English

Co-publishers: Apic (Algeria), elyzad (Tunisia), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Le Fennec (Marocco), Proximité (Cameroon)
Year of publication of the Pan-African version: 2017, 11,5 X 19 cm
First publication in France: Zulma (2007), Cinq Continents price 2008

A Fair Trade Book co-publishing.

Co-publishers: Amalion (Senegal), Apic (Algeria), Eburnie (Ivory Coast), Ganndal (Guinee Conakry), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Proximité (Cameroon), Sankofa & Gurli (Burkina Faso)
Year of publication of the Pan-African version: 2017, 11,5 X 19 cm
First publication in France: Grasset (2013), Ahmadou Kourouma price 2014.

A Fair Trade Book co-publishing.

Workshops, exchanges and knowledge sharing

• In situ training on e-publishing of illustrated and interactive books, in Lomé (Togo), 10-14 July 2017: two Togolese publishing houses member of the Alliance benefited from personalised support in the context of a training facilitated by Gilles Colleu (Vents d’ailleurs publishing house, France). A programme of the Alliance’s Digital Lab, supported by the International Organisation of the Francophonie.
• Meetings of the European collectives in Paris (France), 19 and 20 July 2017: 4 European collectives (Kurt Wolff Stiftung in Germany, Contrabandos in Spain, ODEI in Italy, IPG in the United Kingdom) and the Alliance met to strengthen their relationships, and find ways of collaborating, exchange tools and experiences…
• Conakry, UNESCO’s world book capital (Guinea Conakry), 23-29 November 2017: Ganndal publishing facilitate, during Conakry’s Children’s Book Fair, a colloquium on African children’s books, and a focus on African languages publishing… The Alliance will participate to this event by organising a workshop on digital publishing in African languages.

Book Fairs

• Frankfurt Book Fair (Germany), 11-15 October 2017: workshop on fair publishing partnerships and workshop on freedom of publishing (an initiative of the Alliance), “hot list” (space dedicated to independent publishing, an initiative of the Spanish-language network of the Alliance), meetings on publishing in the Francophone space in the context of the invitation to “Frankfurt in French”, Party Time for Indies (an initiative of ODEI and IPG, in collaboration with the Fair)… Bibliodiversity will be there, with independent publishers from all over the world!
• Salon de L’Autre Livre in Paris (France), 17-19 November 2017: several publishers member of the Alliance will participate to this edition, an opportunity to share and have a roundtable on independent publishing on the international level (Tunisia, Iran…).

Celebrations

• International Bibliodiversity Day, 21 September 2017, throughout the world! Readings, book crossing and piñatas in the public space, meetings, picnic, posters, and postcards: all ideas are welcome to participate to this day. Of course, do not forget to support independent bookshops and other relevant networks to reach as many readers as possible! See activities of the previous year here: blog el dia B and the Alliance’s website.

Bibliodiversity Observatory

• Resource centre: data collection and analysis on public book policies in Latin America and Spain, in the Arab world and in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar; Bibliodiversity’ Journal, Digital Lab, study on the creation of a digital printing press in Francophone Africa…
• Advocacy: awareness activities on book donation, African languages publishing, study on freedom of publishing

Governance

• Meeting of the International Committee of independent publisher (ICIP) in Paris (France), from 7 to 9 October: the agenda is being drafted by ICIP… more information soon.

16 Iranian publishers from the diaspora organize from May 2^nd to May 14^th, in the same time than the Teheran Book Fair (May 3^rd-13^th) the “Uncensored Teheran Book Fair”.
This Book Fair will occur successively in 9 European and North American cities:

• 2-3 May: London
• 5-6 May: Stockholm
• 9-10 May: Paris
• 11-12 May: Cologne
• 12-14 May: Amsterdam, The Hague and Rotterdam
• then in Toronto and Los Angeles

This event represents a way for the Iranian publishers to have “their” book fair, to show and sell some books that are forbidden in Iran.

Find all details (in Farsi) on the website www.uncensoredBook.com and on the social networks through the hashtag #UncensoredBook. And for any other details, do not hesitate to contact the publishing house Naakojaa, who has initiated the Book Fair.

The International Alliance of independent publishers supports this touring book fair, as part of the activities in favour of freedom of publishing. If you are interested by publishing in Farsi, we also recommend you to have a look on Publishing in Persian language, study realised by the Alliance in 2015.

For the 3^rd year in a row, the Assembly of Swiss and Francophone publishers will be held during the Geneva Book Fair. Taking the opportunity of having several Swiss and francophone publishers’ representatives, these meetings will be held over two days: the first day will examine the issues of book exportation and circulation in the Francophone space, while the second will focus on the issue of who will take over the publishing profession in Switzerland. New in 2017, practical workshops in small groups will be offered to participants. These three workshops are organised through the support of the Alliance:

• Editorial partnerships: an alternative to exportation
• Communication strategies: how to sell and promote Francophone literature?
• Exportation of books: what are the challenges? Pricing, regulations, tariff barriers and censorship.

Information and accreditation here.

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 Tunis and Beirut, the Alliance will organise a day focusing on public book policies in the Arab world, on Thursday 30 March. Publishers from Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia will present a panorama of public book policies in their respective countries: Chilean and French publishers will speak 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 work of public book policies in Latin America and in the Arab world, on-going at the Observatory.

Meetings not to be missed, more than 15 publisher members of the Alliance in 9 countries! More information to be coming here.

* Friday 24 March, 10.00 - 12.00 - BIEF stand (U18)
B2B: copyright transfers in the French-speaking countries / meetings between publishers from sub-Saharan Africa and Haiti, and French publishers – facilitated by the Alliance, in partnership with BIEF

* Monday 27 March, 9.00 - 16.00 - SNE Forum (U14)
“Creation, partnerships and promotion: developing opportunitides for French-speaking publishing” / 3 round tables (children books, literature and human and social sciences) in the presence of Francophone publishers – facilitated by BIEF, in collaboration with the Alliance

* Tuesday 28 March, 9.30 - 13.00 - Centre national du livre
Meeting of publishers from the French-language network of the Alliance / On the agenda: exchanges about the study of digital printing hub in West Africa done by Gilles Colleu (Vents d’ailleurs, France) : presentation of the study on French publishing industry and its social and environmental impacts, conducted by the Bureau for the Appraisal of Social Impacts for Citizen information (BASIC).

Next March 18^th, it is the “Indie Book Day”!
You are invited to go in an independent bookshop, to buy a book published by an independent publisher, and to post a picture of the book, or you with the book, on the social networks, with the hashtag #indiebookday.

The Indie Book Day was created by German independent publishers; today, independent collectives in Italy (ODEI), in UK (IPG) are organizing the Indie Book Day. Tomorrow, the Indie Book Day could exist in your country!

More information here.
Facebook.

A teasing for coming activities:

Bibliodiversity Observatory
*Online Resources: mapping on public Book policies in Latin America and in the Arab world…
* Research and innovations: a renovated Digital Lab; study on digital print in French-speaking Africa;
* Advocacy: study on freedom of publishing; professional meeting on public Book policies in the Arab world and in Europe, in partnership with Tunis Book Fair.

Workshops and thematic meetings
* Know-how and experiences exchanges between peers about digital publishing, non-fiction publishing, economic models…
* Sharing information and collaborations between organisations from different sectors about independence, about governance, about social and solidarity economy…
* Spaces dedicated to rights transfer: sells, exchanges, even barter between independent actors
* Collective stands on international book fairs: Frankfurt, but also “alternative” book fairs…

Fair publishing partnerships
*Publication of two books in the collection “Terres solidaires”: Palestine, written by Hubert Haddad, and Ceux qui sortent dans la nuit, written by Mutt-Lon
*Translation into Spanish and German of Bibliodiversity, A Manifesto for Independent Publishing, written by Susan Hawthorne
* Being Feminist Today, collective book
* Co-publishing in Spanish of Manual de edición. Guía para tiempos revueltos, written by Manuel Gil and Martín Gómez, originally published by CERLALC

Throughout 46 well-documented pages and based on an extensive in-the-field investigation, Stéphane Marill has produced this remarkable analysis of “Publishing in Côte d’Ivoire: a study of the educational sector subjected to offers to tender”. This comprehensive overview comprises an all-new step-by-step guide for publishers wishing to apply for school publishing tenders (read also this article).

This study, available in Spanish, was carried out as an International Alliance of independent publishers exclusive by Elena Enríquez Fuentes (Mexico) in 2008.

Her work demonstrates that there is a considerable bias in the trading of books between Spain and Latin America. This assertion is based on the analysis of exports and imports between Spain and Latin America in 2006 and 2007.

As the official campaign for the next European elections is being launched, the Alliance has decided to get involved in a positive fashion by formulating three proposals that would be very simple to implement.

These proposals have furthermore been published on the website http://challengeforeurope.blogactiv.eu, with dozens of others, on the initiative of the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation in the framework of its “What kind of Europe do we want?” program. Let us hope this impressive corpus of proposals will be a profitable inspiration to the EU’s future elected representatives!

An incredible censorship attempt is endangering the very existence of the publisher Écosociété (Quebec – Canada); more than 60 publishers from 30 countries have declared their undivided support for the Quebec publisher and are calling on the pinstigators of the “Noir Canada” affair to respect the rights of freedom of expression and publication.

Through a step-by-step approach, with examples and a pedagogical method, Stéphane Marill gives a precious “vade mecum” for any publisher wishing to respond to a call for tenders in the school textbook industry.

Why did the large majority of European countries choose to protect the book, setting its price through trade agreements or legal measures? How were these protection mechanisms, which make the book into a cultural exception permitted by the European Commission, gradually implemented? Markus Gerlach offers a broad analysis the price-fixing of books in Europe: he begins by relating the background of this measure and then analyzes the economic effects. In the end he shows the extent to which the price-fixing of books, apart from its cultural and economic importance, also assumes an eminently political dimension.

“Protéger le livre” by Markus Gerlach (in French) - available in Spanish (“Cómo proteger el libro”), in Portuguese (“Proteger o livro”) and in Italian (“Proteggere il libro”).

Year of publication: 2006, 160 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 10: 2-9519747-2-8; ISBN 13: 978-2-9519747-2-2

Year of publication: 2006, 288 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 978-2-9519747-3-9

Far from being a caricature, developing a reasoning based on his personal conception of publishing, Gilles Colleu explores some of the characteristics of a typical independent publisher.
What do we mean by independent publisher? Are they necessarily small concerns? Can a major group be independent? In a context of concentration and increasing dominance of financial considerations, how can publishers remain independent while playing their crucial role of putting fresh ideas forward?

Gilles Colleu is a former student of Jean-Marie Bouvaist and has taught alongside him on the Master course at Villetaneuse University. He is now an associate professor in the publishing professions department of the IUT in Aix-en-Provence. He founded the Vents d’ailleurs publishing house and manages it with Jutta Hepke, and for the past 20 years has acted as a consultant to publishers.

In this work, he stresses his conviction that publishing needs to be rooted in a long cycle of cultivation, to build a coherent catalogue and long-lasting business.

NB: pages 94 to 97 of this work feature a full, fresh definition of independent publishing, suggested by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.

Year of publication: 2006, 160 pages, 15 x 21 cm, ISBN 10: 2-9519747-2-8; ISBN 13: 978-2-9519747-2-2

A thorough report by Luc Pinhas, in French

Why do books have such restricted circulation in the French-speaking world? Which way does the flow go and which are one-way streets? What current legislation encourages publishing and the marketing of works? Are public policies sufficient? What setbacks are encountered in the marketing of works? Luc Pinhas draws a comprehensive portrait of the state of publishing, including legislation, circulation, distribution and marketing of books in the French-speaking world. This dossier, featuring entries on many themes and geographic locations, provides a complete overview of local realities, illustrated with telling examples. After analysing measures that states, associations and syndicates of publishing and book-store professionals have implemented, the author puts forward some proposals to fuel a much-needed debate. To achieve this and to hear what the main players had to say, especially with regard to the South, a fruitful survey was conducted at the Ouagadougou book fair in November 2004, in partnership with the international Association of French-speaking Bookstore Managers (AILF) - [http://www.librairesfrancophones.org/]

Year of publication: 2005, 288 pages, 15 X 21 cm, ISBN: 978-2-9519747-1-X

African literature in French is today better represented and better known in Europe than in Africa, where its distribution remains hampered by many obstacles. However, there are solutions, which require the mobilisation of various stakeholders in the book industry. One solution is co-publishing, based on a joint trade agreement. The publication of “L’Ombre d’Imana” by Véronique TADJO, a groundbreaking example of pan-African co-publishing, proves that it is possible, through joint action, to create the conditions necessary for a (re)appropriation by Africa of its literature. To make this possible, the Alliance is appealing to everyone, authors, publishers and institutions alike, to join forces and promote the bibliodiversity at the heart of the francophone spirit. This appeal is endorsed by many authors and book industry professionals.