reflect on publishing standards in the design and production of books, standards that could facilitate access to international markets while posing a production standardisation risk. How can we reconcile publishing on two levels simultaneously, addressing a local readership and also an international one?

A session of the workshop will focus on the development of an advocacy document proposing a series of recommendations aimed at book fairs to support the attendance of publishers from the South.

Finally, this meeting will be the occasion for a projects fair, a “mini Bologna” that could lead to translation proposals, rights transfers and co publishing projects. Some of these projects could thereafter be supported by the Alliance.

As an extension to this workshop, meetings with publishers and organisations supporting youth publishing were held during the Fair, providing an opportunity to concretely illustrate the reflection processes carried out over the two previous days, to better discover and understand the workings and mechanisms of a Fair such as Bologna’s. We hope that this support will enable publishers to renew and assure their participation in the long term… and ultimately, that African youth literature will be more visible on international markets.

The Alliance warmly acknowledges the support of Bologna Children’s Book Fair, Fondation de France, Centre national du livre and the Institut français of Madagascar, essential to the implementation of this workshop.

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