English

The Alliance will welcome you, from the 30^th of November to the 5^th of December 2011, to its collective stand, “Readings from Abroad: Africa, Americas, Oceania”, J-11, in the Seine-Saint-Denis Youth Press and Book Fair International Space. We invite you to meet and discover works from 10 African, Brazilian and French publishers represented at the stand “Readings from Abroad”: Alif publishers (Tunisia), Bakamé (Rwanda), Donniya (Mali), Ganndal (Republic of Guinea), Jacana (South Africa), Jeunes malgaches (Madagascar), Pallas (Brasil), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Benin), Vents d’ailleurs (France) and Yomad (Morocco).

Click here to discover and order some youth literature the whole year through, and to consult the collective catalogue “Readings from Africa(s)”.

In the margins of the Fair, the Alliance organises meetings between African publishers and French librarians and also with associations and structures involved in the book trade – see programme below for more details!
Through the School of Youth Literature, the Alliance also proposes a training day on youth publishing in French-speaking Africa on Friday the 2^nd of December.
More information can be obtained on the website of the Fair.

Following the call for solidarity with Ecosociété coordinated by the Alliance in 2008, we sent you the conclusions of the “case Noir Canada” with Barrick Gold (as you will see in the attached press release).

Indeed, in order to put an end to the proceedings that Barrick Gold (mining company) instituted against it in April 2008 for the sum of 6 million dollars, Ecosociété and the authors of Noir Canada decided to cease the publication of the book.

However this important title is still part of Ecosociété backlist - and we know it will go on being read, through the copies which have been bought since 2008, notably by libraries.

In front of this censorship act, and the pressure put by compagnies on a independent publishing house, we would like to praise the pugnacity of the publishers and the authors during these last three years.

The struggle against censorship is still topical, and the Alliance goes on supporting every action that Ecosociété will do in favor of freedom to publish.

The independent publishers will meet again in Frankfurt this year. Please feel free to meet them directly at their exhibition stands or contact the Alliance for any additional information.

On another note, a session not to be missed is the public presentation of the study on digital publishing in developing countries, a study coordinated by the Alliance in partnership with the Prince Claus Foundation, on Thursday 13 October 2011 between 12h00 and 13h00 at the Dialogue Forum (Hall 5.1 / A962). Octavio KULESZ (from Teseo Editorial, Argentina, author of the study), Gabriela ADAMO (Director of the Buenos Aires Book Fair), Bridget IMPEY (from Jacana Media, South Africa) and Mariana WARTH (from Pallas Editora, Brazil) will be participating in this session.

Since 2010, the International Bibliodiversity Day (B Day) is celebrated on 21 September (Spring Day in the Southern hemisphere) by independent publishers. On the programme this year:

• in Spain, in Tenerife, the African Book Fair 2011, taking place from 21 to 25 September 2011, will host the publisher members of the Alliance at round tables and meetings, and will provide a platform for the Alliance to officially launch B Day (see programme below);
• in France, a workshop on bibliodiversity will bring together some representatives of the book industry’s professional associations (booksellers, librarians, publishers);
• in Latin America, national publishers collectives are mobilising and will be facilitating numerous activities, read the blog at eldiab.org;
• consult the Wikipedia article on “bibliodiversity”, available in Portuguese, Spanish, French and English;
• in Australia, the artist Judy Horacek draws bibliodiversity;
• in Turkey, the painter Emine Bora illustrates biblodiversity;
• in India, the artist Alpana Khare represents bibliodiversity;
• in South Africa, bibliodiversity is interpreted by a designer - see the illustrations below!

And what’s happening in your part of the world? Tell us about your activities!

Watch the B Day 2011 video!

Through its partnership with the Prince Claus Foundation, the Alliance gathers Persian-language publishers of the diaspora (Germany, Denmark, United States, France, Netherlands and Sweden) for an unprecedented meeting in Paris, from 22 to 24 June 2011. We hope this meeting would allow publishers to create both humane and professional bonds, ease the way to develop projects collectively and finally to reunite.

The report of this meeting is available in English and Persian. Please, write us to receive a copy.

The International Committee of Independent publishers (ICIP) will gather in Paris from 19 to 22 June 2011 for the annual meeting with the Board of Alliance. This year the ICIP will participate in the General Assembly of the Alliance on 20 June, and will meet with the Persian-language publishers of the diaspora, who gather in Paris from 22 to 24 June 2011 (see the program above).

The ICIP members present in Paris:

• Nouri ABID (éditions Med Ali, Tunisia), Coordinator of the Arabic-language network;
• Serge D. KOUAM (Presses universitaires d’Afrique, Cameroon), Coordinator of the French-language network;
• Araken GOMES RIBEIRO (Contra Capa, Brazil), Coordinator of the Portuguese-language network;
• Guido INDIJ (la marca editora, Argentina) - Coordinator of the Spanish-language network;
• Ritu MENON (Women Unlimited, India) - representative of English-language network.

The report of the meeting of ICIP is available from the Alliance team.

The ICIP includes the coordinators and vice-coordinators of the Alliance’s language networks; the coordinators and vice-coordinators are nominated by the members of the networks. Since 2011, the ICIP has been an essential part of governing the Alliance, representing the voice of the publishers. The ICIP meets once a year in the presence of the Board and the team of the Alliance. The agenda is based on the aspirations and objectives of the Alliance, considering above all the needs and expectations of the members.

Composition of the ICIP:

• Coordinator of the Arabic-speaking network: Samar Haddad, Syria (Atlas Publishing)

• Coordinator of the English-speaking network: Colleen Higgs, South Africa (Modjaji Books)
• Vice-coordinator of the English-speaking network : Ronny Agustinus, Indonesia (Marjin Kiri)

• Coordinator of the French-speaking network: Élisabeth Daldoul, Tunisia (elyzad)
• Vice-coordinators of the French-speaking network: Paulin Assem, Togo (AGO Média) and Jean-Claude Naba, Burkina Faso (Sankofa & Gurli)

• Coordinators of the Persian-speaking network: Azadeh Parsapour, UK/Iran (Nogaam) and Anahita Mehdipour, Germany/Iran (Forough Verlag)

• Coordinators of the Portuguese-speaking network: Mariana Warth, Brazil (Pallas Editora) and Carla Oliveira, Portugal (Orfeu Negro)

• Coordinators of the Spanish-speaking network : Germán Gacio Baquiola, Ecuador (Editores independientes de Ecuador) and Francisca Muñoz Méndez, Chile (Editoriales de Chile)

15 publishers from 8 countries (Algeria, Argentina, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria) met in Tunis, from 12 to 15 May 2011, to discuss e-publishing. The meeting was organised by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, with the support of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.

The publishers who met in Tunis wished it to be known that these meetings took place in a peaceful and secure environment. The warm welcome we were given, despite the curfew then in place, enabled us to organise meetings of a high standard, from both a professional and a human perspective.

We wished to show our solidarity with our Tunisian partners in this way, by inviting associations, NGOs, organisations and institutions, tourists and the simply curious to rediscover Tunisia – a Tunisia where freedom is in the air.

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 Tunisia and Lebanon, the Alliance organised a day focusing on public book policies in the Arab world on Thursday 30 March 2017.

Publishers from Algeria, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia presented a panorama of book public policies in their respective countries: Chilean and French publishers spoke 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 of public book policies in Latin America and the Arab world, on-going at the Observatory.

Call for proposal – looking for an author

The Alliance aims to produce an unprecedented study about freedom of publishing, listening to independent publishers about the following questions:
• What are the different infringements of freedom of publishing that independent publishers confront in their countries?
• How do they face these threats in their daily professional life?
• How do the publishers resist, preserve, and defend their freedom of publishing? How do they circumvent censorship?
• Are publishers more vulnerable today than they used to be? Have there been some significant changes in recent years?
• From the point of view of the publishers, is there a limit to freedom of publishing (and freedom of expression)?
The study will be written in French. If you are interested in conducting this study, please send your proposal to the Alliance team before 13 March 2017.}

The sixth ordinary session of the Conference of Parties->https://en.unesco.org/creativity/convention/governing-bodies/conferences/6th-ordinary-session] to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (Paris, UNESCO 12 - 15 June 2017) has approved the Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment.

Read the operational guidelines in English here.

Read the text of the Convention.
Read the Operational Guidelines of the Convention here.

The International Alliance of independent publishers demands that Turkish authorities immediately release publishers, authors and journalists currently detained. It is necessary to guarantee freedom of speech and publishing in Turkey. The Alliance joins the Turkish Publishers Association’s condemnation of the summary closure of publishing houses and media as a clear human rights violation, and urges the Turkish authorities to rescind those summary closures.

Read issue 4 of the journal Bibliodiversity.

Organised by Afrilivres Association, through the support of its partners and the support of OMEL (Malian book publishers organisation), the first edition of the African Languages Book Fair will convene professionals, academics, institutions, NGOs, and the general public for 3 days of discussions, sharing, exhibition, and sale of books in African languages. An unprecedented and unique event, not to be missed!

Extract from the Communiqué by the Alliance for a call for freedom of speech and publishing in Bangladesh, 10 November 2015:

For several months, authors, bloggers, publishers and booksellers have been the victims of violent and deadly attacks in Bangladesh.

The International Alliance of independent publishers, representing 400 independent publishers from 45 countries in the world, condemns these murderous attacks and assault on freedom of speech and publishing. The Alliance also reaffirms the essential role needing to be played by public authorities, in Bangladesh and throughout the world to enable the emancipation of its citizens, and to guarantee a public space conducive to dialogue and peace. Plurality and diversity of ideas constitute the foundation of democracy. It is urgent that the Bangladeshi government protects and supports actors in the book industry, thus safeguarding the foundations necessary for their work and freedom of speech.

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.

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.