The Alliance

The label “Fair Trade Book” is attributed by the International Alliance of independent publishers to works published in the context of international publishing agreements that respect each other’s particularities : fair co- publishing. These fair copublishings enable the sharing of costs linked to intellectual and physical production of books and therefore ensure an economy of scale ; an exchange of professional know-how and a common experience, while respecting the publishers’ cultural contexts and identities ; and a distribution of works on a broader scale by adjusting prices for each geographic zone.

The notion of fair speech expands the idea of ‘free speech’ to incorporate the concept of justice. Indeed, in a context of media concentration, dominant powers (whether political, economic, religious, ideological, etc.) are the most represented and heard (because they are powerful or loud). Fair speech fosters speech equity for other voices that are often marginalised and/or censored to be heard. Fair speech therefore promotes an equitable access to expression (for example for women, historically marginalised groups, etc.), enabling an authentic diversity of voices. This concept was created by Betty McLellan in Unspeakable (Spinifex Press, 2010, Australia) and promoted by Susan Hawthorne in Bibliodiversity : A Manifesto for Independent Publishing (Spinifex Press, 2014, Australia).

The Dakar Declaration (December 2003) is the foundational text of the Alliance and birth certificate of the association. The Guadalajara Declaration (October 2005) is the outcome of a meeting held in Mexico between independent publishers from the Latin world.
The International Declaration of independent publishers for the protection and promotion of bibliodiversity (July 2007) was drafted and signed by the 70 publishers participating to the International Assembly of independent publishers held in Paris in 2007.
These three texts, as well as the 2014 International Declaration of independent publishers, are milestones in the history of the Alliance – they are a reminder, and bear witness to the present bearing testimony to the commitment of independent publishers, and serve as their policy guidelines.

The International Alliance of independent publishers is a professional collective that brings together more than 980 independent publishing houses in 60 countries around the world. Created as an association in 2002, it is composed of 6 language networks (English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Persian) and thematic groups. Members of the Alliance are publishing houses and publisher collectives.
The Alliance’s activities promote and strengthen bibliodiversity (cultural diversity applied to the world of the book).

In alignment with its mission, the Alliance created a Bibliodiversity Observatory that gathers studies, analysis and tools produced by the Alliance, aimed at professionals and public authorities. The Observatory’s objectives include assessing and strengthening bibliodiversity in the world.

The Alliance also hosts and facilitates international meetings and thematic workshops (for example on children’s book publishing, digital publishing, etc.), enabling independent publishers from various continents to exchange ideas and initiate collaborations. These meetings support increasing capacity through peer sharing, an aspect developed in particular around the issue of digital publishing in the context of the Digital Lab.
The Alliance supports international publishing projects (co-publishing, translation, copyright transfers, etc.), for greater circulation of texts and fair access to books for readers.

In 2022, the Alliance launched a first-of-its-kind initiative : the first edition of Babelica, an international online Book Fair of Independent Publishing, which takes place once a year, on 21 September (International Bibliodiversity Day).

• 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
• Name change of the association (not in English but in Spanish, French, Portuguese, etc.) to Alliance internationale de l’édition indépendante / Alianza internacional de editoriales independientes, 2024

In parallel with MICA (Argentina’s cultural industry trade show), 20 Argentinian publishers from Bolivia, Chilli, Colombia, Spain, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay will get together in Buenos Aires thanks to support from MICA, the Argentinian Book Chamber and Argentinian members of the Alliance. On the agenda : the implementation of the 80 recommendations promoting bibliodiversity in Latin America and Spain, the creation of a map of Latin America’s public policies...
The publishers will also participate in MICA events : copyright exchanges, co-publishing days, round-table discussions about the concentration of publishing and bibliodiversity...

Over 15 Iranian publishers and many cultures groups are participating in these events around the world (Nuremberg, Vienna, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, Paris, London, Brussels, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Amsterdam, Helsinki, Stockholm, Oslo, Gothenburg, Bremen, Malmo, Copenhagen, Lubec, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles). This year, a collective catalogue containing new titles of 12 publishers present in the Book Fair is accessible both digitally and in print.

More information here.

The Alliance’s activities are based on guidelines collectively developed by publishers and are focused on 5 main actions :
1. Facilitation of an international and intercultural independent publishers network
2. Creation of a Bibliodiversity Observatory : studies, analysis, measurement tools, and a resource centre on bibliodiversity
3. Hosting and facilitation of international meetings, thematic and increasing capacity workshops (see below) to enable sharing, including through the Digital Lab of the Alliance
4. Support of international editorial partnerships (fair co-publishings, translations, copyright transfers)
5. Implementation of advocacy activities in support of freedom of publishing, independent publishing and bibliodiversity.

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.

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 !

Discover publishers’ backgrounds, get to know their work and their publications, and listen to the voice of independent publishers… by reading the exclusive publishers portraits in this section !

In partnership with the online magazine ActuaLitté, interviews with publishers member of the Alliance are regularly added here. Explore the interviews :
* Élodie Comtois (Écosociété publishers in Québec),
* Samar Haddad (Atlas Publishing in Syria),
* Marie Michèle Razafintsalama (Jeunes malgaches in Madagascar),
* Constanza Brunet (Marea Editorial in Argentina),
* Antoinette Koleva (KX Critique & Humanism in Bulgaria),
* Karine Joseph (Sirocco in Morocco),
* Colleen Higgs (Modjaji Books in South Africa),
* François Nkémé (Proximité in Cameroon),
* Aliou Sow (Ganndal, Guinea Conakry),
* Ritu Menon (Women Unlimited in India).
* Ivana Jinkings (Boitempo in Brazil),
* Sophie Bazin and Johary Ravaloson (Dodo vole in Madagascar),
* Dorota Hartwich (Format in Poland),
* Amanda Crocker (Between the Lines, Canada),
* Dieulermesson Petit Frère (LEGS Édition, Haiti),
* Corinne Fleury (Atelier des nomades, Mauritius),
* Abdulai Sila (Ku Si Mon, Guinea Bissau),
* Susan Hawthorne (Spinifex Press, Australia),
* Dan Bomboko (Elondja, Democratic Republic of Congo).

After studying at the IUT Book Trade in Aix-en-Provence, Laurence Hugues went to earn a bachelor’s degree in Literature at Trois-Rivières University in Québec, and later a Masters’ degree in Book Marketing at Paris 13-Villetaneuse University. After several professionals stays in West Africa, she joined the International Alliance of independent publishers’ team in 2007. In July 2009, Etienne GALLIAND passed on management responsabilities to Laurence HUGUES.

After a master’s degree in French Literature at the Sorbonne Nouvelle, Camille CLOAREC worked at the Maison de la Poésie in Nantes and was also the coordinator of literary life at Ciclic (the center of book, cinema and digital culture for the Loire Valley Region), before being in-charge of the book and debates office at the French Embassy in Canada. In 2019, Camille began learning Telugu (Indian language) at Inalco.
Camille joins the Alliance team in July 2020 ; she is in charge of the management of the the association’s language networks and the co-publishing and translation projects within the Alliance.

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.

Vice-President of the Board of the Alliance since the General Assembly of June 20, 2011, Luc Pinhas is a former student of the École normale supérieure in Saint-Cloud. He holds a PhD in Communication Studies and teaches at Paris 13-Villetaneuse University, where he is currently in charge of a master’s degree on “Book Marketing”.

Thierry Quinqueton has long experience in the publishing world and of intercultural dialogue. He was Literary Director at the Desclée de Brouwer publishing house (France) from 1991 to 1999, and then Director of the French Cultural Center in Khartoum from 2000 to 2004. After spending four years at the French Department of Foreign Affairs (department of written documents and libraries), he was responsible from May 2009 to July 2013 for the libraries network in the Châtellerault area ; from 2013 to 2017, he was in charge of the Book Office at the French Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. Thierry Quinqueton also pursues his research on the links between market economies, public policies, and non-monetary aspects within the book economy (Law and Development of Social and Solidarity Economy - University of Poitiers). Author of « Que ferait Saul Alinsky ? » (DDB, 2011), he was Chairman of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers from 2006 to 2013.

Mariette Robbes is specialized in network facilitation, public relations and project management in the associative and cultural sectors. She has worked at Katha publishing (India), at the International Association of Francophone Booksellers and the International Youth Library (Germany).
Her growing passion for “third places” and innovative ways of working and creating (fablabs, coworking, shared workshops, etc.) led her to explore new horizons. She is now working as a Network Development & Animation Manager at myCowork, in Paris.
Passionate about publishing for youth in India, she is also an associate member of the academic project DELI (Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Literatures of India). In addition, Mariette works as a freelancer (support for fundraising, graphic design and layout).

Jérôme Chevrier has been working for 20 years in the book and reading sector. As a librarian, he has worked at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, the Ministry of Culture, the Centre national du livre and the French Institute of South Africa.
He was in charge of cultural mediation at the Centre Pompidou public information library. He is currently cultural attaché in charge of the Book Department at the French Embassy in London.
He joined the Alliance Board in July 2021.

A committed journalist with a special interest in international solidarity, sustainable development and human rights, David Eloy founded Altermondes in 2005, a media focusing on civil society’s actors, where he was editor-in-chief until 2016. He previously held positions in several international NGOs, including the Centre de recherche et d’information pour le développement (CRID), Peuples Solidaires – Action Aid France and the Association internationale de techniciens, experts et chercheurs (Aitec).

As an English professor with a degree in languages and comparative literature, Marielle Morin’s professional career has revolved around books, languages and research.
She has worked in the International Rights Department at the University of Chicago Press, and as a librarian at the Centre for Indian and South Asian Studies (CEIAS-EHESS). She has translated Indian literature from English (Khushwant Singh, Anita Naïr, Amruta Patil) and Bengali (Mahasweta Devi) and then went on to manage the media libraries and the book office of the French Embassy/ Institute in New Delhi first, then in Cairo, for eight years until 2014.

She is now back at the CEIAS, where she is in charge of international research projects within the research focus areas of Asia, Middle East and Muslim Worlds and African Studies.

She continues to be interested in languages, Indian literature, translation, and book history, and is an associate member of the DELI academic project (Encyclopedic Dictionary of Indian Literature).