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During the closing meeting of the International Assembly of Independent Publishers (Cape Town, South Africa, 18-21 September 2014), 400 independent publishers from 45 countries signed the International Declaration of Independent Publishers 2014.
Collectively drafted in three languages, on 20 September 2014, the Declaration 2014 is available in several languages (French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Italian, etc.).

Do not hesitate to share the Declaration, to promote and strengthen bibliodiversity with us!

Tools and recommendations from the International Assembly of Independent Publishers (on digital publishing, public book policies, independent publishing houses’ economic models, youth literature, national and local languages publishing, solidarity publishing partnerships and “Fair Trade Book”, book donations) will be available before the end of 2014 by the Alliance.

On 21 September, celebrate the B Day, in Argentina, in Chile, in Colombia, in Peru, in South Africa (with the Open Book Festival), at home, here or elsewhere...

Follow the B Day here!
Contact the team of the Alliance to spread your activities!

The video of B Day is here!

Volunteers come from time to time to support the permanent team of the Alliance for the implementation of the action plan of the association: we thank them very much for their involvement and their commitment!

Céline ANFOSSI
Céline Anfossi is specialised in project management and consultancy. She has worked in the book sector, mainly in coaching professionals (International Alliance of independent publishers, Fill-Interregional Federation of Books and Reading). She explores these issues through different projects and audiences (women seeking employment, students) and is particularly interested in the topic of professional integration.

Djamilatou DIALLO

Born in Tahiti, of Franco-Guinean parents, Djamilatou continued her studies in Paris in Lettres et Histoire (MA dissertation on Ancient History: “Patrons of cities in Roman Africa from the third to the fifth century: an epigraphic study”).
In the long term, Jamilatou would like to specialise in the protection and enhancement of heritage by working with different cultural organisations here or elsewhere.
Following a five-month internship at the Alliance (development of the 2018 WomenList and the HotList presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the study on the textbook market in French-speaking Africa), Djamilatou is now a volunteer of the Association.

62 independent publishers from 38 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe are gathering in Cape Town (South Africa) from 18 to 21 September for a unique inter-linguistic and inter-cultural meeting on bibliodiversity! Booksellers, librarians, academics, authors and players in the digital arena are also associated with this event.
Held under the patronage of UNESCO, the Cape Town meeting closes the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, consisting of 7 preparatory workshops between 2012 and 2014.

Alternating between plenary meetings that are open to the public and thematic workshops, the publishers gathered at the Cape Town meeting will propose recommendations and concrete tools for bibliodiversity addressed to public authorities, institutions and professional collectives. To ensure continuity between the preparatory workshops and the Assembly’s closing meeting, thematic working groups have been actively preparing the Cape Town meetings for months.

Round tables and discussions organised in partnership with the Open Book Festival will also be held on 20 and 21 September to celebrate the International Bibliodiversity Day in Cape Town.

Finally, the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP) is meeting on 22 September to take stock of these four days, and to work on implementing the new directions and projects of the Alliance in the years to come.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to Cape Town in a few weeks!
To participate in the Cape Town meeting and/or to receive the recommendations resulting from the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, write to the team of the Alliance: equipe@alliance-editeurs.org

The Cape Town meeting takes place in three languages (English, French and Spanish). The entire programme (presentations in plenary, choice of thematic workshops, round tables with the Open Book Festival) was put together collectively by the participants. Moreover, the publishers also helped raise the funds necessary to hold this meeting, which could not have been achieved without the cooperation of our local partners (Jacana Media, French Institute of South Africa, Alliance française, Open Book Festival, Modjaji Books, National Library of South Africa and Goethe Institut).

At the 80^th 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.

As every year on 21 September, exciting activities (book crossing, readings, meetings, etc.) will be held on the occasion of International Bibliodiversity Day (B Day).
This year, we plan to make a lot of noise –rallying new individuals, groups and organisations from all over the world.

Working together in a network, going in the same direction, and with more determination than ever before.

This year, let’s go further!
Are you coming along?

The 7^th workshop of the International Assembly of independent publishers will be held from 30 April to 2 May 2014 in Abu Dhabi, through a partnership with the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, and the support of the International Organisation of the Francophonie and the Prince Claus Fund. It will convene 15 publishers and digital publishing experts from the Arab world and Argentina, with the common objective of:
• Helping publishers to overcome technical challenges encountered during the creation of ePub files in Arabic;
• Discussing digital distribution platforms used in the Arab world;
• Sharing experiences on online promotion and e-marketing;
• Drafting recommendations to facilitate traditional publishers’ transition towards digital publishing and secure a better diffusion for digital publications in the Arab world.

All proposals and recommendations from this workshop will be communicated to public and standardisation authorities, and will be available on the Alliance’s Digital Lab.

Following the workshop, 3 May, from 11:00 to 12:00, do not miss the public speech on “Words and money”, a book by André Schiffrin translated and co-published by the Arabic-language network of the Alliance. More information here!

For more information on this workshop and on the International Assembly of independent publishers: assises@alliance-editeurs.org
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Twelve publishers based in Africa, Haiti and Madagascar are collectively publishing Lilian THURAM’s “Mes étoiles noires”, initially published by Philippe Rey (2010). As from April 2014, you will find this publication in Algeria (Barzakh), Benin (Ruisseaux d’Afrique), Burkina Faso (Sankofa & Gurli), Cameroun (Presses universitaires d’Afrique), Côte d’Ivoire (EDILIS), Guiney Conakry (Ganndal), Haiti (Mémoire d’encrier), Madagascar (Jeunes malgaches), Morocco (Tarik), Mali (Jamana), Senegal (Éditions Papyrus Afrique), and in Togo (Graines de Pensées).

Lilian THURAM will visit Africa and Haiti to promote “Mes étoiles noires”:
• From 21 to 25 April 2014 in Guiney Conakry, during the event 72 heures du livre (through the support of the French Institute of Conakry)
• From 25 to 27 April 2014 in Benin (through the support of the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation)
• From 5 to 9 May 2014 in Haiti (details to be confirmed)
• On 19 July 2014 in Senegal (details to be confirmed)

This solidarity co-publishing “Fair Trade book” project is coordinated and supported by the Alliance, and benefited from the support of the Lilian Thuram Foundation – Education against racism and its partners, CASDEN and MGEN.

For more information on this co-publishing project, click 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!

Read the conclusions and proposals formulated by publishers from Francophone Africa following the workshop organised by the Alliance on “Digital tools and African languages”, held in Conakry, in November 2017, thanks the support of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the partnership with the house publishing Ganndal.

New edition published in 2017 by la marca editora (Argentina), co-published with EDINAR (Argentina) and CERLALC.
Book initially published by CERLALC.

ISBN: 978-950-889-299-7
264 pages / 20 X 25 cm

More information.

See also below the Peruvian publication of the Manual de edición, published by La Travesía Editora, Peruvian publisher, member of the collective EIP in Peru.

Publishing professionals charter and code of ethics, produced by the Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre (OMEL), Mali, 2017.

This charter was produced by OMEL (Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre) in April 2017, which authorized the Alliance to publish it on its website.

Re|Shaping Cultural Policies 2018 (UNESCO 2005 Convention Global Report)
Creativity at the Heart of Development
Excerpt from the foreword:
“This new UNESCO Global Report ‘Re|Shaping Cultural Policies’ is an invaluable tool for the implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This Convention, now ratified by 146 Parties, including the European Union, is leading UNESCO’s efforts to strengthen capacities for the creation, production, and dissemination of cultural goods, services, and activities. States are supported in their sovereign right to implement public policies for the development of strong and dynamic cultural and creative industry sectors. UNESCO is committed to developing more effective and sustainable public policies in these areas.
Our roadmap is clear and requires the cooperation of governments and non-governmental actors in four key areas: strengthening governance for culture, improving the conditions for the mobility of artists, integrating culture in sustainable development strategies, and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. These four goals are closely linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

Audrey Azoulay
Director-General of UNESCO

Read the report here.

Octavio Kulesz, member of the Digital Lab of the Alliance is the author of Chapter 3 of the report: “Cultural Policies in the Age of Platforms”.

Feasibility study on the establishment of digital printing structures for independent publishers, by Gilles Colleu (November 2017)

Among the 80 recommendations of the International Assembly of independent publishers (2012-2014), independent publishers called on public authorities and international organisations to “contribute and support the establishment of in-country digital printers and printing facilities, on demand (including in sub-Saharan African) to promote access to books”.

The Alliance thus launched a feasibility study in 2016, on the establishment of digital printing facilities in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Above all, the aim was to find out whether digital printing is a relevant alternative, and on what conditions. To do so, the study surveys the needs of local professionals, and discusses the potentials and benefits as well as limitations inherent to digital printing, based on realities and practices of Francophone publishers from sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Finally, it discusses the feasibility scenarios for the establishment of a digital printing hub.

By focusing on the technical aspect of digital printing as well as on the development potential in a Francophone African context, this study goes beyond a feasibility study and proposes reflection points on the economic and strategic models of independent publishing.

This study was supported by the International Organisation of Francophonie. A full version of the study is available to members of the Alliance.
For questions or comments, please contact the team of the Alliance.

Gilles COLLEU, author of the study
Former lecturer at the University Institute of Technology “Book Trade” in Aix-en-Provence, former Director of production and digital publishing for Actes Sud, Gilles Colleu established and manages, with Jutta Hepke, Vents d’ailleurs (La Roque d’Anthéron, France), member of the International Alliance of independent publishers. He co manages the digital printing hub Yenooa and incubator Rue des éditeurs and actively participates in the Digital Lab of the Alliance (tutorials, training).

As the Frankfurt Book Fair (11-15 October 2017) opens in a few weeks’ time, with a special focus on France and French languages, the International Alliance of independent publishers takes the opportunity to revisit some key issues for independent publishers and bibliodiversity, as expressed by 400 publishers from 50 countries, in the International Declaration of independent publishers of 2014.

France wished, in the context of Frankfurt’s invitation, to provide a space for publishers from the South and we are grateful for this opportunity. We hope this openness will contribute towards meaningful networking, discussion, and exchanges among Francophone publishers. These mutual trust and interest, at the heart of the Alliance, have indeed proven themselves over the past 15 years, leading to unprecedented co-publishing and translation projects between continents.

However, other aspects of “Frankfurt in French” are counterintuitive to this dynamic. Book donation initiatives from France to Africa are indeed planned in Frankfurt this year. More specifically, the 30 000 books to be displayed in the French Pavilion will be distributed to foreign countries after Frankfurt – and this while some twenty African publishers are invited to participate in the Fair, in an “African/Haiti” stand. As mentioned in several reports and in the Frankfurt programme (see here), book donations, while underpinned by good intentions, can disrupt the local book economy.

We therefore call on the accountability of each involved — public authorities, associations, and professionals, for these donations to be made in close collaboration with participating African publishers, but also in consultation with local African booksellers. These are the basic conditions for balanced and respectful exchanges in the actors’ respective environments.

It is critical to rethink book donation. Encouraging and supporting sustainable and fair editorial partnerships must be a priority.

We hope that the readiness to showcase Francophonie’s diversity and plurality in Frankfurt will be paralleled with constructive actions by public authorities, both in the North and South. It is indeed essential for political will to accompany a change of perspective and relations among Francophone countries.

In a joint statement published on 15 June 2017, the Association internationale des libraires francophones (AILF) and the Alliance shared their concerns and highlighted the impacts of book donations on a country’s book chain.

The Bibliodiversity Observatory collects studies, analysis, and tools produced by the Alliance, in collaboration with its partners. It is built around issues identified as priorities by independent publishers as a follow-up to the International Conferences of Independent Publishers for the 2015-2021 and 2022-2025 period.
Aimed at professionals and public authorities, the Observatory’s mission includes strengthening bibliodiversity in the various regions of the world.

As an independent, evolving and collaborative space, the Observatory’s role includes:

• a “research and analysis” pillar: resource centre focusing on major issues related to independent publishing;
• an “advocacy” pillar, including awareness and influence strategies.

The International Alliance of independent publishers acknowledges and thanks publishers and their partners (international organisations, Ministries of Culture, unions, etc.…) for their contributions and commitment to the Bibliodiversity Observatory.

Part 2: Raphaël Thierry: “Book donations, but at what price, and in exchange for what? An overview on book donation practice in francophone Africa (in French)”

Pre-print version to appear in African Research & Documentation. Journal of SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), no.127 (2015) [Release 2017]

Read the article on EditAfrica website!

Part 1: Hans M. Zell: “Book Donation Programmes in English-speaking Africa”

Pre-print version to appear in African Research & Documentation. Journal of SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), no.127 (2015) [Release 2017]

Extract from the editorial note of the print issue:
«Welcome to this bumper issue of ARD. Scolma is grateful to Hans Zell and Raphaël Thierry for choosing to publish their full length study of Book Donation Programmes in Africa in our pages.
It is as they say “time for a reappraisal” and it is our hope that the ensuing debate will take place in the pages of ARD as well as online. I would therefore invite responses and feedback to this important and provocative study. Feedback from receiving libraries in Africa is particularly welcome.»
Terry Barringer, Editor, African Research & Documentation

Read the article on EditAfrica website!