English

If we are to believe the major myths and tales, travel is part of the human adventure. Whether man embarks for good or toward a promised land (Abraham or Moses), experiences numerous tribulations before returning to his point of origin (Ulysses), takes to the road to seek wisdom through multiple encounters (Buddha) or goes off to discover terra incognita (Christopher Columbus or Marco Polo), he enriches his perception of the world.
In an era when travel is part of our daily life, Wang Yipei, writer and specialist in Western literature, very sensibly evokes the Chinese approach in which the themes of internal exile and migrations are omnipresent. Olivier Bleys, a young novelist and traveler, offers his Western perspective on the theme of travel through literature and the history of civilizations.

Year of publication: 2002

Is George W. Bush responsible for America’s international isolation?

Why did the United States declare ’war on terror’, and what does this war mean for the future of the world?

Another American Century answers these questions with a sweeping and penetrating study of the United States since the end of the Cold War. Nicholas Guyatt reveals the economic, diplomatic and military dimensions of American foreign policy, and investigates what Americans say and believe about their relationship with the rest of the world. A major new chapter discusses September 11^th, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the motives and ideas behind America’s ’war on terror’.

Available in English: “Another American century?” ; Zed Books Publishing

Year of publication: 2004

With the collaboration of Jean LIBERMAN

The decoding of the new terrorism, which hit the USA with full force for the first time, shows that it is inseparable from the transformation of the world and the establishment of a type of global power that is more inhuman than ever. In effect, the worldwide neoliberal economic policy implemented by the financial sphere has completely distorted the human promises of globalization. Misery, mass exclusion and humiliation are the counterpart of the accelerated commoditization of a growing proportion of human activities. Kamikaze fanaticism, bred among destitute peoples, cannot be separated from the financialization of the world, its network-based information-sharing and its “dirty money” financing that is built into the system.

Ignoring this diagnosis, the neo-liberal leadership, in particular the United States, still refuses to take the well-known measures that would drain the breeding ground of hyperterrorist barbarity.

As the fallout from the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) continues, John Madeley explores some key questions about the free trade that it advocates: Will free trade in food help or hinder the abolition of world hunger? Who benefits first? The poor? Or the transnational corporations? Will free trade help Third World farmers find new international markets? How can countries – North and South, rich and poor – protect their farmers?...

In English: “Hungry for Trade”, Zed Books Publishers

Year of publication: 2002

Farmers around the world are being pressured by half a dozen giant corporations to grow genetically engineered crops. What are the possible downsides for them, particularly for those hundreds of millions of farmers living in developing countries? On their environment? On their health? On their independence? On their traditional export crops? On their access to the marketplaces of their own countries? This important book comes out of a dialogue between farmers’ representatives and experts.

Available in English: “Brave New Seeds” ; Zed Books Publishers

Year of publication : 2004

Europe is arising. For the last fifty years, step by step, a new geographical space and political entity have been forming. Among the sites of memory devoted to the recent history of Europe, the Jean Monnet Foundation, in Lausanne, has a number of archives with rare texts that allow people to follow and better understand how the idea of the European Union gained momentum across the years, both before and during World War II. Its documents are the core of this collection. The texts presented in this volume are used to shed new light on the “European institutional machinery.” This angle shows that the construction of modern Europe was not necessarily “technocratic,” but rather, like any original project, the result of trial and error, hesitations, conflicts that are often forgotten today, and a real dynamic.

Year of publication: 2001

Is the theme of passion the core locus of cultural difference between East and West? Western civilization sees in passion a founding experience, emotionally, aesthetically and spiritually fundamental. Yet the East is more skeptical, reflecting Buddhist wisdom, which invites people to free themselves from passion to achieve awakening.
In a chronicle embodied in contemporary China, Ye Shuxian chooses to talk about loving passion. Codified in traditional China and repressed under the Cultural Revolution, the feeling of love is expressed more strongly today.
Michel Sauquet shows all the richness and ambiguity of the word passion in European culture: it sustains life and suffering; it absorbs, builds and destroys. Loving passion, passion of the artist as best exemplified by the character of Rimbaud; mystical passion exalted by the music of Bach.

Year of publication: 1999

For centuries, human cultures have rooted themselves in stone and monuments for utilitarian or artistic purposes, reflecting the power of kings or the greatness of gods. When first learning about Chinese architecture, what could be better than a guided visit to several emblematic monuments, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace? This is what Yang Xin provides, in a text full of detailed description. We are taught how Chinese architecture is a total art, rooted in the axes of thought: relationship with nature, permanent negotiation between the yin and yang, the empty and full, the sky and the earth. On the other side, Dom Angelico Surchamp, eminent specialist in Roman art, sets forth a panorama of the history of Western architecture, showing the gradual evolution of the temple, church and dwelling house. Little by little, space becomes organized around key values. More than the simple struggle between man and the elements or between man and material, the art of building translates a vision of the world.

Year of publication: 1999

So few people know Chinese culture, yet many are familiar with Peking duck and fried rice. Gong Gang happily explains how much, in China, the idea of beauty melds inseparably with the idea of goodness, in an association that may appear strange to a Westerner. Drinking tea, for example, invokes particular values, of clarity and limpidity, according to a broader definition of the five senses. For Paul Ariès, the issue is more controversial. Recalling the origin of good taste in the West, expressed particularly in culinary art and in restaurants, which arose in the early 19^th century with characters such as Brillat-Savarin, Mr. Ariès is alarmed by globalization and its threat to this table culture. “Can good taste coexist with modernity?” An exchange of views that will delight culinary enthusiasts.

Year of publication: 1999

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.

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.

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.

Follow this link to listen to the “Danse des mots” programme of April 18 2013, focusing on book donations. Yvan AMAR interviews Raphaël THIERRY, following the publication of the article in Africultures, April 8 2013 “Giving is not receiving. Thoughts on book donations in Africa”.

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).

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.