English

Some 17 publishers from Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Egypt but also from France, Côte d’Ivoire and Argentina will meet in Tunis from 12 to 14 May 2011 to discuss e-publishing in the Arab world. Further to the meetings organised in Ouagadougou in December 2010 in partnership with the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the Alliance continues to debate on the opportunities of e-publishing for independent publishers and for bibliodiversity. Through the theoretical sessions and practical workshops, publishers will have a chance tackle and explore e-publishing issues in the Arab world, particularly given the topicality and the role – sometimes crucial – of the Internet and the new media in the Arab revolutions.

The study on e-publishing in developing countries, conducted by Octavio KULESZ and coordinated by the Alliance, enabled through the support of Prince Claus, will be presented on Thursday, 12 May 2011 at 4.00 pm at the Hotel Les Ambassadeurs (Tunis). This is an event not to be missed!

Rooted in African daily life, in the streets of Bamako and Conakry, in the fishing port of Cotonou, on Tunisian soil, or redolent of Afro-Brazilian heritage, the 281 tales, documentaries, albums and novels that make up the catalogue are just waiting to be discovered. Books by nine independent publishing houses from Africa (South Africa, Benin, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, the Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, Tunisia) and from Brazil are now available in France, Belgium and Switzerland ! If you would like to diversify your stock, read in Bambara, in Arabic, in English, in Portuguese, in Kinyarwanda, in Malagasy, in French, if you are simply looking for some escapism … the solution is here … just turn the pages !

The Alliance distributes all the books contained in the catalogue in France, Belgium and Switzerland. To order, go to page 83 of the catalogue.

The “Lectures d’Afrique(s)” catalogue was developped with the support of the Ile-de-France Region.

Rooted in African daily life, in the streets of Bamako and Conakry, in the fishing port of Cotonou, on Tunisian soil, or redolent of Afro-Brazilian heritage, the 281 tales, documentaries, albums and novels that make up the catalogue are just waiting to be discovered. Books by nine independent publishing houses from Africa (South Africa, Benin, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, the Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, Tunisia) and from Brazil are now available in France, Belgium and Switzerland!
If you would like to diversify your stock, read in Bambara, in Arabic, in English, in Portuguese, in Kinyarwanda, in Malagasy, in French, if you are simply looking for some escapism… the solution is here… just turn the pages !

The Alliance distributes all the books contained in the catalogue.

Download the catalogue here.

The “African readings” catalogue was created with the support of the Ile-de-France Region.

Ten independent publishers from ten countries will be present during the African Book Fair in Geneva from 29 April to 3 May 2011. They will participate in roundtables and workshops about digital publishing, children’s book publishing in Africa, publishing in national and local languages, etc.

This event has been initiated by the Alliance, in partnership with the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (Institut de la Francophonie Numérique) and the SDC - Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

In line with decisions taken at the 2007 International Assembly on Independent Publishers in Paris, the language network Coordinators and the Board of the Alliance have been meeting on an annual basis since 2009 (please see our November 2009 Communiqué).

On 11 October 2010, the Coordinators and the Board of the Alliance met in Paris and decided jointly to create “The International Committee of Independent Publishers” (ICIP) [...].
Because the publisher members – Allies – are the primary players in the Alliance, the members of the ICIP and the Board of the Alliance are submitting the creation of the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP) to your approval.

This collection, which takes its title from an iconic verse by Fernando Pessoa, is a veritable invitation to a journey through sixteen tales by
authors from Brazil, Guinea-Bissau and Angola.

Year of publication: 2010; 224 pages; 14 X 21 cm; ISBN: 978-85-347-0294-2

Extract from the Tunisian Publishers’ Union’s communiqué, published on 21 January 2011

“The Tunisian Publishers’ Union, whose members met on Friday, 21 January, congratulates the Tunisian people, is proud of its glorious revolution and pays tribute to its martyrs, while declaring its unwavering support for the popular resistance”.

Paris, December 2010

It is with great concern that the International Alliance of Independent Publishers has noted the recent censorship of a book in Spain, and the threats made against the independent publishing house Txalaparta, member of the Alliance’s Spanish-speaking network.

The book in question, “El manual del torturador español” (The Spanish Torturer’s Manual) – by Xabier MAKAZAGA denounces the torture carried out by the Spanish police. The book was withdrawn from a public library (in the Basauri town council), following a request by a political party and certain Madrid newspapers to remove it from all libraries where it was made available to readers. However the practices described in this book support the accusations already made in reports by Amnesy International and by the UN Recorder on Human Rights. The campaign against this book has already been publicly denounced by public librarians. Furthermore the Basque Country Human Rights Observer (Behatokia) sent a letter of protest to Frank de la Rue, Special Recorder on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose headquarters are in Geneva.

The International Alliance of independent publishers, whose objectives include defending freedom of expression and denouncing all forms of censorship, also has a duty to respond publicly when attacks or infringements are directed – for ideological reasons – against independent publishers, whose very job it is to encourage the dissemination of ideas and to contribute to forging the identity of people and their culture.

One has only to examine Txalaparta’s publishing catalogue to appreciate the vast range of literary works and essays which constitute an undeniable contribution to bibliodiversity, while reflecting a clear editorial policy.

This is why we independent publishers are appealing to the Spanish authorities to respect the work of independent publishers and to encourage respect for fundamental rights and democracy.

We also appeal to independent publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers to follow the development of this matter closely and to express their support to Txalaparta Publishing in order to defend and respect the right to information that is true and diverse.

The Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of independent publishers

On Monday, 6 December 2010, following hours of online discussions among the 9 members of the Reading Committee of the “Terres solidaires” collection (“United Lands”), the 2010 prizewinners of the collection were announced: “Trop de soleil tue l’amour”, by Mongo BETI and “Mandela et moi”, by Lewis NKOSI!
These two new joint co-publications will be launched in Africa in February 2011.

The Alliance expresses its warmest thanks to the members of the Reading Committee (see the list below) for their involvement and their enthusiastic discussions!

• Agnès ADJAHO (former manager of the Notre Dame bookshop, Bénin);

• Élisabeth DALDOUL (Elyzad Publishing, Tunisia);

• Boubacar Boris DIOP (writer, Senegal - Tunisia);

• Emmanuel DONGALA (writer, Congo- United States);

• Mariame GBA (librarian, Côte d’Ivoire);

• Sofiane HADJADJ (Barzakh Publishing, Algeria);

• Jean-Claude NABA (Sankoka & Gurli Publishing, Burkina Faso);

• François NKEME (Ifrikiya Publishing, Cameroon);

• The book club of Oujda High School (Morocco).

The “Dictionnaire de la narratologie” (“Dictionary of Narratology”) is a reference work whose objective is to facilitate the dissemination and transmission of ideas by standardising concepts among Arabic-speaking readers. It enables the refinement of the definitions offered in various essays by Arab critics, whose conceptual framework is drawn directly from the works of theoreticians of Western narratology. The Dictionary is presented in the form of a glossary of terms in use in the analysis of the narration. It also contains terms relevant to the study of narrative and enunciative narratology, terms and notions borrowed from pragmatics and discourse analysis.

Arab terms have their French and English equivalents to fulfil the needs of a readership both French-speaking (Maghreb) and English-speaking (Middle East).

The Dictionary of Narratology is intended for students and researchers, literary critics and authors.

Year of publication: September 2010, 600 pages, 16,5 X 23,5 cm, 540 concepts presented in French, English and Arabic,
ISBN: 978-9973-33-294-3

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.