The Alliance of Independent Publishers, in partnership with the Ford Foundation (USA - www.fordfound.org) and the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation (Swizerland - www.fph.ch), set up a copublishing project to gather the proposals that will come out of the World Social Forum context, in Porto Alegre (Brazil). To achieve this goal, the Alliance sent 11 writers to Porto Alegre, to cover the 11 themes of the 2005 WSF (see the 11 themes of the WSF on the website www.forumsocialmundial.org.br). Each writer will contribute a chapter to a book that will be copublished by the Alliance members first in French, English, and Portuguese - followed by versions in other languages.
The members of the Enjeux Planète Group will meet in Bruxelles (Belgium), 16th to 18th, Décember, 2004. The program of this meeting -organised by the Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Luc Pire Publishing House- is: checking of the past copublishing processes, planning for the 2005 and 2006 publications, signature of the collective agreement.
Participants: Bernard Stéphan (Atelier Publishing House - France), Michel Sauquet (Charles Léopold Mayer Publishing House - France), Dominique Caouette (Ecosociété Publishing House - Canada), Luc Pire (Luc Pire Publishing House - Belgium), Jean Richard (en bas Publishing House - Switzerland), Bichr Bennani (Tarik Publishing House - Moroco), Karim Ben Smail (Cérès Publishing House - Tunisia), Béatrice Lalinon Gbado (Ruisseaux d’Afrique Publishing House - Benin), Serge Dontchueng Kouam (Presses Universitaires d’Afrique - Cameroon), Marie-Agathe Amoikon-Fauquembergue (Eburnie Publishing House - Ivory Coast).
The Alliance of Independent Publishers accepted the invitation from the Office du Livre in Poitou-Charentes, which organized the Littératures métisses festival [multiethnic literatures festival]. A number of discussions with writers (including Alberto Ruy-Sanchez, Alberto Manguel, Theo Hahola) and publishers (Jean Richard from Editions d’en bas, Thierry Discépolo from Editions Agone, among others), along with readings by the actresses Marie-Christine Barrault and Sonia Emmanuel, were open to the public.
The Alliance of Independent Publishers took part in two discussions “Éditer autrement” [Alternative publishing] and “Éditer, produire, créer, diffuser avec l’Afrique” [Publish, produce, create and distribute with Africa]. These discussions and the booth gave good visibility to the association and its members’ co-publishing projects and provided information to the public about topics such as book distribution, the circulation of ideas, independent and united publishing and the equitable book.
The Alliance of Independent Publishers was well represented at the International Book and Press Show in Geneva, where the African Book, Press and Culture Show was held for the first time. At the event, Paris team members Etienne and Alexandre ran into publishers Jean-Claude Naba from Editions Sankofa & Gurli (Burkina Faso), Béatrice Lalinon Gbado from Editions Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Benin), Marie-Agathe Amoikon Fauquembergue from Editions Eburnie (Ivory Coast), Bichr Benanni from Editions Tarik (Morocco) and Jean Richard from Editions d’en bas (Switzerland), along with Behrouz Safdari (who runs the Persophone network) and Isabelle Bourgueil (who ran the Afrilivres program in 2002 and 2003). They were all doing well and working hard! The Alliance members had several opportunities to talk about the Alliance and the co-publishing process during round-table discussions. Numerous copies of Declarations, along with posters and other items to familiarize people with our association, were available in the African bookstore, which also offered a wide selection of titles from our member publishers. We offer special thanks to Jean and Isabelle, who worked long and hard to make the event a success. Mission accomplished: Long live the African Book Show in Geneva!
The workshop on independent publishing, run by Indu Chandrasekhar and held to support the formation of a network of independent Indian publishers, lived up to its billing...
During the Abidjan International Book Fair (15-19 May 2019), the Alliance will facilitate a workshop on youth literature (13 to 17 May), followed by a workshop on typography and open digital resources (18 to 20 May). These workshops will convene more than 30 publishers from more than 16 French-speaking African countries, but also from Haiti, Madagascar, France and Portugal. The programme and content of these workshops, designed with and for publishers, is available here.
On 17 May, in the context of the SILA, the Alliance will organise B2B discussions with all participating professionals: a time dedicated to buying and selling rights between publishers – to create, foster and strengthen professional relationships, rights sales and co-publications.
The Alliance will launch an unprecedented analysis of public book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar written by academic Luc Pinhas. Findings from the data collection conducted in 12 countries between June 2017 and December 2018 by Serge Dontchueng Kouam (University Press of Africa), will be presented at a panel on public policy book on Thursday, 16 May.
Public book policies: a key chapter of the 2012-2014 International Assembly of independent publishers coming to an end in 2019!
The cross-sectional analysis of public book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar will be printed specifically for the SILA in Abidjan. In June 2019, the Bibliodiversity Journal will publish a special issue on public book policies, including cross-sectional analysis of book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, articles on public book policies in Europe and North America, testimonials from professionals from the Arab world... available online here from June 2019!
The activities organised at SILA are supported by AFD, the OIF and DDC, and are organized in partnership with Assedi (Association of Ivorian Publishers) and the Ivorian publishers members of the Alliance.
Video of workshops - International Conference of Independent Publishers (2019-2021)
In parallel with MICA (Argentina’s cultural industry trade show), 20 Argentinian publishers from Bolivia, Chilli, Colombia, Spain, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay will get together in Buenos Aires thanks to support from MICA, the Argentinian Book Chamber and Argentinian members of the Alliance. On the agenda : the implementation of the 80 recommendations promoting bibliodiversity in Latin America and Spain, the creation of a map of Latin America’s public policies...
The publishers will also participate in MICA events : copyright exchanges, co-publishing days, round-table discussions about the concentration of publishing and bibliodiversity...
Over 15 Iranian publishers and many cultures groups are participating in these events around the world (Nuremberg, Vienna, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Paris, London, Brussels, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Gothenburg, Bremen, Malmo, Copenhagen, Lubec, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles). This year, a collective catalogue containing new titles of 12 publishers present in the Book Fair is accessible both digitally and in print.
The International Alliance of independent publishers is a professional collective that brings together more than 800 independent publishing housesin 60 countries around the world. Created as an association in 2002, it is composed of 6 language networks (English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Persian) and thematic groups. Members of the Alliance are publishing houses and publisher collectives.
The Alliance’s activities promote and strengthen bibliodiversity (cultural diversity applied to the world of the book).
In alignment with its mission, the Alliance created a Bibliodiversity Observatory that gathers studies, analysis and tools produced by the Alliance, aimed at professionals and public authorities. The Observatory’s objectives include assessing and strengthening bibliodiversity in the world.
The Alliance also hosts and facilitates international meetings and thematic workshops (for example on children’s book publishing, digital publishing, etc.), enabling independent publishers from various continents to exchange ideas and initiate collaborations. These meetings support increasing capacity through peer sharing, an aspect developed in particular around the issue of digital publishing in the context of the Digital Lab.
The Alliance supports international publishing projects (co-publishing, translation, copyright transfers, etc.), for greater circulation of texts and fair access to books for readers.
In 2022, the Alliance launched a first-of-its-kind initiative: the first edition of Babelica, an international online Book Fair of Independent Publishing, which takes place once a year, on 21 September (International Bibliodiversity Day).
About the project:
‘Publishing & Book Culture in Africa’ is a new project headed by Caroline Davis, Associate Professor in Publishing, Department of Information Studies, Centre for Publishing, at University College London. With the support of a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship – and in association with Beth le Roux, Associate Professor of Publishing Studies at the University of Pretoria in South Africa – the intention is to set up a virtual network bringing together publishing researchers/educators across Africa. The network will serve as a platform of linking researchers, as well as a way of accessing databases of information about publishing in Africa; and to provide information about ongoing and past projects and open-access publications and research resources, including those generated by current research projects. A responsive and mobile-friendly project website ’Publishing & Book Culture in Africa’ is shortly to be launched.
As part of a wide range of resources to be made available, Hans Zell was commissioned to create the Repository, and which is now freely accessible in a Pilot edition on the Hans Zell web pages for a limited period of time. The final version will be hosted on the Network’s website later in the year.
Nigeria: Enajite Efemuaye; †Irene Fatayi-Williams; Azafi Omolabi-Ogosi; Mabel Segun
South Africa: Michele Betty; Henrietta Dax; Dorothy Dyer; Vangile Gantsho; Eve Gray; Veronica Klipp; Elizabeth le Roux; Alison Lowry; Gill Moodie; Alice Wairimū Nderitū; Lorato Trok; Elitha van der Sandt
Pre-print version uploaded on Academia.edu April 2022
Final print/online version to appear in The African Book Publishing Record,
Volume 48, Issue 2, (June 2022) https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/abpr
The Independent Publishing Glossary is a collective project led by publishers from the Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
It shows the meanings and definitions of words commonly used in publishing. It is an evolving project, which will be enriched over time in order to include new concepts and to take into account other proposal for definitions. The idea is not to freeze or petrify the concepts, but to open them up to enhance their multiple meanings.
Each term is signed by the person who worked on the definition. The glossary was edited by Germán Gacio Baquiola (Corredor Sur Editorial, Ecuador / Colectivo Editores independientes de Ecuador), Teresa Gottlieb, (Editorial Maitri, Chile), Paulo Slachevsky (Lom Ediciones, Chile) and Miguel Villafuerte, (Editorial Blanca, Ecuador).
Presentation
The world of books and writing is not necessarily diverse. Like all places of power, whether real or symbolic, it does not escape the forms of exclusion and predation that can be observed elsewhere in society.
By deliberately favouring a plurality of approaches to the question of inclusion, this issue of the journal attempts to explore a multidimensional phenomenon. Thus, whether through feminism, indigenousness, the LGBTQ+ movement or by considering those excluded from the written word, the authors question the inclusive capacity of this sector.
Beyond the observations, they propose practical examples (collected in France, Quebec, Belgium, Spain, India...) to promote inclusion: the establishment of a gender editor within an editorial office, the creation of a native publishing house, the management of bookshops, publishing houses or feminist or gay journals, the reflection of librarians on the conditions of reception of minorities, etc.
Little by little, thanks to these many initiatives, often without wanting to polemicise or to whitewash issues, professionals are fighting discrimination daily and promoting the expression of real diversity.
“Bibliodiversité” is co-published by Double ponctuation and the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
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!
Presentation
At a time when environmental concerns are becoming more and more important and when traditional production patterns are increasingly being questioned, is there such a thing as an ecological, responsible and solidarity book?
At a time when a significant proportion of printed books end up unread and when the physical flow of books generates significant greenhouse gas emissions, printers, publishers, booksellers and distributors are questioning their practices and the impact they have.
They are proposing alternatives to the dominant system to respond to these challenges – and thus define the future of the book?
In just this past month, three prominent Iranian writers, translators, and members of the Association of Iranian Writers, Bektash Abtin, Kayvan Bazhan, and Reza Khandan Mahabadi, and journalist and sociology researcher, Khosrow Sadeghi Boroujeni, have been sentenced to prison on charges of “propaganda against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and gathering and collusion with the intent of acting against national security.”
These accusations, which have led to long prison sentences and the charges levied are false. Their objectives are to further oppress writers and the people of Iran.
At a time when the world is under crisis by the pandemic, Iran, and especially within its prisons has a very unstable environment, with the increasing spread of Coronavirus among inmates.
We as authors and scholars would like to ask you to let the voices of our fellow authors in prison be heard by the people of the world and to demand their immediate release.
Daryoush Ashouri, Author, Translator and the Co-founder of the Association of Iranian Writers
Ervand Abrahamian, Author and Professor Emeritus, City University of New York
Azar Nafisi, Author
Faraj Sarkohi, Writer, Journalist, Literature Critic; A Member of German Pen; The Recipient of Kurt-Tucholsky-prize; World Association of Newspapers’ Golden Pen of Freedom Award and World Press Freedom
Hero by International Press Institute
Akram Pedramnia, Author, Translator; A Member of Pen Canada; the Recipient of James Joyce Foundation Scholar
Moniro Ravanipour, Author
Mohsen Yalfani, Author and Translator
Nasim Khaksar, Author and Critic
Reza Allamehzadeh, Moviemaker and Writer
Morad Farhadpour, Author, Translator and Critical Theorist
Akbar Masoumbaigi, Author, Translator and a Member of the Association of Iranian Writers
Babak Ahmadi, Author, Translator and Philosophy Researcher
Peyman Vahabzadeh, Author and Professor, University of Victoria
Sohrab Behdad, Denison University, USA
Farshin Kazeminia, Pierre and Marie Curie University (Paris 6)
Amir Kianpour, PhD Candidate, University of Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis
Mehran Mostafavi, Sacly University (Paris), Professor
Iman Ganji, PhD in Art Philosophy and Philosophy Researcher, Free University of Berlin
Mehrdad Darvishpour, Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor, Sociologist, Mälardalen University
Farhad Nomani, Professor Emeritus of Economics, The American University of Paris
Soheil Asefi, Journalist and PhD student in History, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York (CUNY)
Saeed Hariri, Moderator, Toronto Book Club
Azadeh Parsapour, Translator, Editor and Publisher
Arash Kia, Faculty of Institute for Healthcare Delivery Science, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York
South Africa: Colleen Higgs; Bridget Impey; Thabiso Mahlape; Monica Seeber; Annari van der Merwe; Zukiswa Wanner
Tanzania: Elieshi Lema
Uganda: Goretti Kyomuhendo
Zimbabwe: Jane Morris; Irene Staunton
This pre-print version uploaded on Academia.edu on 12 October 2020
Final print/online version to appear in The African Book Publishing Record,Volume 47, Issue 1, (March 2021) - https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/abpr
Analysis of data collected in 10 countries from independent publishers and public actors, by Andrés E. Fernández Vergara (University of Chile)
This article, written in Spanish, offers a regional analysis of public policies for the development of books and reading in Spanish-speaking Latin America, from the point of view of 53 actors in the book world from 10 different countries. It takes into account the similarities and differences that exist from one country to another in the region: on the one hand, there are complex networks of institutions and book promotion mechanisms; on the other hand, there is no national policy or strategic objective. The actors interviewed highlight the difficulties they encounter in their sector today: market concentration, piracy, lack of support for indigenous languages, etc. These are all dangers that threaten bibliodiversity in the region.
Contents:
Methodology
Censorship and content control
Laws, public policies and regulatory mechanisms for books and reading
Institutions and organisations working in the fields of books and reading
Direct support and assistance for books and reading
Data collection in the 11 countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar as well as in Latin America, cross-sectional data analyses and online mapping were supported by the Fondation de France and the SDC Switzerland.
