On 21 September, we are celebrating bibliodiversity and also the 20th birthday of the Alliance!
The publishers are offering you a literary world tour in more than 30 countries: 45 readings in 25 languages to listen to and watch here!
A big thank you to all of you for this gift; thanks also to Naima Éditions for making this map.
The Children’s Book HotList highlights children’s books from independent publishers in Africa, Latin America and Europe. It is launched during the 2021 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, on June 14.
Comprising books from 16 countries, 36 publishing houses and 14 categories, this HotList represents the richness and diversity of independent publishing for youth and children’s literature.
You can find a book by searching its country, publisher or literary genre. If you are interested in a book, please do get in touch with its publisher.
The Arabic Language Network of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers expresses its strong condemnation of the forced deportation campaign of Palestinians from the “Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood” in East Jerusalem, and the systematic violence and persecution led by the government of Benjamin Netanyahu against Jerusalemites in particular and the Palestinians in general in restoring the “apartheid” policies that the world seeks to overcome.
Read here the entire open letter from the Arabic Language Network of the Alliance.
Author(s) : Khadi HANE
Publishing countries : Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Togo
Language(s) :
French
Price : 50 dirhams marocains ; 750 dinars algériens ; 45 000 francs guinées ; 3 000 FCFA
The latest solidarity co-publishing of the “Terres solidaires” collection is available from the following eight publishing houses: Apic (Algeria), Eburnie (Ivory Coast), Ganndal (Guinea Conakry), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Le Fennec (Morocco), Proximité (Cameroon), Sankofa & Gurli (Burkina Faso) and Tombouctou (Mali)
Retail price of the pan-African version: 50 Moroccan dirhams; 750 Algerian dinars; 45,000 Guinean francs; 3,000 FCFA
First published in France: Éditions Denoël, 2011
Layout for the publishing house collective: Apic (Algeria)
Cover selection and corrections: the publishing house collective
Shared printing in Algeria for Algeria, Guinea, Togo, Burkina Faso and Mali.
Transport of the copies from Algeria to Mali by plane and then dispatch to the different countries by road.
Local prints directly in the countries for Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco and Cameroon.
This solidarity co-publication bears the label Fair Trade Book.
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).
To find out more about the participants, practical information and to follow the Conference online, go to Babelica, the Alliance’s virtual space!
Consult the program below and register now!
To participate in the Conference, click here.
The Conference is organized by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Association of Independent Publishers of Navarre, EDITARGI.
Physical meetings, virtual window, sound archives
The meetings can be followed in streaming (via the virtual space Babelica or the Alliance’s YouTube channel). They will also be recorded and may be the subject of audiovisual editing, depending on the agreement with the participants. The conclusions of the roundtables and workshops will be disseminated afterwards to all participants.
Bibliodiversity ambassadors!
Bibliodiversity ambassadors are public figures who have agreed to amplify the voices of independent publishers, to accompany the reflections and practices of publishers, to defend and support bibliodiversity. The personalities solicited will be revealed in the coming weeks!
Presence of international independent publishers at the Navarra Book Fair (25-28 November, 2021), organized by the Association EDITARGI
A collective stand dedicated to the invited international publishers will present the variety and diversity of independent production internationally. This collective stand will be a meeting place for readers but also a space for sales/ purchases/ trade of copyrights between invited and local professionals.
Calendar 2021 of the Alliance and the Pamplona Meetings
The “Conference”, a snapshot of independent publishing worldwide
Since the creation of the International Alliance of independent publishers (an international network of 750 independent publishers from 55 countries around the world) in 2002, the “International Assemblies/ Conferences” have been held every four to eight years and bring together some 100 independent publishers from around the world: in 2003 in Dakar (Senegal); in 2007 in Paris (France); in 2014 in Cape Town (South Africa) and in 2021 in Pamplona-Iruña (Province of Navarre/ Spain).
They represent a landmark moment for international independent publishers, bringing together actors from all continents – they collectively provide a portrait of global independent publishing (Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Arab world and Oceania). They are a unique space for debate, meetings, and reflection on independent publishing – with no other equivalent worldwide.
Celebrate and REthink in 2021...
Between 2017 and 2018, when the Alliance network was planning and launching the 2019-2021 conference, the goals of this event were obvious: celebrating bibliodiversity and the work of independent publishers, REthinking the solidarity practices that we build through perseverance and determination, but also the relationships with other book professionals, and the relationships with readers.
This is obvious in view of the progress made since the last meeting in 2012-2014, but also in view of the experience of the Alliance, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2021.
2020, a global health crisis, a year of transformation
While the consequences of the health crisis are still difficult to assess in detail from an economic, social, and political vantage point, REthinking remains obvious but also becomes a necessity.
Why are independent publishers important actors in this period of crisis? How do they accompany societal transformations and transitions at work? What are the tools and practices that they put in place to apprehend the realities of tomorrow, to understand them? In what ways do books and the ideas they convey help defend and preserve the diversity of creations, points of view, ideas?
“Tomorrow’s” independent publishing?
This Conference is thus a moment of documentation on the state of the world, an international mapping of the movements of transition and/or interruption.
Its objective is to question and inform discussions on the role of books – of ideas – as a social and emancipatory trajectory.
It is a space for reflection, sharing of experiences and practical know-hows concerning the issues of today and tomorrow: ecology, social economy, inclusive publishing, cultural platforming...
Finally, the Conference is a space of solidarity, trust, human relationships, and dialogues between cultures.
Process and phases of the Conference
The Conference of the Alliance is built of our own accord over a long period of time, against the often-frantic rhythm that has become the norm. It follows a common thread that has been running for 20 years within the Alliance: the issues defended by the Alliance since its creation are always prominent (solidarity, equity of relations, rebalancing of flows, circulation of ideas, local creations and productions, fair speech, ecological concerns...). These are the foundations on which the independent publishing movement is based and are addressed considering contemporary issues and debates.
They are built collectively, based on the work carried out since the 2021-2014 conference and the 80 ensuing recommendations, from feedback from professionals in the field of books, from monitoring independent publishing throughout the world, from regular dialogue with other cultural actors, but also from observation of practices, trends, and alternatives that emerge here and there.
The Conference is built on two levels (public and “internal”), which feed each other and are complementary.
• A public level with an aim to meet, discuss, learn – which is embodied by meetings open to all (book professionals, readers, cultural actors, academics, civil society movements, etc.). It is about taking advantage of the space that the Alliance is to REthink practices, question the relationship of independent publishers to the current world, explore themes, allow each other utopias, look together to the future.
• An internal level (focused on the Alliance network) to formulate recommendations and tools, to elaborate objectives for the upcoming period, to define and refine the governance of the network.
The conference is structured around working groups and thematic workshops set up since the 2012-2014 Conference of the Alliance (1/on public book policies; 2/on the freedom of publishing; 3/ on digital publishing; 4/on publishing in local and national languages; 5/on solidarity-based editorial partnerships; 6/on the impacts of book donation practices).
Concretely, for the Alliance network, the aim is to achieve the following results for the period 2022-2025:
• Recommendations (based on the 80 recommendations from the previous Conference but also in the context of the current crisis)
• Objectives and action plan for the period 2022-2025
• Adjustments and validation/ endorsement of the governance of the association
In 2021, we would like to share with you the highlights and cultural inspirations of the independent publishers who make up the strength of our network: international playlists and selections of music, books and films recommended by the members of the Alliance.
To be discovered every week on our social media (Facebook; Twitter; Youtube and Instagram) and throughout the year on the Alliance website...
Follow us to broaden your musical, literary and cinematographic horizons!
On Youtube, listen to the Alliance’s international playlist for 2021 and see all the recommendations of Alliance members below.
Discover publishers’ backgrounds, get to know their work and their publications, and listen to the voice of independent publishers… by reading the exclusive publishers portraits in this section!
In partnership with the online magazine ActuaLitté, interviews with publishers member of the Alliance are regularly added here. Explore the interviews:
* Élodie Comtois (Écosociété publishers in Québec),
* Samar Haddad (Atlas Publishing in Syria),
* Marie Michèle Razafintsalama (Jeunes malgaches in Madagascar),
* Constanza Brunet (Marea Editorial in Argentina),
* Antoinette Koleva (KX Critique & Humanism in Bulgaria),
* Karine Joseph (Sirocco in Morocco),
* Colleen Higgs (Modjaji Books in South Africa),
* François Nkémé (Proximité in Cameroon),
* Aliou Sow (Ganndal, Guinea Conakry),
* Ritu Menon (Women Unlimited in India).
* Ivana Jinkings (Boitempo in Brazil),
* Sophie Bazin and Johary Ravaloson (Dodo vole in Madagascar),
* Dorota Hartwich (Format in Poland),
* Amanda Crocker (Between the Lines, Canada),
* Dieulermesson Petit Frère (LEGS Édition, Haiti),
* Corinne Fleury (Atelier des nomades, Mauritius),
* Abdulai Sila (Ku Si Mon, Guinea Bissau),
* Susan Hawthorne (Spinifex Press, Australia),
* Dan Bomboko (Elondja, Democratic Republic of Congo).
The International Alliance of independent publishers – representing 750 publishers in 55 countries around the world – calls for the release of Anges Félix N’Dakpri, president of the Association of publishers of Côte d’Ivoire (Assedi)
President of the Association of publishers of Côte d’Ivoire (Assedi) and General commissioner of the Abidjan International Book Fair (SILA), Anges Félix N’Dakpri was kidnapped on October 25 in Abidjan (see press release from several professional associations issued on October 27, 2020).
For some weeks, Côte d’Ivoire has been prey to strong political tensions in the context of the presidential elections.
Several local sources and international medias report arrests and pressure on opposition figures as well as journalists covering the events.
The kidnapping of Anges Félix N’Dakpri by armed men from his home in Abidjan on Sunday, October 25 occurs against a backdrop of violence, threats and restrictions on freedom of expression. According to his relatives, he would be now held at the MACA (Abidjan House of Arrest and Correction).
The International Alliance of independent publishers calls for an end to the arbitrary detention of Anges Félix N’Dakpri and invites professionals from the book industry, medias and human rights associations to relay this call.
Signatories
Members of the International Commitee of Independent Publishers
Publishers members of the French-speaking network of the Alliance
Representatives of the Board and the permanent team of the International Alliance of independent publishers
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.
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.
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).
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.
International Alliance
of Independent Publishers
38 rue Saint-Sabin
75011 Paris - France
