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 800 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

On Saturday 24 March, independent publishers and booksellers propose readers to celebrate Indie Book Day. The principle is simple : you just need to go in your favourite independent bookshop, to buy a book published by an independent publisher. Then, you are invited to share a picture of the book on the social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…), with the hashtag #indiebookday.

Indie Book Day aims to highlight the creativity, diversity and dynamism of independent publishing and make readers aware of the essential aim played by independent bookshops in favour of bibliodiversity.

Created in 2013 in Germany by the Hamburg-based publishing house Mairisch Verlag –member of the German association of independent publishers Kurt Wolff Stiftung, the Indie Book Day has first met a great success in Germany, and then has been celebrated also in other countries – like the UK, Italy, Portugal, and Brazil. For this special occasion, independent bookshops promote the event (posters in their bookshops, specific campaign on the social networks). To help readers to make their choice, specific spaces can be proposed in the bookshop to focus on the diversity of independent publishing.

In 2018, the Kurt Wolff Stiftung (Germany), the ODEI (Italy) and the International Alliance of independent publishers (550 publishers from more than 52 countries around the world) keep fostering the Indie Book Day.

Indie Book Day website : www.indiebookday.de/english

Indie Book Day was created in 2013, by German independent publishers ; since last year, it has been celebrated in other countries, thanks to independent publishers collectives and the Alliance.

How it works : On the third Sunday of March, readers are invited to visit an independent bookshop, buy a book published by an independent publisher, and post a picture of the book on social media with the hashtag #indiebookday. Booksellers and publishers can then organize a common campaign ahead of the event, to inform their communities (posters in the bookshops, information on social media and websites, etc.).

Find here Indie Book Day logos and more information on the official Indie Book Day website.

Bibliodiversity Day was created in 2010 by Latin American publisher members of the Alliance.

Since then, it has happened every year in numerous countries, especially in Latin America. On September 21, the first day of spring for the southern hemisphere, publishers, booksellers, book professionals and readers are invited to celebrate independent publishing and bibliodiversity.

How it works : All ideas and activities are welcome, coming from publishing houses, collectives of independent publishers, book professionals, and readers : bookcrossing, literary picnics, professional meetings, public readings, radio broadcasts, newspaper articles…

See here the literary and multilingual sound card for B-Day 2021 (and the Alliance’s 20th anniversary).

Download B Day logos and visit the blog here.

Watch all B Day videos here->https://eldiab.org/videos-oficiales/.

• Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/indpub/
• Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/bibliodiversidad/

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.

Album illustré jeunesse – édition bilingue français-malgache
Traduit du portugais (Brésil) vers le français par Joana Cabral, traduit en malgache par Veloniaina Rabakoly

Éditions Jeunes Malgaches, 2014, 32 pages
Édition originale : Pallas Editora (Brésil)

ISBN : 978-2 916362-42-7

Ce livre est issu de plusieurs rencontres entre les éditrices et éditeurs membres de l’Alliance internationale des éditeurs indépendants (« Groupe jeunesse » de l’Alliance), lors de salons du livre (stand collectif jeunesse) et dans le cadre d’ateliers autour de la littérature jeunesse. Ces temps de partage, de connaissance mutuelle, d’échanges, de savoir-faire favorisent des partenariats éditoriaux inédits. En soutenant et favorisant ces partenariats, les membres de l’Alliance participent à la circulation des textes et des idées d’un continent à un autre, mais aussi d’une langue à une autre. À travers ces partenariats éditoriaux solidaires, il s’agit aussi de développer des flux de traduction encore « rares », par exemple ici du portugais du Brésil vers le malgache.

Kofi était enfant dans un village du Ghana, au temps où ce pays s’appelait la Gold Coast et était une colonie anglaise. Il avait entendu dire qu’il existait des gens qui avaient des cheveux clairs et des peaux blanches, peaux qui rougissaient quand ils étaient en colère et qui, alors, pouvaient brûler celui qui les touchait. Imaginez alors son inquiétude quand il se trouva face à un jeune Anglais, venu en visite avec son père, chef d’une délégation officielle. Le petit Blanc, lui, pensait que le noir de la peau s’effaçait au toucher… Tous ces présupposés écartés, leur sourire et leur poignée de main sont des plus sincères. Cette histoire, porteuse de leçon sur l’importance de la rencontre pour dépasser les préjugés, est servie par un texte qui reflète bien le point de Kofi avec toute sa naïveté. Les illustrations aux belles couleurs chaudes modèlent formes et lumières.
Les dernières pages du livre sont consacrées à un intéressant dossier documentaire sur le Ghana.
Présentation du livre : © Nathalie Beau (Takam Tikou)

Traduit du portugais (Brésil) vers le français par Flavio Corrêa de Mello

Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin), 2012 ; 37 pages
Édition originale : Pallas Editora (Brésil)

After Ouagadougou, Tunis, Dakar, Abidjan ... it is in Conakry – UNESCO World Book Capital in 2017 – that will be held the next digital workshop of the Alliance, bringing together more than 15 publishers from West Africa, Central Africa and Madagascar. This workshop, facilitated by publishers and typographers, will explore digital tools to solve the typographical problems encountered in the production of books in local languages.

This workshop is supported by the International Organization of the Francophonie and is held thanks to the partnership with Ganndal publishers, a member of the Alliance in Guinea Conakry.

Ganndal publishing, who are celebrating their 25th year in 2017, are also organizing several activities during this period, to be held at the Centre culturel franco-guinéen. Publishers participating in the workshop will participate to some of these events, and will speak at the symposium on children’s literature in Africa :
• Colloquium on children’s literature in Africa : 22 to 23 November
• Children Book Fair : from 23 to 26 November
• Colloquium on the challenges related to the promotion and distributing of books in African languages : 27 and 28 November
Overview of the activities and programme here.

WHY A HOTLIST ?

In 2009, together with the members of EDINAR (Argentinean Alliance of independent publishers), we decided to launch a promotion strategy, following the “Young independent Germans” : a HotList.

Against the tendentious ranking of the most sold out books published in the newspapers, every member of the collective had to choose one book among her/his new books -the one that she or he saw as the most outstanding, for whatever reason. With all EDINAR publishers, we thus formed a list, promoted at the same time by a group of booksellers from Buenos Aires who arranged a special table dedicated to this list in their bookshops during one month.

In 2010, Argentina was Guest country of Frankfurt Book Fair and the Argentinean National Book Chamber had a spacious booth with a strong presence of local publishing, which did not include many independent publishers. However, the Hotlist had an outstanding exhibition space in this Fair : thanks to a German colleague, curious publisher, philoanarchist, employed by the Fair, we got a well-situated booth and the possibility to exhibit our HotList.

Because a lot of Latin-American publishers cannot travel every year to Frankfurt, we have reminded this adventure and decided to implement it again this year, extended to Spanish-speaking publishers from Latin America, in order to give a better visibility to the vibrant Latin-American independent publishing, in the biggest commercial Book Fair of the World.

This HotList presents a selection of about 40 books published in Peru, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile… exhibited in the “Reading Island for Independent Publishers” (Pavilion 4.1) of the Frankfurt Book Fair, thanks to the cooperation of the Kurt Wolff Stiftung, group of German independent publishers.

We hope you will appreciate !

Guido Indij
Argentinean publisher, coordinator of the Spanish-speaking network of the International Alliance of independent publishers

The 9 coordinators and vice-coordinators of the Alliance’s 6 language networks, the Board and the Alliance team gather for the ICIP, an essential annual meeting in the governance of the association. On the agenda : public book policies in West Africa, Latin America and in the Arab world ; the Europe and the Alliance ; strategy and governance ; the Alliance of tomorrow...

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.

Georges Lory was cultural advisor in South Africa from 1990 to 1994, and participated to the country’s democratic transition. Between 1998 and 2008, as Director of International Affairs of Radio France Internationale, he increased the number of its FM relays in the world from 76 to 169. From 2009 to 2013, he led the general delegation of the Alliance Française in Southern Africa.
He has written three volumes of poetry (including one in Afrikaans), edited a book published by Autrement on South Africa, translated poets including Breyten Breytenbach, Antjie Krog and Lebo Mashile, novels and short stories by Nadine Gordimer, 1991 Nobel Laureate, texts by JM Coetzee, André Brink and Kopano Matlwa, as well as the Dutch writer Adriaan van Dis. He is the author of four books, mainly on South Africa.

Hélène Kloeckner is the founder of Beau travail, which helps organisations improve their working conditions. She is the author of a survey on textbooks in Sub-Saharan Francophone Africa, published in the Africultures journal in 2003. She has worked for more than twelve years in publishing, and collaborated with Nouvelles éditions africaines in Senegal, Dakar. As a volunteer at the Alliance since 2004, she has been particularly interested in the pan-African collection “Terres Solidaires” . She was the president of the Alliance between 2013 and 2020.

Treasurer of the Alliance, Annie Gogat works for the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation as Accounting Manager. Passionnate about integration issues and involved in her neighborhood’s school life, she finds herself naturally acting as a mediator in many situations. After spending years in Villeneuve-la-Garenne, she now lives in Bouffémont (Paris region). She was the treasurer of the Alliance between 2002 and 2020.

Born in 1946, after obtaining a degree from the Centre de Formation des Journalistes and a postgraduate qualification in political sociology, Gérard Aimé started his career as a journalist and photo-reporter in Canada. The co-founder of Alternatives publishing and co-author of its first publications, he ran the publishing house for 35 years until its takeover by Gallimard. Today he works as a consultant for various publishing houses. Gérard Aimé was a member of the Board of the Alliance between 2011 and 2016.

Marie Hatet has been working in the field of education and culture for the past fifteen years. Currently heading an artistic and cultural education project in Paris’ La Villette Park, she is also a member of the reading committee of the Tatoulu Association (youth literature), and founding member of Les Fondeurs de Roue Association. She joined the Board of the International Alliance of independent publishers in 2014. She served on the Board of the Alliance between 2014 and 2016 and is currently a member of the Alliance’s General Assembly.

From 2002 to 2009, Étienne GALLIAND (founder of the Alliance) managed the association. He then created Double Ponctuation, with which the Alliance regularly collaborates. Double Ponctuation is, among other things, copublisher of the Bibliodiversity journal.

Alexandre TIPHAGNE joined the Alliance from 2002 to 2007, as manager of co-editions and the Portuguese and Spanish languages networks. From December 2012 to April 2014, Alexandre was vice-chair of Cabinet in the Ministry of Culture and Communication and technical councillor responsible of the book, and later chair of Cabinet. Formerly a parliamentary collaborator of Aurélie Filippetti at the National Assembly, he is currently in charge of Culture at Paris City Council.

Thomas WEISS worked for the Alliance between 2003 and 2006 as a logistician, administrator and Webmaster. He also coordinated co-publishing projects of the English and Arabic languages networks. In 2007, he became an independent consultant and web developer, and worked principally for the Charles Léopold Mayer Foundation, Exemole Sarl, and the Research Institute, and contributed to discussions on governance. In 2013, he joined the French IT group, Netapsys Conseil, as central director. He is currently a consultant at OCTO Technology.

Between 2008 and 2010, Nathalie CARRÉ contributed her expertise to “Terres solidaires” and “Terres d’écritures”, both solidary copublishings collections. Nathalie continued facilitating the reading committee of the “Terres solidaires” collection. She is currently a Swahili teacher at Inalco.

Sonbol REGNAULT-BAHMANYAR contributed to the Alliance between 2010 to 2012, by developing the Persian language publishers group. Sonbol is currently in Iran, where she runs a French pastry shop.

Matthieu JOULIN joined the Alliance’s team in 2011, after a master’s degree in Hispano-American Language, Literature and Civilisation at Bordeaux University and a master’s degree in Book Commercialisation at University of Paris 13-Villetaneuse. Between 2011 and 2019, Matthieu was especially in charge of the Digital Lab of the Alliance ; and maintaining and supporting the Spanish and Portuguese language networks.

Clémence HEDDE worked for 10 years at the Alliance, between 2010 and 2020. After a double degree in Geography/ Book Trade in France and the United Kingdom, and experiences in different publishing houses (Autrement, La Découverte, Phaidon), Clémence Hedde was Programme Manager at the International Alliance of independent publishers, more specifically responsible for overseeing the Alliance’s French-language network and the children’s books/youth literature thematic group, coordinating international co-publishings, organisation of meetings and workshops, as well as monitoring the research initiatives of the Bibliodiversity Observatory. She is now Literary Coordinator at Ciclic, the regional Agency of the Center Val de Loire for books, images and digital culture.

Mariam PELLICER is a graduate from Sciences Politiques in Toulouse (specialising on the fight against discrimination and the struggle for equality), after an academic exchange at the University in Chile, stuying among other things, sociology of gender. Mariam’s early professional experiences were with the International Alliance of Women in Athens and then with the Fondation des Femmes in Paris.
Between 2020 and 2024, Mariam coordinated the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking networks, the Bibliodiversity Observatory and the Alliance’s advocacy unit.

Nathalie COOREN (French-Spanish)

Nathalie Cooren has a background in law (Master of Laws with a specialisation in European and international law) and in social sciences (Master in sociology of conflicts). After working several years in the field of international relations, where translation was an integral part of her daily life, she decided to make it her full-time job.
Several years spent abroad, particularly in Latin America, also made her aware of the importance of languages and the diversity of cultures. She translates from Spanish and English into French, for documents in the legal, institutional, political, environmental, tourism, marketing, and publishing fields, as well as books (see in particular "Guide du municipalisme : pour une ville citoyenne apaisée, ouverte”).

Danielle CHARONNET (French-Spanish)

Rachel MATTEAU MATSHA (French-English)

Rachel Matteau Matsha is senior lecturer at the Durban University of Technology (South Africa). Her research interests include book history, sociology of literature, Indian Ocean studies, and postcolonial studies. Born in Québec (Canada), she holds a BA in Literary Studies from the Université du Québec à Montréal, and a MA and PhD in African Literature from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (South Africa). She is the author of Real and Imagined Readers. Reading, publishing and censorship under apartheid (UKZN Press, forthcoming 2018). She is collaborating with the International Alliance of independent publishers since 2013.

Volunteers come from time to time to support the permanent team of the Alliance for the implementation of the action plan of the association : we thank them very much for their involvement and their commitment !

Céline ANFOSSI
Céline Anfossi is specialised in project management and consultancy. She has worked in the book sector, mainly in coaching professionals (International Alliance of independent publishers, Fill-Interregional Federation of Books and Reading). She explores these issues through different projects and audiences (women seeking employment, students) and is particularly interested in the topic of professional integration.

Djamilatou DIALLO

Born in Tahiti, of Franco-Guinean parents, Djamilatou continued her studies in Paris in Lettres et Histoire (MA dissertation on Ancient History : “Patrons of cities in Roman Africa from the third to the fifth century : an epigraphic study”).
In the long term, Jamilatou would like to specialise in the protection and enhancement of heritage by working with different cultural organisations here or elsewhere.
Following a five-month internship at the Alliance (development of the 2018 WomenList and the HotList presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the study on the textbook market in French-speaking Africa), Djamilatou is now a volunteer of the Association.

The ICIP includes the coordinators and vice-coordinators of the Alliance’s language networks ; the coordinators and vice-coordinators are nominated by the members of the networks. Since 2011, the ICIP has been an essential part of governing the Alliance, representing the voice of the publishers. The ICIP meets once a year in the presence of the Board and the team of the Alliance. The agenda is based on the aspirations and objectives of the Alliance, considering above all the needs and expectations of the members.

Composition of the ICIP :

• Coordinator of the Arabic-speaking network : Samar Haddad, Syria (Atlas Publishing)

• Coordinator of the English-speaking network : Colleen Higgs, South Africa (Modjaji Books)
• Vice-coordinator of the English-speaking network : Ronny Agustinus, Indonesia (Marjin Kiri)

• Coordinator of the French-speaking network : Élisabeth Daldoul, Tunisia (elyzad)
• Vice-coordinators of the French-speaking network : Paulin Assem, Togo (AGO Média) and Jean-Claude Naba, Burkina Faso (Sankofa & Gurli)

• Coordinators of the Persian-speaking network : Azadeh Parsapour, UK/Iran (Nogaam) and Anahita Mehdipour, Germany/Iran (Forough Verlag)

• Coordinators of the Portuguese-speaking network : Mariana Warth, Brazil (Pallas Editora) and Carla Oliveira, Portugal (Orfeu Negro)

• Coordinators of the Spanish-speaking network : Germán Gacio Baquiola, Ecuador (Editores independientes de Ecuador) and Francisca Muñoz Méndez, Chile (Editoriales de Chile)

Click here to see the list of Alliance member publishers.