English

The Alliance has adopted an original method of internal organization, respecting both the democratic principles and the functioning of an international network. The Alliance rests above all on its member publishers, represented by the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP). It also relies on a Board – charged with upholding and respecting the publishers’ decisions – and a permanent staff.

Publisher members of the English-speaking network of the Alliance will meet with European, Iranian and Syrian colleagues, to discuss the following issues :
⁃ Situation analysis of the publishing landscape in the various countries ;
⁃ Strengthened mutual knowledge of participating independent publishers lists ;
⁃ Setting up of publishing projects between publishers from the different countries ;
⁃ Exchanges and discussions on digital publishing and freedom of publishing within publishing houses.

This meeting is facilitated through the support of Metis Publishers (Turkey), with the participation of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, the Turkish Publishers Association, the Hrant Dink Foundation, and UNESCO Melbourne City of Literature.

• Gijón meeting (Spain), 2000 (an initiative led by four Spanish-speaking publishers in reaction to the emergence of Spanish multinationals in Latin America)
• Creation of the Alliance project by a group of publishers and Etienne Galliand – who would become the first director of the association
• Paris meeting (France), 2001 (some few days away from the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity)
• Foundation of the “Alliance of Independent Publishers Association, for Another Globalisation”, as per Law 1901 (head office in Paris) 2002
• Dakar meeting (Senegal), 2003 (Declaration of Solidarity amongst Independent Publishers)
• Guadalajara meeting (Mexico), 2005 (Declaration of independent publishers of the Latin world)
• International Assembly of Independent Publishers in Paris (France), 2007 (International Declaration of Independent Publishers to promote and strenghten bibliodiversity together)
• Name change of the association to International Alliance of independent publishers, 2008
• Creation of the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP), 2009
• International Assembly of independent publishers – preparatory meetings and closing meeting in Cape Town (South Africa), 2012-2014 (International Declaration of independent publishers, to promote and strengthen bibliodiversity together, and 80 recommendations and tools in support of bibliodiversity)
• Creation of the Bibliodiversity Observatory, 2016
• Mapping public book policies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020
• International Conference of Independent publishing in Pamplona-Iruñea, 2021 (Declaration ’for independent, decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based publishing’)
• Guide to good practice, 2022
• First edition of Babelica, 2022

These 80 recommendations are built on the principles upheld in the 2014 International Declaration of independent publishers, an important document promoting bibliodiversity, signed on September 20th 2014, by more than 400 independent publishers from 45 countries.

They raise the necessary prerequisites, divided by themes, for the development, maintenance and strengthening of bibliodiversity in concerned countries. Some recommendations are accompanied by tools and projects (existing or to be developed in the context of the 2015-2016 Alliance programme of activities), enabling a practical implementation of independent publishers’ proposals.

Contents of the 80 recommendations & tools in support of bibliodiversity :

* Public policies safeguarding bibliodiversity
* Proposals and actions supporting digital bibliodiversity
* The Amazon system, a threat to bibliodiversity ?
* Essential measures for publishing in local and national languages
* Methods for rethinking book donations
* Proposals and actions to develop solidarity publishing partnerships
* Activities to strengthen diversity in youth publishing

For all book actors to take ownership of these recommendations and tools, we invite you to contact us with your comments, suggestions, ideas, and proposals that could enhance and strengthen this document.

1001 activités autour du livre n’a pas pour objectif d’apprendre à lire mais celui de donner la passion du livre et de la lecture aux enfants de 2 à 11 ans et au-delà.
Comment ? En jouant, en dessinant, en inventant, en parlant, en mimant… tout cela grâce aux livres. Cet ouvrage de terrain et d’expérience, ludique et original, donne envie de dévorer tous les autres !
Un véritable outil pour les professionnels de l’éducation enfantine et pour les parents attentifs.

Initialement publié par les éditions Casterman en 2013.
Publication en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : septembre 2020.
Une adaptation spécifique pour cette coédition panafricaine a été réalisée par Philippe Brasseur ; les coéditrices et coéditeurs ont par ailleurs actualisé et adapté à leurs contextes et environnements certaines des références de l’ouvrage.

Un livre coédité par 11 maisons d’édition en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : AGO Média (Togo), Atelier des Nomades (Île Maurice), éditions Bakame (Rwanda), éditions Elondja (RDC), Ganndal (Guinée), la librairie La Farandole des livres (Niger), Gashingo (Niger), Jeunes Malgaches (Madagascar), Éditions Ntsamé (Gabon), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin) et Vallesse (Côte d’Ivoire).

Cette coédition solidaire porte le label Le livre équitable.  

Ce projet a pu se concrétiser lors d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021 ; il a été initié, coordonné et suivi par Corinne Fleury (Atelier des nomades). Cette cession de droits, adaptation et coédition panafricaine a reçu le soutien du Centre national du livre.

The International Alliance of independent publishers wishes you a blooming year !

Greeting card made by Mariette Robbes, member of the Board of the Alliance

Read here the 2021 programme of the Alliance and the 2020 highlights !

Read the conclusions and proposals formulated by publishers from Francophone Africa following the workshop organised by the Alliance on “Digital tools and African languages”, held in Conakry, in November 2017, thanks the support of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie and the partnership with the house publishing Ganndal.

Nouvelle édition publiée en 2017 par la marca editora (Argentine), en coédition avec EDINAR (Argentine) et le CERLALC.
Ouvrage de référence publié initialement par le CERLALC.

ISBN : 978-950-889-299-7
264 pages / 20 X 25 cm

Pour en savoir plus.

Voir également ci-dessous l’édition péruvienne du Manual de edición, éditée par La Travesía Editora, maison d’édition péruvienne, membre du collectif EIP au Pérou.

Publishing professionals charter and code of ethics, produced by the Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre (OMEL), Mali, 2017.

This charter was produced by OMEL (Organisation malienne des éditeurs de livre) in April 2017, which authorized the Alliance to publish it on its website.

Re|Shaping Cultural Policies 2018 (UNESCO 2005 Convention Global Report)
Creativity at the Heart of Development
Excerpt from the foreword :
“This new UNESCO Global Report ‘Re|Shaping Cultural Policies’ is an invaluable tool for the implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. This Convention, now ratified by 146 Parties, including the European Union, is leading UNESCO’s efforts to strengthen capacities for the creation, production, and dissemination of cultural goods, services, and activities. States are supported in their sovereign right to implement public policies for the development of strong and dynamic cultural and creative industry sectors. UNESCO is committed to developing more effective and sustainable public policies in these areas.
Our roadmap is clear and requires the cooperation of governments and non-governmental actors in four key areas : strengthening governance for culture, improving the conditions for the mobility of artists, integrating culture in sustainable development strategies, and promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms. These four goals are closely linked to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.”

Audrey Azoulay
Director-General of UNESCO

Read the report here.

Octavio Kulesz, member of the Digital Lab of the Alliance is the author of Chapter 3 of the report : « Cultural Policies in the Age of Platforms ».

Feasibility study on the establishment of digital printing structures for independent publishers, by Gilles Colleu (November 2017)

Among the 80 recommendations of the International Assembly of independent publishers (2012-2014), independent publishers called on public authorities and international organisations to “contribute and support the establishment of in-country digital printers and printing facilities, on demand (including in sub-Saharan African) to promote access to books”.

The Alliance thus launched a feasibility study in 2016, on the establishment of digital printing facilities in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Above all, the aim was to find out whether digital printing is a relevant alternative, and on what conditions. To do so, the study surveys the needs of local professionals, and discusses the potentials and benefits as well as limitations inherent to digital printing, based on realities and practices of Francophone publishers from sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. Finally, it discusses the feasibility scenarios for the establishment of a digital printing hub.

By focusing on the technical aspect of digital printing as well as on the development potential in a Francophone African context, this study goes beyond a feasibility study and proposes reflection points on the economic and strategic models of independent publishing.

This study was supported by the International Organisation of Francophonie. A full version of the study is available to members of the Alliance.
For questions or comments, please contact the team of the Alliance.

Gilles COLLEU, author of the study
Former lecturer at the University Institute of Technology « Book Trade » in Aix-en-Provence, former Director of production and digital publishing for Actes Sud, Gilles Colleu established and manages, with Jutta Hepke, Vents d’ailleurs (La Roque d’Anthéron, France), member of the International Alliance of independent publishers. He co manages the digital printing hub Yenooa and incubator Rue des éditeurs and actively participates in the Digital Lab of the Alliance (tutorials, training).

As the Frankfurt Book Fair (11-15 October 2017) opens in a few weeks’ time, with a special focus on France and French languages, the International Alliance of independent publishers takes the opportunity to revisit some key issues for independent publishers and bibliodiversity, as expressed by 400 publishers from 50 countries, in the International Declaration of independent publishers of 2014.

France wished, in the context of Frankfurt’s invitation, to provide a space for publishers from the South and we are grateful for this opportunity. We hope this openness will contribute towards meaningful networking, discussion, and exchanges among Francophone publishers. These mutual trust and interest, at the heart of the Alliance, have indeed proven themselves over the past 15 years, leading to unprecedented co-publishing and translation projects between continents.

However, other aspects of “Frankfurt in French” are counterintuitive to this dynamic. Book donation initiatives from France to Africa are indeed planned in Frankfurt this year. More specifically, the 30 000 books to be displayed in the French Pavilion will be distributed to foreign countries after Frankfurt – and this while some twenty African publishers are invited to participate in the Fair, in an “African/Haiti” stand. As mentioned in several reports and in the Frankfurt programme (see here), book donations, while underpinned by good intentions, can disrupt the local book economy.

We therefore call on the accountability of each involved — public authorities, associations, and professionals, for these donations to be made in close collaboration with participating African publishers, but also in consultation with local African booksellers. These are the basic conditions for balanced and respectful exchanges in the actors’ respective environments.

It is critical to rethink book donation. Encouraging and supporting sustainable and fair editorial partnerships must be a priority.

We hope that the readiness to showcase Francophonie’s diversity and plurality in Frankfurt will be paralleled with constructive actions by public authorities, both in the North and South. It is indeed essential for political will to accompany a change of perspective and relations among Francophone countries.

In a joint statement published on 15 June 2017, the Association internationale des libraires francophones (AILF) and the Alliance shared their concerns and highlighted the impacts of book donations on a country’s book chain.

The Bibliodiversity Observatory collects studies, analysis, and tools produced by the Alliance, in collaboration with its partners. It is built around issues identified as priorities by independent publishers as a follow-up to the International Conferences of Independent Publishers for the 2015-2021 and 2022-2025 period.
Aimed at professionals and public authorities, the Observatory’s mission includes strengthening bibliodiversity in the various regions of the world.

As an independent, evolving and collaborative space, the Observatory’s role includes :

• a “research and analysis” pillar : resource centre focusing on major issues related to independent publishing ;
• an “advocacy” pillar, including awareness and influence strategies.

The International Alliance of independent publishers acknowledges and thanks publishers and their partners (international organisations, Ministries of Culture, unions, etc.…) for their contributions and commitment to the Bibliodiversity Observatory.

Part 2 : Raphaël Thierry : “Book donations, but at what price, and in exchange for what ? An overview on book donation practice in francophone Africa (in French)”

Pre-print version to appear in African Research & Documentation. Journal of SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), no.127 (2015) [Release 2017]

Read the article on EditAfrica website !

Part 1 : Hans M. Zell : “Book Donation Programmes in English-speaking Africa”

Pre-print version to appear in African Research & Documentation. Journal of SCOLMA (the UK Libraries and Archives Group on Africa), no.127 (2015) [Release 2017]

Extract from the editorial note of the print issue :
« Welcome to this bumper issue of ARD. Scolma is grateful to Hans Zell and Raphaël Thierry for choosing to publish their full length study of Book Donation Programmes in Africa in our pages.
It is as they say “time for a reappraisal” and it is our hope that the ensuing debate will take place in the pages of ARD as well as online. I would therefore invite responses and feedback to this important and provocative study. Feedback from receiving libraries in Africa is particularly welcome. »
Terry Barringer, Editor, African Research & Documentation

Read the article on EditAfrica website !