The Alliance

“I wouldn’t have written the many books if I didn’t have publishers who were sensitive, publishers who had their own networks, publishers who worked with my philosophy of smallness is beautiful, smallness in self-organised form is largeness—it is largeness of mind, it is largeness of heart, it is largeness in terms of expanding the possibilities of humanity and the earth in a time where the dominant economy would like to shrink those possibilities.”

“If you were not as diverse as you are and if you did not publish the diversity of ideas that are necessary for our times not only would you as a publishing network not have the resilience and robustness that is needed, but wouldn’t be providing that amazing robustness to society in a period where, like monocultures are destroying the fertility of the soil and creating deserts (...)”

Read the speech by Vandana Shiva at the closing of the International Conference on Independent Publishers, Pamplona-Iruñea, 26 November 2021.

This speech is also available in audio on the Alliance’s Youtube channel.

“More than ever, the future of the book—namely its diversity and promotion of minority and alternative voices—rests on the shoulders of independent editors, who give life to the book’s cultural necessity through their commitment, convictions, and attachment to causes that break with the lone dictature of capitalism.”

“My third novel, Munyal ; les larmes de la patience (forthcoming in English translation in October 2022 as The Impatients), is now available in many Francophone African countries because of the Alliance’s ’Terres solidaires’ collection. Many African authors feature on that list, but the part that brings me the most pride is to have such a recognition from Sub-Saharan Africa, where I live and work. This is truly the spirit of diversity that is so dear to the Alliance, and what represents the values that we writers and editors must defend and promote. The Alliance plays such a fundamental role in this sense, mitigating as much as possible the issue of book distribution in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Francophone countries.”

Read the speech by Djaïli Amadou Amal at the closing of the International Conference on Independent Publishers, Pamplona-Iruñea, 26 November 2021.

Translated from the French by Allison M. Charette.

This speech is also available in audio on the Alliance’s Youtube channel.

The Independent Publishing Glossary is a collective project led by publishers from the Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers.

It shows the meanings and definitions of words commonly used in publishing. It is an evolving project, which will be enriched over time in order to include new concepts and to take into account other proposal for definitions. The idea is not to freeze or petrify the concepts, but to open them up to enhance their multiple meanings.

Each term is signed by the person who worked on the definition. The glossary was edited by Germán Gacio Baquiola (Corredor Sur Editorial, Ecuador / Colectivo Editores independientes de Ecuador), Teresa Gottlieb, (Editorial Maitri, Chile), Paulo Slachevsky (Lom Ediciones, Chile) and Miguel Villafuerte, (Editorial Blanca, Ecuador).

1/ The Alliance, a place for experimentation and reflection through the Bibliodiversity Observatory

• Continue the analyses, reflections and advocacy via the thematic working groups set up during the 2014 Conference and set up new working groups on the themes and issues discussed during the 2021 Conference
• Providing tools and documenting international independent publishing

2/ The Alliance, a space for collaboration and sharing

• Share practices and know-how (on regional, national or even international levels, depending on the needs expressed) between publishers
• Meet and strengthen the flow of exchanges

3/ The Alliance, a tool for promoting independent publishing and the circulation of books

• Encourage the visibility and promotion of independent publishing
• Promote the circulation of works and productions of independent publishing houses

4/ The Alliance, a laboratory of alternative editorial practices

• Pursue and strengthen solidarity-based publishing partnerships (transfer of rights, translations, co-publishing projects, etc.)
• Communicate and increase awareness

5/ The Alliance, an evolving governance and operation

• REthink
• Get involved

Gathered in the city of Pamplona-Iruñea from 23 to 26 November 2021 at the fourth International Conference of Independent Publishers, organised in partnership with EDITARGI (Association of Independent Publishers of Navarre), we, the publishers of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers (IAIP), reaffirm our commitment to:

• the cultural, social and political character of books and reading;
• the democratisation of books in our societies;
• reading as an emancipatory practice that strengthens the critical thinking of citizens and stakeholders within their society.

Read the full Declaration here:

This Declaration is in line with the discussions and work of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, in particular the Declarations of 2003, 2007 and 2014 and the 80 recommendations in favour of bibliodiversity. It will be complemented by a Guide to Good Practice (collective work in progress, for publication in the first half of 2022).

The round-table discussions of the Conference are available in replay on the Alliance’s YouTube channel.

Support bibliodiversity and independent publishing through a professional solidarity network

• Support the creation and strengthening of memberships to national and/or regional publisher collectives (including in Europe)
• Promote bibliodiversity, popularise the idea of bibliodiversity for the general public, for example through the (International Bibliodiversity Day on 21 September, )

Support the creation of national, regional and international book policies

• Create the Bibliodiversity Observatory: mapping of national book policies in Latin America, the Arab world, West Africa… and developing a bibliodiversity measurement tool
• Make independent publishers’ voice heard among public authorities (Ministries of Culture), international organisations (UNESCO, OIF, CERLALC, UEMOA, etc.), and book professionals and collectives: diffuse, promote and defend the International Declaration of independent publishers and the 80 recommendations in support of bibliodiversity

Reaffirm and defend freedom and equity of speech

• Create a censorship typology; draft advocacy plans in support of, and in solidary with, publishers

Strengthen collaborative spaces and innovate to respond to tomorrow’s changes and issues

• Develop the Digital Lab, organize workshops, and sharing of experiences and tools (on digital publishing, editorial solidarity partnerships, national and local languages publishing, etc.)
• Strengthen inter-professional collaboration (authors, librarians, booksellers, diffusers-distributors, digital actors, etc.): inter-professional meetings, joint lobbying

Reinstate equilibrium between book exporting countries and importing countries

• Manage an online resource centre, complementing the Bibliodiversity Observatory
• Modernize book donation practices: Book Donation Charter reviewed by professionals from the global South
• Participate in book fairs (collective stands in book fairs in both the global South and global North), promotion of books from the South in the North

Develop and strengthen intercultural sharing

• Develop and support copublishing/ translation projects: North-South and South-South editorial partnerships bearing the “Fair Trade Book” label, and research on economic solidarity models (social and solidarity economy)

Publishers collectively adopted the Alliance’s 2015-2018 objectives during the International Assembly of independent publishing (2012-2014). Projects and activities arise from each of these directions, and are implemented by the Alliance during the 2015-2018 period.

The socio-economic environment, historical approach and political context are only some of the factors to consider in appreciating, in all its complexity and diversity, the notion of an independent publisher. Independent publishers in Chile, France, Benin, Lebanon, or India work in specific contexts that have direct consequences on their activities. However, although the situation differs from one country to another, it is possible to agree on some criteria in order to define what is an independent publisher. Independent publishers develop their editorial policy freely, autonomously, and without external interference. They are not the mouthpieces for a political party, religion, institution, communication group, or company. The structure of capital and the shareholders identity also affect their independence: the takeover of publishing houses by big companies not linked to publishing and implementation of profit-driven policies often result in a loss of independence and a shift in publishing orientation. Independent publishers, as defined by the Alliance’s publishers, are originating publishers: through their often-innovative publishing choices, freedom of speech, publishing and financial risk-taking, they participate in discussions, distribution, and development of their readers’ critical thinking. In this regard, they are key players in bibliodiversity.

During the closing meeting of the International Assembly of Independent Publishers (Cape Town, South Africa, September 18-21, 2014), 400 independent publishers from 45 countries signed the International Declaration of Independent Publishers 2014.
Collectively drafted in three languages, on September 20, 2014, the Declaration 2014 is available in several languages (French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Farsi, Italian, etc.).

Do not hesitate to share the Declaration and promote and strengthen bibliodiversity with us !

Read here the 80 recommendations & tools (on digital publishing, public book policies, youth literature, national and local languages publishing, solidarity publishing partnerships and “Fair Trade Books”, book donations).

Bibliodiversity is cultural diversity applied to the world of books. Echoing biodiversity, it refers to the critical diversity of products (books, scripts, eBooks, apps, and oral literature) made available to readers. Bibliodiversity is a complex, self-sustaining system of storytelling, writing, publishing, and other kinds of production of oral and written literature. The writers and producers are comparable to the inhabitants of an ecosystem. Bibliodiversity contributes to a thriving life of culture and a healthy eco-social system. While large publishers do contribute to publishing diversity through the quantitative importance of their production, it is not enough to guarantee bibliodiversity, which is not only measured by the number of titles available.
Independent publishers, even if they consider their publishing houses’ economic balance, are above all concerned with the content of published products. Independent publishers’ books bring a different outlook and voice, as opposed to the more standardised publications offered by major groups. Independent publishers’ books and other products and their preferred diffusion channels (independent booksellers, among others) are therefore essential to preserve and strengthen plurality and the diffusion of ideas. The word bibliodiversity was invented by Chilean publishers, during the creation of the “Editores independientes de Chile” collective in the late 1990s. The International Alliance of independent publishers significantly contributed to the diffusion and promotion of this notion in several languages, including through the Dakar Declaration (2003), Guadalajara Declaration (2005), Paris Declaration (2007), Cape Town Declaration (2014) and the Pamplona-Iruñea Declaration (2021). Since 2010, International Bibliodiversity Day is celebrated on 21 September.

See the article “Bibliodiversity” on Wikipedia.
The article also exists in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

The bibliodiversity, in pictures!

Container full of books inundating the market, books produced in another cultural setting given away free to readers or public libraries, the setup of local branches by publishing groups from abroad aiming to achieve monopoly conditions… Drawing on some examples of practices with damaging consequences to the publishing market in developing countries, Étienne Galliand (founder of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers) presents an overview of the predation to which emerging markets are subjected directly or indirectly. An edifying panorama.

As a complement to this article, you can consult the Guidelines for Fair Publishing Partnerships (in French).

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.

This co-publishing bears the label “Fair Trade Book”.

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 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd 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.

Through a partnership with the Editores de Chile collective and publishers member of the Alliance in Latin America and Spain, more than 15 publishers from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Equator, Spain, Mexico and Peru met in Chile, for a 2-day meeting, in the margins of the 8^th Primavera del Libro.

These workshops and meetings are part of the activities of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021: “Rethinking independent publishing, celebrating bibliodiversity!”

On this occasion, the Alliance launched, in Chile, the results of the previously unpublished analysis carried out on public book policies in Latin America.