English

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin) et les éditions Vallesse (Côte d’Ivoire).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue 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. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

Les illustrations de ce livre ont reçu, en 2018, le 1^er prix de la première édition du prix Hervé Gigot pour l’illustration du livre jeunesse en Afrique, initié par les éditions Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin).

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ntsamé (Gabon) et les éditions Elondja (RDC).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue 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. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

Koné a l’âge de rentrer dans la forêt sacrée pour en ramener un animal fantastique qui l’accompagnera toute sa vie. Mais la forêt est pleine de dangers et les animaux sont devenus difficiles et rares à trouver. Quand Koné rencontre enfin le camélion, comprendra-t-il le message et sera-t-il capable de mener à bien sa mission ?

Une coédition panafricaine réunissant les éditions Ganndal (Guinée Conakry), les éditions Éburnie (Côte d’Ivoire), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin), Graines de Pensées (Togo), les éditions Ntsamé (Gabon) et les éditions Elondja (RDC).

Date de publication : septembre 2020

Cette coédition solidaire est issue 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. Elle a reçu le soutien de l’Agence française de développement.

“Now that we have entered the 21st century, it is difficult to dissociate the end from the means : what to say, and where to say it ? Thus, we find that many authors seeking to promote debate, creativity and critical thinking, justice and equality are published by large conglomerates with multiple editorial labels. Isn’t the transformative power of these works reduced to nothing when they plunge into the workings of the entertainment industry ? It is a fact that transnational corporations, whatever their field of action, are the very expression of the system that dominates us. By choosing them as publishers, do we not somehow leave the world of transformative ideas in the hands of those who lay the foundations of the model we criticise ? Doesn’t that strengthen the control of big capital over the word and our daily lives ? Moreover, how can we not question the cross-industry investment of the business groups that own publishing houses ? And, are these investments neutral ?”

In this open letter, independent publishers invite all the actors of the book industry to reflect with them on their practices and the impacts that result from them. In particular, they call on authors, academics and intellectuals to work on projects whose vocation is to transform the order of things and not to consolidate the status quo, to publish their works in independent publishing houses in their own countries, and to give preference to independent publishing houses when it comes to transferring foreign and translation rights.

As the world suffers the health, social and economic consequences of the pandemic, book ecosystems and independent publishing houses are further weakened and, for some, are trying to survive. If solidarity between creators and book professionals is one of the foundations of bibliodiversity, this solidarity is vital in the current context.

Read the letter here.
This letter is also available in Spanish, French, Arabic and Portuguese.

To be an independent publisher is to question the world, to help make sense of it, today and tomorrow

At a time when every country in the world is affected by the pandemic, we, as independent publishers around the world, are experiencing diverse health, social and economic situations. We are facing different realities, in different timeframes : immediate risks for some sections of the population (India, Madagascar, Indonesia...) ; a pandemic that strikes in contexts of already established political crisis (Haiti, Egypt, Syria...) ; the near absence or delayed implementation of public book policies (Cameroon, Gabon...) ; the resilience of independent publishing houses in the face of big corporations (Australia...).... While our contexts are diverse, our concerns remain collective : fragility of independent structures, uncertainty about the future, concern about possible abuses (surveillance society, pressure on employees, online teaching and learning, etc.).

We are in perpetual questioning, trying to understand our world : what to do, how, with whom, at what pace ?
We need time to understand, to comprehend – which we had planned to do by 2021, as well as our “Rethink and Celebrate” Conference. REthink : to remain a conscious and creative actor, to act, in terms of ecology, social and solidarity economy, new approaches to readers, cooperative practices between professionals, freedom of publishing, fair speech...

Read more below...

See also :
Public book policies website

Digital Lab

Read the text in Arabic :

The International Alliance of Independent Publishers and publishers from the Spanish-language network pay tribute to the memory of the Chilean writer Luis Sepúlveda, who died on 16 April 2020 in Oviedo (Spain) as a result of the Coronavirus, after several weeks in hospital.

The Ibero-American Book Fair in Gijón, organised and directed by Luis Sepúlveda for more than a decade, was the setting for the creation of the first network of Spanish-language independent publishers, and the first meeting of Latin American independent publishers was held in 2000.

As a result, the International Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Association of Independent Publishers of Chile, now Editores de Chile, were formed.

Today we pay tribute to a man of generosity, solidarity and commitment to building a more just and humane world.

Ramla, Hindou et Safira. Trois femmes, trois histoires, trois destins liés. Ramla est mariée à Alhadji Issa, l’époux de Safira. Sa sœur Hindou épousera son cousin Moubarak. À toutes, l’entourage familial n’aura qu’un seul et unique conseil : Munyal ! Patience !

Violences conjugales, physiques et morales, intrigues, alliances, maraboutismes... Munyal, les larmes de la patience brise les tabous, rompt le silence et lève le voile complice de la condition de la femme dans le Sahel.

Née à Maroua au Nord du Cameroun, Djaïli Amadou Amal vit à Douala. Walaande, l’art de partager un mari et Mistiriijo, la mangeuse d’âmes, ses deux premiers romans, l’ont classée parmi les valeurs sûres de la littérature africaine contemporaine. Mynual, les larmes de la patience a reçu en 2019 le Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique ainsi que le Prix de la Presse panafricaine 2019.

Coéditeurs : Eburnie (Côte d’Ivoire), Ganndal (Guinée Conakry), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Le Fennec (Maroc), Proximité (Cameroun), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin), Sankofa & Gurli (Burkina Faso), Tombouctou (Mali)
Date de publication de la version panafricaine : 2020, 11,5 X 19 cm
Édition première au Cameroun : Proximité, 2019

Cette coédition solidaire porte le label Le livre équitable.

Couverture de la version marocaine de la coédition :

The first videos of the Conference here : Abidjan (May 2019) ; Santiago de Chile (October 2019)

The Conference is a process carried out over 3 years. It has commenced in 2019, with several workshops and meetings : Madrid (April 2019), Geneva (May 2019), Abidjan (May 2019), Santiago de Chile (October 2019).

The Conference will continue well into 2020… to end in 2021 in Pamplona, Basque Country.

In 2021, the Alliance will celebrate its 20 years of existence !

• 20 years is an appropriate age to remind ourselves of our core beliefs, commitments, responsibilities. The Alliance was built on trust, solidarity, humanity, and a profound belief in the social, emancipatory and liberating role of the book. Convinced also that the principles it defends are intertwined with its practice : thus, the principles of reciprocity and equity feature largely in the exchanges that characterise the governance of the association : namely that of respect, listening and curiosity… ;
• 20 years is the opportunity to celebrate this shared journey while pursuing this journey, to RETHINK together ;
• 20 years is also an opportunity to report on our activities, projects, and advocacy carried out by the Alliance ; to celebrate our incredible achievements ; but also to learn from our mistakes and mishaps ;
• 20 years is an age whereby we want to go further and further, to remain a conscious and creative actor in terms of ecology, social economy and solidarity, of new ways of reaching readers, of collaborative practices amongst professionals in the field, of freedom of publishing, of fair speech…
• 20 years is the age when we dream, hope, believe, where we want to dance and laugh ;
• 20 years is an important anniversary, it is an anniversary that we do not want to forget and that we shall celebrate !

Follow the Conference on the Alliance website and social networks !

• Driven by the growth of independent publishing in Latin American countries.
• Revived by the increase in the number of fairs and meetings where creative and local editorial production are showcased.
• Encouraged by the ways in which some public reading and book policies are supporting local intellectual production and bibliodiversity.

Convened in Santiago de Chile on the 1st, 2^nd and 3rd of October 2019, during the Spring of the Book (Primavera del Libro) and the International Conference of Independent Publishers (2019-2021), the Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers (IAIP) declares :

• Its privileged link with reading, a liberating practice that raises consciousness, stimulates critical thinking, nourishes the mind ; and with the book, a fundamental support of creation, knowledge and thought, pillar of culture and cultural diversity.

• Its concern about the increasing merger of the book chain, which translates into the marginalisation of local production in bookstores, particularly that of independent publishers ; dominates the media, obscuring blocking creation and critical editorial production ; and excludes small and medium-sized publishers from public procurements of books.

• Its willingness to promote practices, in the world of publishing, that enable a rich and diverse book ecosystem, that stimulates local intellectual production, translation, and balanced exchanges of books amongst Spanish-speaking countries ; strengthens independent bookstores and their presence in cities and communities ; grows public, academic and school libraries with diverse and inclusive book collections ; reflects bibliodiversity, the cultural diversity in the world of books.

• Its support for public reading and book policies as key drivers of the democratisation of the book in our societies ; as systemic strategies strengthening the potential impact of any decision or action ; and as mechanisms preventing market concentration, for the benefit of national book industries and local production.

And commits towards :

• Strengthening the collective action of independent publishers in favour of bibliodiversity and the participatory development of sound public reading and book policies.

• Amplifying the voice of independent publishing and increasing exchanges with readers, actors of the world of books and culture and public institutions, through studies, manifestos, documents, regional, national, and international meetings, and through a clear commitment towards the communities concerned.

• Promoting the sharing and diversity of reading, education and training in our communities, from a critical perspective, mindful of being part of a world rich in bibliodiversity, which we must protect today more than ever.

• Constantly interrogating our own production processes and dynamics inherent in the publishing world, in order to improve its impacts on our social and natural environment.

• Identifying and analysing the strategies and good practices in our respective countries, to better implement them where they are lacking.

The aim is to strengthen book ecosystems locally by involving all relevant actors, and to promote a book culture in our societies, a necessary condition to escape manipulation and to build democratic societies for critical and committed citizens.

We call on all independent publishers who share these statements to sign this declaration :

• Silvia Aguilera, Lom ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• German Baquiola, Editorial La Caída and collective of independent publishers of Equator, Equator.
• Nicolas Biebel, Econautas Editorial, Argentina.
• Constanza Brunet, Marea editorial, Argentina.
• Mikel Buldain, Txalaparta, Basque Country.
• Mariela Calcagno, Hacerse de Palabras, Mexico.
• Fabiola Calvo Ocampo, Acracia Proyecto de Investigación Editorial, Colombia.
• Patricia Cocq Muñoz, Cocorocoq Editoras, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Daniela Cortés del Castillo, Loba Ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Mónica Cumar, Ediciones Columba, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Héctor Dinsmann, Libros de la Araucaria, Argentina.
• Rodrigo Fuentes-Díaz, Edición Digital s.a., Editores de Chile, Chile.
• José Gabriel Feres, Virtual Ediciones, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Gustavo Mauricio García, Ícono editorial and president of the Colombian Network of Independent Publishers.
• Catalina González, Luna libros and the collective La Diligencia, Colombia.
• Teresa Gottlieb, Editorial Maitri, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Victor Hugo de la Fuente, Editorial Aún Creemos en los Sueños, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Guido Indij, la marca editora, Argentina.
• Eduardo Lira, Escrito con Tiza, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• María Eugenia Lorenzini, Editorial Forja, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Marcelo Mendoza, Mandrágora, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Lucía Moscoso Rivera, Mecánica Giratoria, Ecuador.
• Pablo Moya, Ediciones el Milagro and Mexican Alliance of Independent Publishers Alliance, Mexico.
• Francisca Muñoz, general manager at Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Daniela Navarro, Ediciones Ekaré Sur, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Mabel Andrea Rivera Pavez, Ediciones Universidad Alberto Hurtado, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Eduardo Ruiz-Tagle Eyzaguirre, Editorial Rapanui Press, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Luis Daniel Rocca, Taller de edición Rocca and Colombian Network of Independent Publishers.
• Juan Carlos Sáez, JC Sáez editor, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Leonel Sagahón and Jerónimo Repoll, Editorial Tintable, Mexico.
• Alfonso Serrano, La Oveja Roja, Spain.
• Javier Sepúlveda, e-books Patagonia and president of Association Editores de Chile.
• Paulo Slachevsky, Lom ediciones, Editores de Chile, Coordinator RedH AIEI, Chile.
• Mónica Tejos, Simplemente editores, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• María José Thomas, Ocho Libros editores, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Max Valdés Avilés, Vicio Impune Editorial, Editores de Chile, Chile.
• Carlos Vela, Editorial Pesopluma and collective of independent publishers of Peru, Peru.
• Marisol Vera, Editorial Cuarto Proprio, Editores de Chile, Chile.

To sign the “Declaration of Santiago de Chile on independent publishing serving communities and diversity”, please contact the Alliance’ team.

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.