English

Few days before the Seine-Saint-Denis children’s Book Fair in Montreuil (30 November-5 December 2016), twelve children’s book publishers and graphic designers from Benin, Brazil, France, Madagascar, Morocco, Portugal, and Togo will gather for a workshop on creation and graphic design in children’s book publishing. Through knowledge sharing, the participants will work on their on-going projects, tackling issues like text/images layout, pictures processing, specificity of bilingual books, tones and colours tones on books cover...

The workshop aims at :

• opening new horizons, discovering new approaches, not being stuck with some frames and norms ;
• questioning knowledge and professional practices of the publishers and of the graphic designers ;
• collectively finding resources and solutions to solve some obstacles ;
• sharing some existing (or to-be-created) tools ;
• reinforcing professional partnerships between African, Brazilian and European publishers.

This workshop follows the workshop organized in November 2015 (Graphic design in children’s book publishing - Africa/Europe perspectives). It is supported by the Centre national du livre, the French Institute of Brazil, and the French Institute of Madagascar. All participants agreed to volunteer their services – we thank them once again.

Representatives from 6 European collectives (Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Russia and Switzerland) will meet in Paris, at the invitation of the International Committee of independent publishers (ICIP). The main objectives of this meeting are to share knowledge, discuss business issues, plan partnerships, and build the foundations for future exchanges. This is only the first step towards strengthening an independent publishing open to the world, and guaranteeing bibliodiversity.
A part of this meeting will focus on the governance of the Alliance, as well as an assessment of the Bibliodiversity Observatory, some few months after its creation in July 2016.

Bibliodiversity… it is the daily life of independent publishers, what drives them. Why make it a special day, then ? To celebrate Spring Day in the Southern Hemisphere, for books to occupy public spaces, to share, connect, exchange, discuss, and have fun… Because diversity of ideas is essential to the construction of democratic societies, because independent publishers are its actors, together with authors, translators, illustrators, booksellers, librarians…

This year, some planned festivities and activities include :
• In Quebec, Mémoire d’encrier publishers, in partnership with the Maison de la Syrie (‘the House of Syria’), facilitate a Quebec-Syria literary meeting
• In Syria, Atlas Publishing convene booksellers and publishers in the heart of Damas
• In Chile, EDIN collective will distribute a list of independent publishers’ works in the country’s main libraries ; filmed activities will be held throughout the day
• In Colombia, public spaces (parks, public places) will be animated by publishers from the REIC collective…
• In Italy, the independent publishers members of the FIDARE get themself heard through a call
• In Spain, the ministry of Culture is launching a campaign in favor of bibliodiversity
• In Peru, the collective of independent publishers EIP is organizing an Independent Book Fair, from 23 to 25 September, to follow on facebook
• In Argentina, the collective of independent publisers EDINAR is planning bookcrossing, literary meetings...

Follow all the activities on the Alliance website and social media.

And have a look on the official B Day 2016 video !

« Elles marchent côte à côte, serrées l’une contre l’autre, avancent à petits pas vers jedu. La végétation les empêche d’aller plus vite. Elles ne se sont pas munies d’un coutelas, pour trancher les branches rebelles. D’ailleurs, elles ont tout leur temps. Il en est ainsi, lorsqu’on ignore où l’on va : point n’est besoin de se hâter... De quoi s’inquiéter quand on a tout perdu ? »
Dire, avec les mots les plus justes, l’interminable douleur de ceux qui restent après le départ du grand « poisson de fer » des étrangers aux « pieds de poule », tel est le mérite de ce roman de Léonora Miano. Rarement un roman a su nous faire vivre avec autant d’émotion le désespoir et le désarroi des familles frappées en pleine nuit par le feu prédateur des négriers.

Née à Douala (Cameroun) en 1973, Léonora Miano vit en France depuis 1991. L’Intérieur de la Nuit, son premier roman, est paru en 2005. Une dizaine d’autres ont suivi depuis lors, recevant de nombreuses distinctions littéraires. Son écriture s’attache aux expériences subsahariennes et afrodescendantes, les inscrivant dans la conscience du monde. La Saison de l’Ombre a reçu le prix Femina 2013.

Date de publication de la version panafricaine : 2016, 11,5 X 19 cm
Édition première en France : Grasset (2013)

Une coédition solidaire « Le livre équitable ».

« Un système économique et social est en état d’équilibre
dynamique lorsque des voix différentes peuvent être entendues ».

Inspiré de la notion de biodiversité, le terme « bibliodiversité » fait référence à un ensemble de publications variées dans le paysage éditorial, représentatives d’un système culturel équilibré où toutes les voix peuvent s’exprimer. Aujourd’hui, l’uniformisation des médias et la concentration des secteurs de l’édition et de la librairie favorisent le développement d’une culture standardisée et soumise, à grand renfort de campagnes marketing, à des exigences de rentabilité plus que d’originalité et de qualité. En quête d’une autre voix, les petits éditeurs indépendants entendent bien maintenir la diversité culturelle.

S’inspirant de son propre parcours, l’auteure, militante féministe australienne et éditrice indépendante engagée, fait ici le lien entre l’évolution de la place de la femme dans notre société et la bibliodiversité, entre l’oppression des femmes et celle
des créations à la marge, dédaignées par les poids lourds de l’édition. À l’heure du numérique et de l’autopublication, elle rappelle les fonctions indispensables de relecture et de mise en forme assurées par l’éditeur, qui garantissent la qualité d’un
ouvrage. Elle s’attache aussi à mettre en avant les talents d’innovation des petites structures indépendantes, développant une nouvelle forme d’ « écologie de l’édition » en marge des grosses structures vers une véritable bibliodiversité du XXI^e siècle.

Une traduction de l’anglais vers le français, couplée à une coédition solidaire entre 4 éditeurs en France (éditions Charles Léopold Mayer), en Suisse (éditions d’en bas), au Mali (Jamana) et au Cameroun (Presses universitaires d’Afrique).

From October, 19th to 23rd, meet the independent publishers at the Frankfurt Book Fair : more than 25 publishing houses from all around the world will be there !

You can find the publishers’ contact on the attached document. Do not wait to make an appointment !

The International Alliance of independent publishers demands that Turkish authorities immediately release publishers, authors and journalists currently detained. It is necessary to guarantee freedom of speech and publishing in Turkey. The Alliance joins the Turkish Publishers Association’s condemnation of the summary closure of publishing houses and media as a clear human rights violation, and urges the Turkish authorities to rescind those summary closures.

Through the support of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the partnership established with the Ivorian publishers association (Assedi), the Alliance’s Digital Lab will convene 18 publishers from Sub-Saharan Africa from 23 to 27 May, to a workshop focusing on :
* the production and marketing of digital books (session facilitated by Gilles Colleu, Vents d’ailleurs, France) ;
* management of the Alliance Press web template developed by the Alliance for publishers who do not have websites (session facilitated by Mouhammed Diop, Senegalese developer and designer of Alliance Press).

The workshop follows on the series of meetings/training workshops designed and implemented by the Alliance since 2010, and is aimed at publishers in particular from French-speaking Africa. In order to share knowledge and encourage ownership, all workshops and meetings of the Alliance are complemented by factsheets published on the Digital Lab website, and personalised online tutorials.

The workshop will be held at the occasion of the Abidjan Book Fair (26-28 May, Palais de la Culture), and will provide the opportunity for publishers to share the collective stand of the Afrilivres association. The Afrilivres Prize will be awarded on that occasion, in the presence of the recipient of the 2015 prize : Valesse publishers from Ivory Coast.

After studying political sciences, Laura Aufrère was for 5 years coordinator of the French confederation gathering not-for-profit cultural professional initiatives from a variety of disciplines (music, theater, outdoor and circus, visual arts, etc.), rooted in the solidarity economy movement (UFISC). She is now a PHD student in management, looking specifically into critical approaches in the organisation theory and the digital humanities fields. She studies commons and social and solidarity economy initiatives, focusing specifically on work and labour organisation, cooperation and governance issues, and social protection. She joins the Alliance Board in 2016 and is now its President.

Publishers & Books, a monthly specialized magazine, produced and published by the African Observatory of Professional Publishers (OAPE). Articles are in French and/or in English.

See here the first issue (June 2018) ;

And below the second issue (July 2018) and the third issue (August 2018).

Consult here the training material produced by Denis Jacquerye, typographer (Dalton Maag Ltd), as part of the workshop on digital publishing and African languages, held in Conakry (Guinea Conakry) from 20-23 November 2017.

STATEMENT
August 8, 2018

The International Alliance of Independent Publishers (IAIP), a network of 553 publishers worldwide, expresses its shock and dismay at the late-night abduction and detention of acclaimed photographer and human rights activist, Shahidul Alam, in Dhaka. Shahidul Alam has been a partner-colleague of the IAIP, in which context we have interacted with him on many occasions.

We believe that the charges against him under Section 57 of the ICT are an attempt to intimidate him by using a draconian law to stifle his right to free speech. He has been held without due legal process, and we have received disturbing reports of brutal treatment meted out to him in detention.

The right of peaceful protest, and the defence of that right, are fundamental to democracy and to upholding the rule of law. The IAIP extends its support to, and expresses solidarity with, Shahidul Alam, and reiterates its commitment to the freedom of expression in Bangladesh as well as in the rest of the world.

See here the film make by New Internationalist (UK) in support with Shahidul Alam.

Authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers form what is commonly known as a “book ecosystem”, an expression that reflects the interdependence between actors in the book field. However, over the past few years, the discussions, both globally and in Europe, about re-defining the intellectual property rights, and the evolution of practices in the digital era, led to division that gradually distanced these stakeholders, with the risk of weakening the solidarity that unites them.
Fortunately, new conversations have started, more specifically about the cultural rights, opening a space where this topic can be debated and addressed from a new angle with focus on issues related to the balance of rights. Starting from the idea that fundamental rights are inseparable, it seems possible to understand author rights, cultural rights and social rights as a coherent whole. The challenge is to find an approach that would stop opposing the book professionals, to re-establish coalitions towards the conquest for new rights.
Due to their specific position, independent publishers could play an important role in framing this collective discussion in the book sector.

Lionel Maurel
A Law Degree holder, Lionel Maurel is currently a librarian at the University Paris Lumières Library. Author of the S.I.Lex blog, he specialises in Intellectual Property, Digital Law, and Cultural Law. Involved in the Commons movement, he co-founded the collective SavoirsCom1 (“Common Knowledges”) and is a member of the Strategic Orientation College of La Quadrature du Net.
Picture : thesupermath. CC-BY-SA. Source : Wikimedia Commons, remix by Guénaël Boutouillet

Read the full text !

“Publishing in African Languages : A Review of the Literature”, by Hans M. Zell, to read here !

This literature survey is an attempt to bring together some of the literature on an important and challenging, and one could well say neglected aspect of the African book sector, that of publishing in African languages, an area that greatly impacts literary production in many ways. It aims to make a small contribution to the ongoing debate about publishing of indigenous language materials, how the profile of indigenous language publishing might be enhanced – and how publishing in African languages could be conducted as a societally beneficial, sustainable, and profitable commercial activity.

Following an introductory overview of current publishing in African languages – and a discussion of its many barriers to success – it lists a total of 170 records, covering the literature (in English) published since the 1970s and through to early 2018. Fully annotated and/or with abstracts, it includes books, chapters in books and edited collections, reports, journal articles, Internet documents, theses and dissertations, as well as a number of blog postings.

To be published in African Research & Documentation. Journal of SCOLMA -The UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa, no. 132, 2018.

© Hans Zell Publishing Consultants 2018

An unprecedented study to be published in July 2020, initiated and coordinated by the Alliance !

A sociological survey conducted by Anne-Marie Voisard, Quebec researcher (MA on strategic lawsuits against public participation and legal repression of freedom of speech from the University of Montréal) and written by Philippe Chibani-Jacquot ; a historical introduction by Jean-Yves Mollier, French historian.

Since the creation of the Alliance, publishers – custodians of freedom of speech alongside journalists, authors, bloggers, booksellers, artists… – have been the whistleblowers on instances of censorship occurring in some countries. Over the past few years, we have noticed some new forms of attack on freedom of speech. In several contexts, pressures and limitations exercised on public speech are increasing. After the wave of freedom expected during the revolutions in the Arab world, the series of attacks in Africa, Europe, and in the Arab world, destabilised freedom of speech : a loss of sense, of bearings that brings us to question spaces of freedom, the reach of words and the power of the medium.

The freedom of publishing is a “category” of freedom of speech that can take different forms through various supports. The freedom of publishing pertains to the liberty to choose an author, to select or commission manuscripts, publish them, disseminate and distribute them, and put them on the market – all these activities are at the heart of publishers’ work. The threats to the freedom of publishing are precisely what the Alliance seeks to examine in this study.

In different geopolitical contexts, threatened by different forms of censorship, the Alliance’s independent publishers are committed to circulate texts and ideas, to amplify voices, even if sometimes they are in minority, to participate in building critical thinking and emancipation. It is their responsibility, both professional and civic.

Read here the presentation of the study, of the authors, the methodology...

Read here the report of the workshop on « African Book Industry », organized by the Global Book Alliance (USAID) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) in Abidjan (Ivory Coast) in January 2018.
The workshop brought together 79 key stakeholders in the African Book Publishing Industry from 22 African countries.
More information here.

Publishers from the Alliance condemn the banning of the book El desarme, la vía vasca d’Iñaki Egaña (copublished by Txalaparta, Gara journal, and Mediabask media), during its promotion on Basque radio-television.

Read here the proceedings of the colloquium on “Children’s Literature in Africa” (in French), organised by Ganndal, Conakry, November 2017.

Read the “Conclusions of the Symposium on the Challenges of the Promotion and Distribution of Books in African Languages”, organized by Ganndal publishing in Conakry (Guinea Conakry), 27-28 November 2017.