As the independence of publishing is increasingly discussed, we have decided to bring into debate a possible definition of the « independent creation publisher ». This tool, in the shape of a series of questions, would allow to assess the strengths and weaknesses of a publisher in terms of independence.
Read : The seventh issue of Bibliodiversity, the newsletter of the Alliance of independent publishers, has just come out !
Pays de parution : Burkina Faso
We got some very bad news from Burkina Faso in the month of December : Joseph Ki-Zerbo (photo below), an eminent African historian, political activist, promoter of independence movements, and reputable author, passed away. Upon hearing the news, Marie-Agathe Amoikon Fauquembergue of Eburnie publications (Ivory Coast) responded : “À baobab has left us !”.
We would like to salute the man, author, and thinker Ki-Zerbo was. We remember the international co-publication of his last work, which he entrusted to Alliance members : “À quand l’Afrique ?” (“When’s the time for Africa ?”) has become a reference, the winner of the “World Citizen award” (prix RFI Citoyen du Monde), a commercial success, and is now translated into Portuguese by 4 members of our network. We would like to send our sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Read : The sixth issue of Bibliodiversity, the newsletter of the Alliance of independent publishers, has just come out !
Read : The fifth issue of Bibliodiversity, the newsletter of the Alliance of independent publishers, has just come out !
Read : The fourth issue of Bibliodiversity, the newsletter of the Alliance of independent publishers, has just come out !
Order this issue in digital format here (in French)
Sale price (digital format - PDF) : 5 euros
ISBN : 978-2-490855-64-3
Published : 15 October 2024
All the responses to the international survey on the precariousness of independent publishers featured in this issue can be read in the PDF document opposite.
Watch the replay of the round table on precariousness organised in September 2024 as part of the Babelica Book Fair.
The Bibliodiversité review is co-published by Double ponctuation and the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
See all previous issues of the review here (“Transmission and renewal”, “Inclusion and Diversity in the Book Industry”, “The Alternatives. Ecology, social economy : the future of the book ?”, “Minority Languages”, “Public Book Policies”, “Self-Publishing”, “Publishing and Commitment”, “Translation and Globalization”...).
Presentation
Although independent publishing houses (with their authors) are at the heart of the creative process, they are the ones most vulnerable to insecurity. Publishers hold down several jobs in order to stay in business, earn little or nothing, are caught up in a book market that encourages overproduction, and are under-represented and under-defended.
Independent publishing is becoming increasingly precarious. And yet its contribution to bibliodiversity is well-known. Genuine “venture capitalists”, independent publishers spot the talents of tomorrow and give a voice to minorities - much more so than other publishing structures. They play an important role in the intellectual, artistic and democratic life of a country.
How can we better support independent publishing and the talent it represents ? In addition to their questions, analyses and personal accounts, the contributors to this innovative issue put forward a series of proposals to combat the precariousness of independent publishing.
Read the call for stories and contributions - Bibliodiversité review, issue 12, to be published in March-April 2025.
Please contact us (equipe@alliance-editeurs.org) if you would like to submit a contribution to the Bibliodiversité review devoted to “Reading (r)evolutions (changing practices and technologies)”.
In 2017, publishers who are members of the Alliance along with academics and experts united to collectively produce some research on Public Book Policies in Latin America and in Sub-Saharan Africa. This has since been converted into a unique digital, graphic and interactive tool for informing and centralising data on the public support systems for books and reading in 22 countries.
In 2024, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, thanks to the support of Open Society Foundation, extends this project to the Arab world for a better understanding of public authorities’ commitment to books and reading in the different countries of the Arab world. To this end, data is collected in 10 countries based on a common questionnaire. The data will then be presented on the dedicated website for each country. A cross-sectional analysis will be carried out on the basis of these data ; the Alliance is looking for an author to draft this cross-sectional analysis.
Deadline to apply (equipe@alliance-editeurs.org) : 31 May 2024
This unique and important work ! The mapping and the analysis will be presented publicly in December 2024 or January 2025 to professionals and representatives of public authorities in the countries.
Read more here (in Arabic) / see on the right the English version for download
“It is important to understand the key role that the public procurement of books plays–similar to that of roads in a country’s development–and the related impacts of these actions on the ecosystem of books, culture, and education.
In purchasing books and socializing the processes of reading, the state’s actions may have numerous impacts. The selection of books is not only a question of quality and price, nor is it a simple technical process or an isolated action.”
This document is based on the Brevísimo manual de buenas prácticas para las compras públicas de libros (print and digital) that was included in the work of the Comisión de Compras Públicas de la Política Nacional de la Lectura y el Libro 2015-2020 (Chile), prepared by Paulo Slachevsky, coordinator of the commission. We are grateful to Germán Gacio Baquiola for his critical feedback and contributions.
Read the Manual
“Una buena política de adquisición de libros por parte del Estado tiene múltiples y significativos impactos en el desarrollo cultural, social, económico y político de un país […] Por todo ello es tan importante mejorar, incrementar, trasparentar, desconcentrar y fortalecer la presencia de autoras/es y editoriales locales en los procesos de compras públicas de libros. También analizar, revisar y diversificar constantemente las áreas en que se centran los gastos, como los libros de textos que concentran generalmente gran parte del gasto público en libros.”
Este documento reproduce, con algunas modificaciones, el Brevísimo Manual de buenas prácticas para las compras públicas de libros (en papel y en formato digital) que fue incorporado al trabajo de la Comisión de Compras Públicas - Política Nacional de la Lectura y el Libro 2015-2020 (Chile), realizado por Paulo Slachevsky (LOM Ediciones, Chile) como coordinador de la Comisión. Este manual ha sido revisado por Germán Gacio Baquiola (Editores independientes de Ecuador).
Leer el manual
“Co-publishing is a reminder of the extent to which solidarity is the main factor in the successful realisation of any project. It is a symbol of the strength that can be found when several publishers unite together. The book becomes much cheaper, accessible to the maximum number of readers and reaches several countries at the same time.” Lilian Thuram
For more than twenty years, independent publishing houses that are members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers have collaborated, sharing resources and know-how and developing solidarity co-publishing.
To record and preserve this expertise, the Alliance is going back to the beginnings of solidarity co-publishing and presenting the history of a pioneering collection, “Terres solidaires”, as well as the story of the publication of one of its titles.
With this document, the Alliance also wishes to reaffirm the need for solidarity co-publishing in order to :
• disseminate texts (thereby helping expand the literary ecosystem) ;
• strengthen local book industries ;
• make books more accessible to readers (adapted price).
Thank you very much to Armand Jamme for writing this document and to Mariette Robbes for its graphic design and illustration.
Order this issue in digital format here (in French).
Sale price (digital format - PDF) : 5 euros
ISBN : 978-2-490855-51-3
Published : 23 March 2023
The Bibliodiversité review is co-published by Double ponctuation and the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.
See all previous issues of the review here (“Inclusion and Diversity in the Book Industry”, “The Alternatives. Ecology, social economy : the future of the book ?”, “Minority Languages”, “Public Book Policies”, “Self-Publishing”, “Publishing and Commitment”, “Translation and Globalization”...).
Presentation
Many independent publishers and bookshops are faced with the question of the transmission of their businesses, and sometimes struggle to find someone to take them on. This not only impacts the individuals concerned. Given the extent to which, as a generation leaves the world of work, the phenomenon is gaining momentum in Europe as well as Latin America and Africa, the future of a certain idea of the book is also at stake.
But is transmission necessary ? And if yes, to who, when and how ? Are there differences between the transmission of a publishing house or bookshop and that of other businesses ? In a sector undergoing great change, the giving up of a business in the book industry poses a broader question about the capacity for renewal of cultural organisations – of their people, practices and content – but also about the integration of legislative, societal and technological changes.
Here, a collection of texts tackles from different points of view this essential yet under-studied subject. More than a practical guide – something it appears it would be difficult to write, given the variety of situations encountered – in this issue we seek above all to share academic analyses and accounts of experiences to help us reflect on the notion of renewal and think about these transmissions.
Read an excerpt from this issue, published by ActuaLitté : the testimony of Colleen Higgs, Modjaji Books in South Africa
Contents (in French)
Why have a Guide ?
This Guide is based on ideas, discussions, round tables and workshops prior to and during the International Conference of Independent Publishers in Pamplona-Iruñea (23-26 November 2021).
The objectives of this guide are to :
• suggest lines of approach and actions for publishers who are members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, and to book professionals more broadly ;
• help implement and put into practice the principles and values defended by the Alliance’s members ;
• illustrate these principles using examples (experience, projects, ideas, etc. from professionals) which may serve as sources of inspiration.
How ?
The “entries” in this Guide are thematic. Given that the intention of the Guide is to present in a practical way the principles of the Pamplona-Iruñea Declaration, the main entries are currently as follows :
• decolonial publishing
• ecological publishing
• feminist and LGBTQI+ publishing
• free publishing
• social publishing
• solidarity-based publishing
This Guide will evolve ; its form is not fixed. Indeed, several of the Guide’s entries require input that will come from the work of the thematic working groups which will be tasked with making suggestions and enhancing these entries. It will then be possible to update and adapt the Guide over time in line with the evolution of practices and ideas inside the Alliance (in particular through post-conference thematic working groups).
Prerequisite
The Alliance is a unique intercultural network, whose specificity and strength lie in respect for diversity.
Kindness, curiosity, listening and respect for points of view, as well as equal opportunities for speech, must be the basis of every exchange within the Alliance. There can be no place for hate speech or non-inclusive discourse, which would be against the fundamental principles of the Alliance.
This prerequisite is the basis on which the Alliance’s members organise themselves and work together – on the creation of this Guide, among other things.
Warning
The Guide to Good Practice is intended as food for thought and discussion. It cannot commit the publishers who are members of the Alliance to all the proposals and recommendations it contains. Indeed, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers is aware of the geographical diversity of its members and, consequently, of their cultural diversity. It is also fully aware of the impossibility of implementing certain measures (e.g. on book ecology, etc.) in some countries for many reasons related to the political, social, economic, cultural environment…
Read the Guide
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