logoActivities

Alliance’s programme for 2023

Among the Alliance’s flagship projects in 2023:

Bibliodiversity Observatory
• Bibliodiversity Observatory thematic working groups (book ecology, digital, freedom to publish and public book policies)
• Adding content to and updating the Guide to Good Practice
• Developing a logo/label illustrating the principles of the Guide to Good Practice
• Publishing the next issue of the Bibliodiversité review “Transmission and renewal. How to secure the future of companies in the book world?” (March 2023)

Workshops and meetings
• Workshops (virtual format) held by the Observatory’s thematic groups (throughout the year)
• Training in situ at the International Book Fair in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (May 2023)

Visibility and promotion of independent publishing
• Babelica, second edition: international independent publishing fair online, meetings and debates, webinars (September 2023)
Tehran Book Fair, Uncensored (date TBC)

Editorial partnerships
• Project fairs for literature, humanities and social sciences, and children’s books within groups with complementary catalogues (throughout the year)
• Pan-African co-publication of the 16th and 17th titles in the “Terres solidaires” collection: Bel abîme by Yamen Manai (published by Éditions Elyzad in Tunisia) and Vautours enchantés by Yamba Elie Ouédraogo (published by Sankofa & Gurli in Burkina Faso)
• Co-publication of the illustrated book of calligraphy by the Syrian artist Mouneer Alshaarani by the Alliance’s Arabic-language network
Terra Viva. My life in a Biodiversity of Movements by Vandana Shiva (co-published by Women Unlimited in India with Spinifex Press in Australia): works translated and co-published in different languages through the Alliance’s networks

See the full 2023 action plan here:

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5 main activities

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.

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Meetings, workshops & book fairs

International Declaration of Independent Publishers 2014

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

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

Tools and recommendations from the International Assembly of Independent Publishers (on digital publishing, public book policies, independent publishing houses’ economic models, youth literature, national and local languages publishing, solidarity publishing partnerships and “Fair Trade Book”, book donations) will be available before the end of 2014 by the Alliance.

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International Bibliodiversity Day (B Day), 21 September 2014!

On 21 September, celebrate the B Day, in Argentina, in Chile, in Colombia, in Peru, in South Africa (with the Open Book Festival), at home, here or elsewhere...

Follow the B Day here!
Contact the team of the Alliance to spread your activities!

The video of B Day is here!

What can I do on B Day? Here the answer!

How can I participate on B Day? Here the answer!

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The International Assembly of Independent Publishers - closing meeting in Cape Town (South Africa), 18-21 September 2014

62 independent publishers from 38 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe are gathering in Cape Town (South Africa) from 18 to 21 September for a unique inter-linguistic and inter-cultural meeting on bibliodiversity! Booksellers, librarians, academics, authors and players in the digital arena are also associated with this event.
Held under the patronage of UNESCO, the Cape Town meeting closes the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, consisting of 7 preparatory workshops between 2012 and 2014.

Alternating between plenary meetings that are open to the public and thematic workshops, the publishers gathered at the Cape Town meeting will propose recommendations and concrete tools for bibliodiversity addressed to public authorities, institutions and professional collectives. To ensure continuity between the preparatory workshops and the Assembly’s closing meeting, thematic working groups have been actively preparing the Cape Town meetings for months.

Round tables and discussions organised in partnership with the Open Book Festival will also be held on 20 and 21 September to celebrate the International Bibliodiversity Day in Cape Town.

Finally, the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP) is meeting on 22 September to take stock of these four days, and to work on implementing the new directions and projects of the Alliance in the years to come.


We are very much looking forward to welcoming you to Cape Town in a few weeks!

To participate in the Cape Town meeting and/or to receive the recommendations resulting from the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, write to the team of the Alliance: equipe@alliance-editeurs.org

The Cape Town meeting takes place in three languages (English, French and Spanish). The entire programme (presentations in plenary, choice of thematic workshops, round tables with the Open Book Festival) was put together collectively by the participants. Moreover, the publishers also helped raise the funds necessary to hold this meeting, which could not have been achieved without the cooperation of our local partners (Jacana Media, French Institute of South Africa, Alliance française, Open Book Festival, Modjaji Books, National Library of South Africa and Goethe Institut).

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What new book donation practices in Africa?, IFLA Congress, Lyon (France), 16-22 August 2014

At the 80th IFLA Congress (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions), from 16 to 22 August 2014 in Lyon (France), the International Alliance of independent publishers will present a paper on “What new book donation practices can meet the needs of young African readers in libraries?”
This analysis on book donation practices and their impact both on the readers and book industry in French-speaking Africa, is written by Marie Michèle RAZAFINTSALAMA (éditions Jeunes malgaches, Madagascar) and the Alliance team. She is continuing the research and advocacy work begun a number of years ago by a group of publisher-members of the Alliance on book donation challenges for bibliodiversity. This paper is an extension to the workshop on book donations held in March 2013 in Paris (International Assembly of independent publishers).

To read the paper “What new book donation practices can meet the needs of young African readers in libraries?” (IFLA 2014), see here.

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International Bibliodiversity Day (B Day), 21 September 2014!

As every year on 21 September, exciting activities (book crossing, readings, meetings, etc.) will be held on the occasion of International Bibliodiversity Day (B Day).
This year, we plan to make a lot of noise –rallying new individuals, groups and organisations from all over the world.

Working together in a network, going in the same direction, and with more determination than ever before.


This year, let’s go further!
Are you coming along?

Postcard of B Day 2014 (in Italian)

Postcard of B Day 2014 (in Arabic)

Postcard of B Day 2014 (in Portuguese)

Postcard of B Day 2014 (in Spanish)

Postcard of B Day 2014 (in French)

Postcard of B Day 2014, to spread around!

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Digital publishing: what issues for bibliodiversity in the Arabic-speaking world? The 7th workshop of the International Assembly of independent publishers at the Abu Dhabi Book Fair

Publishing countries : United Arab Emirates

The 7th workshop of the International Assembly of independent publishers will be held from 30 April to 2 May 2014 in Abu Dhabi, through a partnership with the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, and the support of the International Organisation of the Francophonie and the Prince Claus Fund. It will convene 15 publishers and digital publishing experts from the Arab world and Argentina, with the common objective of:
• Helping publishers to overcome technical challenges encountered during the creation of ePub files in Arabic;
• Discussing digital distribution platforms used in the Arab world;
• Sharing experiences on online promotion and e-marketing;
• Drafting recommendations to facilitate traditional publishers’ transition towards digital publishing and secure a better diffusion for digital publications in the Arab world.

All proposals and recommendations from this workshop will be communicated to public and standardisation authorities, and will be available on the Alliance’s Digital Lab.

Following the workshop, 3 May, from 11:00 to 12:00, do not miss the public speech on “Words and money”, a book by André Schiffrin translated and co-published by the Arabic-language network of the Alliance. More information here!

For more information on this workshop and on the International Assembly of independent publishers: assises@alliance-editeurs.org
,

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Lilian THURAM’s Mes étoiles noires in Africa, Haiti and Madagascar!

Twelve publishers based in Africa, Haiti and Madagascar are collectively publishing Lilian THURAM’s “Mes étoiles noires”, initially published by Philippe Rey (2010). As from April 2014, you will find this publication in Algeria (Barzakh), Benin (Ruisseaux d’Afrique), Burkina Faso (Sankofa & Gurli), Cameroun (Presses universitaires d’Afrique), Côte d’Ivoire (EDILIS), Guiney Conakry (Ganndal), Haiti (Mémoire d’encrier), Madagascar (Jeunes malgaches), Morocco (Tarik), Mali (Jamana), Senegal (Éditions Papyrus Afrique), and in Togo (Graines de Pensées).

Lilian THURAM will visit Africa and Haiti to promote “Mes étoiles noires”:
• From 21 to 25 April 2014 in Guiney Conakry, during the event 72 heures du livre (through the support of the French Institute of Conakry)
• From 25 to 27 April 2014 in Benin (through the support of the Charles Leopold Mayer Foundation)
• From 5 to 9 May 2014 in Haiti (details to be confirmed)
• On 19 July 2014 in Senegal (details to be confirmed)

This solidarity co-publishing “Fair Trade book” project is coordinated and supported by the Alliance, and benefited from the support of the Lilian Thuram Foundation – Education against racism and its partners, CASDEN and MGEN.

For more information on this co-publishing project, click here.

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In 2014, the International Assembly of independent Publishers!

Publishing countries : South Africa

After the first six preparatory and thematic workshops that were held from November 2012 to December 2013, the seventh and last workshop of the Assembly will take place from 30th April to 2nd May in Abu Dhabi, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. This workshop will gather 15 publishers and digital experts around the topic: “Digital publishing: What issues for bibliodiversity in the Arab-speaking world?”. More information to come soon!

From 17th to 22nd September, the Cape Town meeting (South Africa) will conclude the International Assembly of independent publishers. More than 50 independent publishers from 40 countries will meet in Cape Town for an intercultural and interlinguistic event in favor of bibliodiversity.
The Assembly is organized in partnership with the Open Book festival.

For more information, get in touch with the Alliance team and download the document below.

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André Schiffrin, the Alliance has lost a fellow traveller

André Schiffrin, great independent publishing figure, passed away on this Sunday 1st December 2013 in Paris. His work and his analysis (“L’édition sans éditeurs”, “Le contrôle de la parole”…) took an essential part in the creation of the Alliance, back in the 2000s.
After running Pantheon Books (United States) during a long time, André Schiffrin left the Random House group to create in the early 90s the not-for-profit publishing house The New Press, member of the Alliance.
André Schiffrin wrote several fundamental books on independent publishing stakes, translated into many languages –as “Words and money”, the last one, copublished in the Alliance Arabic-language network by Al Intishar (Lebanon), Med Ali (Tunisia) and Atlas Publishing (Syria).

In the current context of the International Assembly of independent publishers, and remembering André Schiffrin had taken part in the Paris Assembly in 2007, the Alliance has lost a fellow traveller –his memory and his reflections will keep on being with us. Independent publishers from all over the world are paying him a tribute here.

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The International Committee of independent publishers in Paris, 17-19 October 2013

Publishing countries : France

The International Committee of independent publishers (ICIP) will gather in Paris from the 17th to the 19th October, at the BULAC (University Library of the languages and the civilizations), for its annual meeting. What’s on for these days: publishers presentations and analysis of the first conclusions (tools and recommendations) of the workshops of the International Assembly of the independent publishers; preparation of the general meeting which will close the Assembly in Cape Town in September 2014.

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Co-publishings and translations

Non-fiction

Par-delà le féminisme (Beyond Feminism)

Author(s) : Édith SIZOO
Publishing countries : Ivory Coast, France
Language(s) : French
Price : 15 €

The advent of women in the public sphere, their federation across family and community borders, their challenge to perspectives and social practices, and their solidarity despite their differences surely represent one of the most irreversible phenomena of the 20th century.
Yet the place of women remains a major international issue.
In this work, Édith Sizoo endeavors to understand the concepts that have been challenged by women and the alternatives that developed as a result. From her immense task of reading texts on the place and role of women written by feminists and non-feminists alike from all continents, one main feature emerges: the culture of relationships.

Year of publication: 2004

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Femmes contre les guerres (Women Against War)

Author(s) : Marlène TUININGA
Publishing countries : France
Language(s) : French
Price : 15 €

In makeshift “peace correspondent” garb – flowery shirt, wide pants and scarf – Marlène Tuininga has visited around twenty countries that until now were mainly known from accounts by her male colleagues clad in the bullet-proof vests and canvas of war correspondents. For several days, she shared the lives of women who, rising up from their suffering and that of their children, patiently reweave the fabric of survival and peace. Almost totally outside the glare of the spotlight, this modest action, with surprising convergence, focuses attention on the causes of violence – hatred and fear – through new or forgotten strategies and means.

Year of publication: 2003

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Protect or Plunder ?

Author(s) : Vandana SHIVA
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French
Price : 15 €

Intellectual property rights, TRIPS, patents - they sound technical, even boring. Yet, as Vandana Shiva shows, what kinds of ideas, technologies, identification of genes, even manipulations of life forms can be owned and exploited for profit by giant corporations is a vital issue for our times. In this readable and compelling introduction to an issue that lies at the heart of the socalled knowledge economy, Vandana Shiva makes clear how this Western-inspired and unprecedented widening of the co. . .

Also available in English : “Protect and Plunder” ; Zed Books publishing.

Year of publication: 2003, 332 pages
English cover {JPEG}

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Les batailles de l’eau

Author(s) : Mohamed Larbi BOUGUERRA
Publishing countries : Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : Arabic , French , Portuguese
Price : 15 €

Water has become a major political and geostrategic issue that is discussed in global summits and alternative forums. In fact, this vital resource controls the development of human societies. For some people, it is an ordinary good that should generate profits. For others, it is a common good of humanity with an exceptional symbolic weight in all cultures and all religions. Does water have a price? Is water a right or a need? Is there enough water for everyone despite demographic growth? Is there a water crisis? Will there be water wars tomorrow? Will technical solutions be enough to keep water pollution in check? This work shows that the management and uses of water pose essential questions to people on their way of living, their ethics and their relationship with nature and with the biosphere. It pleads for a water-efficient society and for global, united water management.

Year of publication: 2003,
240 pages

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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The Development Myth

Author(s) : Oswaldo DE RIVERO
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French
Price : 15 €

Face reality. Though long-promised and laboured for, Third World Development will not now come. The necessary investment is unavailable. Modern technology will not give work to the swelling tens of millions in the cities of the South. And the environment cannot tolerate further industrialization. Instead states are collapsing into “Ungovernable Chaotic Entities” under the control of warlords and mafias. State-driven, communist and neoliberal development models have all failed most of the people.

Year of publication: 2003, 244 pages
English cover {JPEG}

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Give & Take

Author(s) : David SOGGE
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French
Price : 15 €

Foreign aid has existed for fifty years. Billions are spent each year. Tens of thousands employed. The purpose is ostensibly selfless and benign. And some Third World countries depend on it to a remarkable extent. Yet as this introduction shows, it is hardly without controversy. Does money actually flow to the South once collapsing prices for Third World exports, past debts, repatriated profits and corruption have been accounted for? How much aid, anyway, should there be?...

Translated from English. Original title : “Give and Take”, Zed Books Publishing.

Year of publication: 2003, 332 pages
JPEG

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Another American Century ?

Author(s) : Nicholas GUYATT
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French
Price : 15 €

Is George W. Bush responsible for America’s international isolation?

Why did the United States declare ’war on terror’, and what does this war mean for the future of the world?

Another American Century answers these questions with a sweeping and penetrating study of the United States since the end of the Cold War. Nicholas Guyatt reveals the economic, diplomatic and military dimensions of American foreign policy, and investigates what Americans say and believe about their relationship with the rest of the world. A major new chapter discusses September 11th, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the motives and ideas behind America’s ’war on terror’.

Available in English: “Another American century?” ; Zed Books Publishing

Year of publication: 2004

JPEG

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Financial Globalization and Terrorism

Author(s) : René PASSET
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : French
Price : 15 €

With the collaboration of Jean LIBERMAN

The decoding of the new terrorism, which hit the USA with full force for the first time, shows that it is inseparable from the transformation of the world and the establishment of a type of global power that is more inhuman than ever. In effect, the worldwide neoliberal economic policy implemented by the financial sphere has completely distorted the human promises of globalization. Misery, mass exclusion and humiliation are the counterpart of the accelerated commoditization of a growing proportion of human activities. Kamikaze fanaticism, bred among destitute peoples, cannot be separated from the financialization of the world, its network-based information-sharing and its “dirty money” financing that is built into the system.

Ignoring this diagnosis, the neo-liberal leadership, in particular the United States, still refuses to take the well-known measures that would drain the breeding ground of hyperterrorist barbarity.

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Hungry for Trade

Author(s) : John MADELEY
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French , Portuguese
Price : 15 €

As the fallout from the Seattle meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) continues, John Madeley explores some key questions about the free trade that it advocates: Will free trade in food help or hinder the abolition of world hunger? Who benefits first? The poor? Or the transnational corporations? Will free trade help Third World farmers find new international markets? How can countries – North and South, rich and poor – protect their farmers?...

In English: “Hungry for Trade”, Zed Books Publishers

Year of publication: 2002
English cover {JPEG}

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Brave new seeds

Author(s) : Robert Ali Brac de la PERRIERE ; Franck SEURET
Publishing countries : Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Guinea, Mali, Morocco, Switzerland, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , French
Price : 15 €

Farmers around the world are being pressured by half a dozen giant corporations to grow genetically engineered crops. What are the possible downsides for them, particularly for those hundreds of millions of farmers living in developing countries? On their environment? On their health? On their independence? On their traditional export crops? On their access to the marketplaces of their own countries? This important book comes out of a dialogue between farmers’ representatives and experts.

Available in English: “Brave New Seeds” ; Zed Books Publishers

Year of publication : 2004
JPEG

Collection Global Issues

12 francophone publishers deal with different issues on the challenges of globalization (natural resources, development aid, North-South relations, etc.). An international collection for another globalization: “Global Issues” also exists in English and in Portuguese. Short essays, conveying diagnoses and proposals, perspectives for action, accessible to a large public. Bearing the “Le Livre équitable” (Fair Book) label, this collection is subject to fair and solidarity-based trade agreements.

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Literature

Death

Author(s) : TANG Yi Jie - Xavier LE PICHON
Publishing countries : China, France
Language(s) : Chinese , French
Price : 9,91 €

Two top-level researchers – a French geophysicist and a Chinese philosopher – talking about death: quite daunting for a reader unaccustomed to academic language. Not to fear. Professor Tang Yijie, president of the Academy of Chinese Culture, and Xavier Le Pichon, professor at the Collège de France, talk about their fathers, mothers, brothers and sisters, about their beliefs and their faith. Above all, about life.
Tang Yijie and Xavier Le Pichon have met several times to discuss the essential issues of existence. These two texts thus do not present a simple comparison. They respond to each other, with a nearly pedagogical concern for addressing the other’s culture and for presenting – and questioning – the most representative features of their own civilizations.

Although he considers the place of Christian culture within European culture to be “no doubt excessive,” Xavier Le Pichon chooses to approach the mystery of death from his personal perspective as a Catholic. In the European context, he lucidly shows the extent to which death – formerly incorporated into life and a reminder that “the fate of man is eternal happiness” – has become, through the centuries and with the advance of medicine, an event that is increasingly tied to the pain of living. A passage toward the light, yes, but at so high a cost! Impressive, for example, are these words written by his father on the approach of death: “Death is the most important act of life; it is like the seal affixed to a letter written with so many tears, so much blood and suffering. It is the crowning achievement of life.”

Year of publication: 1999

Collection Near and far

In this collection “Near and Far”, two authors, one Chinese, the other French, meet and exchange on topics chosen for their relevance in our daily life and in human relations. They tell us about their own experience and explore the roots of their respective civilizations to discuss how philosophers, writers and poets spoke of these topics.

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Dream

Author(s) : JIN Si Yan - Maurice BELLET
Publishing countries : China, France
Language(s) : Chinese , French

When we learn that a “Grand Diviner” existed long ago during the Middle Kingdom, a sort of oneiromantic secretary of state placed at the head of an “office of divination,” and when we read what Jin Siyan writes on the role of dreams in her own life, we understand that for the Chinese, dreams are a serious affair. Is it for the sake of counterpoint that Maurice Bellet rues the difficulty of Western man – “this dreamer who does not know himself” – to do the same? Not quite. Philosopher, psychoanalyst, priest and occasional novelist, Maurice Bellet knows and loves dreams after having worked with and on them for other people and for himself and after having long studied their creative value. Although he mentions himself only rarely in his contribution to this book, his analyses and parables reveal his true essence, as they contain much more experience than abstract speculation.
Jin Siyan attaches no more importance to the detached speculation of life. Formerly a teacher at the University of Beijing, lecturer at ENA and professor of Chinese civilization and comparative literature at the University of Artois, her interest is in recounting. She recounts the everyday dreams of her happy rural childhood, those of the legends and myths of ancient China; she describes ghosts and what the dream was in such troubled times as the Cultural Revolution.
For very different reasons, the two writers discuss the dream as mediator. For Maurice Bellet’s Western man, built on divisions – soul/body, subject/object – the dream is a sort of interface “at the junction of mind and body.”
For the Chinese, generally unfamiliar with this type of opposition, the dream is nevertheless an emissary. “It moves unhindered, Jin Siyan tells us, oscillating between the worlds of yin and yang.”

Year of publication: 1999

Collection Near and far

In this collection “Near and Far”, two authors, one Chinese, the other French, meet and exchange on topics chosen for their relevance in our daily life and in human relations. They tell us about their own experience and explore the roots of their respective civilizations to discuss how philosophers, writers and poets spoke of these topics.

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Science

Author(s) : YANG Huanming ; Pierre LÉNA
Publishing countries : China, France
Language(s) : Chinese , French

Symbol of progress and of the reasoning process that tirelessly seeks to explain the real and the fate of the universe, science is also an extraordinary locus of dialogue between cultures via its tendency toward the universal.

Pierre Léna, an astrophysicist, lays out a “promenade of science” mentioning questions that everyone asks themselves. Isn’t science, the search for the invisible through visible appearances, only the domain of specialists? A patient exercise in proof or an elaborate mathematical structure, maybe even a subtle relationship between truth and change?

A specialist in the human gene, Yang Huanming offers the Chinese perception of science, tied to cosmology, wisdom and the vision of the universe and the forces that drive it. He also addresses the ethical dimension in terms of the human genome.

Collection Near and far

In this collection “Near and Far”, two authors, one Chinese, the other French, meet and exchange on topics chosen for their relevance in our daily life and in human relations. They tell us about their own experience and explore the roots of their respective civilizations to discuss how philosophers, writers and poets spoke of these topics.

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Night

Author(s) : TANG Ke Yang - Martine LAFFON
Publishing countries : China, France
Language(s) : Chinese , French
Price : 9,45 €

The geography of time zones instructs us that when Paris goes to sleep, Shanghai wakes up. But if you ask a Chinese writer and a French writer to tell you what night is, they won’t talk (much) about sleep. Tang Ke Yang, a young specialist in comparative literature, and Martine Laffon, a philosopher, are too fascinated with the many facets of night to leave its riches to slumberers. The journey that they each propose to us, to the end of the night of their souls – and of their civilizations – is an invitation to see in the dark what we don’t see, to look into the night of the other to better understand him and to better understand ourselves.
They say that night illuminates. Gone is the fear of the child lost in the darkness; a mysterious alchemy emerges by which the night, as if by surprise, reveals something to us about the infinite. Tang Ke Yang and Martine Laffon have each had personal experience with it. One of them discovered in the night a “space of nonchalance in our life horsewhipped by reason”; for the other, nocturnal time reveals “what the eye and the other senses can no longer distinguish, for they have forgotten what they knew so well in the light of day.” Sleepless nights, those (so French) nights of mischief, once-forbidden nights in China when no one could stroll without special permission, nights of intoxication and nights of lucidity, nights of Pascal and Descartes when they did their best thinking, inner nights and trap-nights, nights of lamps, red lanterns and Chinese candles, nights celebrated according to Christian tradition, night of writers and poets. Based on this litany of evocations set forth by the two writers, we can categorically deny the doubt expressed in passing by Martine Laffon: “And what if night were only night?”

Year of publication: 1999

Collection Near and far

In this collection “Near and Far”, two authors, one Chinese, the other French, meet and exchange on topics chosen for their relevance in our daily life and in human relations. They tell us about their own experience and explore the roots of their respective civilizations to discuss how philosophers, writers and poets spoke of these topics.

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Children’s Books

Le dodo aux plumes d’or

Author(s) : Corinne FLEURY (texte) ; Sébastien PELON (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Ivory Coast, Mauritius

A pan-African co-publishing gathering Atelier des nomades (Mauritius) and Eburnie (Ivory Coast).

Date of publication: September 2020

This solidarity co-publishing is the result of a workshop on children’s literature organised by the Alliance in Abidjan in May 2019, as part of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021. It received the support of the French Development Agency.

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Contes de l’Île Maurice

Author(s) : Shenaz PATEL (texte) ; Sébastien PELON (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Ivory Coast, Mauritius

A pan-African co-publishing gathering Atelier des nomades (Mauritius) and Eburnie (Ivory Coast).

Date of publication: September 2020

This solidarity co-publishing is the result of a workshop on children’s literature organised by the Alliance in Abidjan in May 2019, as part of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021. It received the support of the French Development Agency.

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Les quatre frères

Author(s) : Bienvenue GNIMPO N'KOUÉ (texte) ; Ayoutoufèï GUÉDÉGUÉ (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Benin, Ivory Coast

A pan-African co-publishing gathering Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Benin) and Vallesse (Ivory Coast).

Date of publication: September 2020

This solidarity co-publishing is the result of a workshop on children’s literature organised by the Alliance in Abidjan in May 2019, as part of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021. It received the support of the French Development Agency.

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Le soir autour du feu

Author(s) : Sylvie NTSAMÉ
Publishing countries : Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo

A pan-African co-publishing gathering Ntsame (Gabon) and Elondja (DRC).

Date of publication: September 2020

This solidarity co-publishing is the result of a workshop on children’s literature organised by the Alliance in Abidjan in May 2019, as part of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021. It received the support of the French Development Agency.

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La Forêt sacrée

Author(s) : Nicolas CONDÉ (texte) ; Irina CONDÉ (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo
Language(s) : French

A pan-African co-publishing gathering Ganndal (Guinea Conakry), Eburnie (Ivory Coast), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Benin), Graines de Pensées (Togo), Ntsame (Gabon) and Elondja (DRC).
Date of publication: September 2020

This solidarity co-publishing is the result of a workshop on children’s literature organised by the Alliance in Abidjan in May 2019, as part of the International Conference of Independent Publishers 2019-2021. It received the support of the French Development Agency.

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Les cheveux de Cora / Ny volon’i Cora

Author(s) : Ana Zarco CÂMARA (texte) ; Taline SCHUBACH (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Madagascar
Language(s) : French , malgache
Price : 16 0000 Ar (4 €)

Children’s illustrated book – bilingual French-Malagasy edition
Translated from Portuguese (Brazil) into French by Joana Cabral, translated into Malagasy by Veloniaina Rabakoly

Éditions Jeunes Malgaches, 2014, 32 pages.
Original edition: Pallas Editora (Brazil)

ISBN: 978-2 916362-42-7

Selling price: 16 0000 Ar (4 €)

This book is the result of several meetings between publishers who are members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers (“Children’s literature” group of the Alliance), at book fairs (collective stand for young readers) and through workshops on children’s books. These opportunities of sharing mutual knowledge, know-how, and discussions foster unprecedented editorial partnerships. By supporting and promoting these partnerships, the members of the Alliance participate in the circulation of texts and ideas from one continent to another, but also from one language to another. Through these solidarity-based editorial partnerships, translation flows that are still “rare” are being developed, for example here from Brazilian Portuguese to Malagasy.

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Kofi et le petit garçon de feu

Author(s) : Nei LOPES (texte) ; Hélène MOREAU (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Benin
Language(s) : French

Translated from Portuguese (Brazil) into French by Flavio Corrêa de Mello

Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Benin), 2012; 37 pages
Original edition: Pallas Editora (Brazil)

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Download the “African readings” catalogue

Author(s) : Catalogue collectif
Publishing countries : Republic of Guinea, South Africa, Benin, Brazil, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Rwanda, Tunisia
Language(s) : English , Arabic , French , malgache , Portuguese , amazighe , bambara , kinyarwanda , kiswahili

Rooted in African daily life, in the streets of Bamako and Conakry, in the fishing port of Cotonou, on Tunisian soil, or redolent of Afro-Brazilian heritage, the 281 tales, documentaries, albums and novels that make up the catalogue are just waiting to be discovered. Books by nine independent publishing houses from Africa (South Africa, Benin, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, the Republic of Guinea, Rwanda, Tunisia) and from Brazil are now available in France, Belgium and Switzerland!
If you would like to diversify your stock, read in Bambara, in Arabic, in English, in Portuguese, in Kinyarwanda, in Malagasy, in French, if you are simply looking for some escapism… the solution is here… just turn the pages !

The Alliance distributes all the books contained in the catalogue.

Download the catalogue here.


The “African readings” catalogue was created with the support of the Ile-de-France Region
.

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Contos do mar sem fim

Author(s) : Cinco autores de Angola, quatro de Guiné-Bissau e sete escritores do Brasil
Publishing countries : Angola, Brazil, Guinea-Bissau
Language(s) : Portuguese
Price : R$ 32,00

This collection, which takes its title from an iconic verse by Fernando Pessoa, is a veritable invitation to a journey through sixteen tales by
authors from Brazil, Guinea-Bissau and Angola.

Year of publication: 2010; 224 pages; 14 X 21 cm; ISBN: 978-85-347-0294-2

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Advocacy actions

Solidarity with Iranian publishers, August 2009

Publishing countries : Iran

In view of the worrying situation in Iran and the attacks on freedom of expression, the publishers of the Alliance wish to express their solidarity with their Iranian colleagues. They demand the right to publish freely and call for increased cultural and editorial exchanges with Iran.

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Towards a Europe protecting bibliodiversity?, April 2009

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!

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Freedom of publishing under threat in Canada?, April 2008

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.

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The book sector in Morocco: a preoccupying situation, February 2008

As the Casablanca International Book Fair (February 9 to 17, 2008) opens its foors in Morocco, the Alliance of Independent Publishers wishes to express its deepest concerns with regard to the situation of independent book retail and, more generally, of the entire local book industry.

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Call to French-language authors, publishers and institutions, March 2007

Publishing countries : Ivory Coast

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.

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Call to the readers, March 2006

The role played by books in spreading ideas, analyses, imaginary scapes and proposals, in educating and informing citizens, is essential to understand the challenges of our times, to know oneself and others. Read what follows (in French)

See the list of signatories

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Bibliodiversity Day & Indie Book Day

Indie Book Day, March

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.

1. Logo_English

2. Logo_French

3. Logo_Portuguese

4. Logo_Italian

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Bibliodiversity Day (B Day), 21 September

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).

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Download B Day logos and visit the blog here.

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

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HotLists & thematic selections

Children’s Books Hotlist

The Children’s Book HotList highlights children’s books from independent publishers in Africa, Latin America and Europe. It is launched during the 2021 Bologna Children’s Book Fair, on June 14.

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Comprising books from 16 countries, 36 publishing houses and 14 categories, this HotList represents the richness and diversity of independent publishing for youth and children’s literature.

You can find a book by searching its country, publisher or literary genre. If you are interested in a book, please do get in touch with its publisher.

We wish you a great discovery!

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HotList Arab world

While the Arab world shares a language, the Arabic language, which has cemented its culture over centuries, it is far from being the only one. From the Maghreb to the Mashreq, from the Horn of Africa to Cham, this immense space covers a diversity of realities. Linguistic diversity is therefore inherent to it.

More than 30 independent publishing houses from 7 countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Syria and Tunisia) and 9 languages offer you an immersion in the literature, humanities and children’s literature of the Arab world!

Through this HotList, available in Arabic and English, the independent publishers of the Arab world invite you to discover the 1001 facets of literary and intellectual creativity of their country.

Discover the HotList Arab world here!

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Latin America and Arab World HotList, 2020!

This year, on the occasion of the Frankfurt Book Fair (14-18 October), two HotLists will be presented... virtually!

The Latin American HotList - 4th edition: a selection of titles from more than 35 independent Latin American publishing houses from 8 countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay) and from all genres: literature, humanities, youth/ children’s literature, comics... Find the Latin American HotList 2020 online here! Previous HotLists are also online, here.

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The Arab World HotList - a very first: while the Arab world shares a language, the Arabic language, which has cemented its culture over centuries, it is far from being the only one. From the Maghreb to the Mashreq, from the Horn of Africa to Cham, this immense space covers a diversity of realities. Linguistic diversity is therefore inherent to it. More than 30 independent publishing houses from 7 countries (Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Syria and Tunisia) offer you an immersion in the literature, humanities and children’s literature of the Arab world! Through this HotList, the independent publishers of the Arab world invite you to discover the 1001 facets of literary and intellectual creativity of their country, online here!

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The HotLists, while offering an opportunity to discover the creativity of independent publishers, are also tools facilitating the exchange of rights: books and authors are presented in the original language of the book and in English, the contacts of publishing houses are easily accessible and up to date – these lists are thus to be consulted and used throughout the year!

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HotList 2019 (Frankfurt Book Fair, 16-20 October, 2019)!

Discover here the HotList 2019!

Thanks to a partnership with Kurt Wolff Stiftung (the German collective of independent publishers, member of the Alliance) and the Frankfurt Book Fair, independent Latin American publishers in Frankfurt will be exhibiting at the “Reading Island for Independent Publishers” stand (Hall 4.1), twenty books of various genres: novels, short stories, art books, essays, children’s literature... from Argentina, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico!

Context:
- 2009: The members of EDINAR (a group of Argentinian independent publishers) present a selection of the best books from their list at the Buenos Aires Book Fair. This selection is then promoted in independent bookstores across Buenos Aires.
- 2010: Argentina is the guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. To make sure Argentinian independent publishing is well represented, the Argentinian independent publishers, in partnership with the Frankfurt Book Fair, present a HotList at the stand of independent German publishers, showcasing the diversity and quality of their books.
- 2017: The HotList 2017 opens to independent publishers from Latin America! Thanks to the collaboration with the collective Kurt Wolff Stiftung, a selection of about 40 titles from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay is exhibited in Frankfurt on the “Reading Island” (Hall 4.1 / D36).
- 2018: Following the success of the 2017 edition, the HotList 2018 is back and opens to Brazilian publishers. In addition, a thematic and international selection is launched: this year, the theme of “women’s struggle” is selected in the “WomenList”, showcasing more than 30 titles edited by independent publishing houses from all continents.
- 2019: The International Alliance of independent publishers and the Kurt Wolff Stiftung collective offer a new edition of the HotList. Some twenty books (novels, essays, children’s books, comics, art books) will be exposed at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2019. A colourful and powerful HotList this year!

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WomenList: A thematic and international selection - Frankfurt Book Fair 2018

More than 30 novels, short stories, essays and comics on feminism, women’s struggles, their emancipation across the world – these titles are from independent publishers’ lists from all continents.

There is a resurgence of the Women’s Movement following #MeToo and other events and a greater awareness of structural violence against women. Now is the time to know about books being published all around the world by independent publishers, in different languages and across a wide range of issues from the political to the imaginative.

To read through all the books of the WomenList is a reminder of just how much violence women have suffered – from rape, torture, and mass violence against women to indifference and neglect in the case of child abuse, to survival in war, sexual slavery and marriage forced by custom. But there is also resistance and optimism whether it be Pussy Riot or women rebelling against patriarchy as well as the inspiration of women in the vanguard of environmental projects or gathering together the works of women poets.

There are voices from so many places around the world – from Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, England, France, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Morocco, Mexico, Senegal, South Africa, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey... Languages include Arabic, English, Indonesian, Farsi, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese and Turkish. Women write poetry, short stories, political tracts, novels, biography, graphic novels and again more. These are words that matter: women’s voices are loud. It is time to listen!

The WomenList is an initiative of the International Alliance of independent publishers, through a partnership with the Kurt Wolff Stiftung (collective of German Independent Publishers) and the Frankfurt Book Fair. The WomenList is presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair on the “Reading Island for Independent Publishers” stand (Hall 4.1 / D36) and is also available online, on the Alliance’ website. The catalog of the WomenList was made by Julie Agor (Oréka graphisme).

The WomenList was born in the wake of the HotList (selection of books published by independent Latin American publishing houses and presented at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2017 and 2018 – Hall 4.1 / D36).

Read here the article published by Publishing Perspectives, October, 5, 2018

In 2019, a new international selection will be showcased in Frankfurt, on another theme... succeeding the WomenList 2018!

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HotList 2018: The Independent Publishing from Latin America in Frankfurt!

The International Alliance of independent publishers celebrates the remarkable vitality of independent publishing in Latin America at the Frankfurt International Book Fair through a selection of books from Latin America: the HotList 2018!

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Through a partnership with Kurt Wolff Stiftung (a collective of independent German publishers) and the Frankfurt Book Fair, independent Latin American publishers in Frankfurt will be exhibiting, at the “Reading Island for Independent Publishers” stand (Hall 4.1 / D36), more than thirty books of various genres: novels, short stories, art books, essays, children’s literature, and poetry... from Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Venezuela!

The HotList is also available online, an opportunity to discover the wealth and creativity of independent publishers all year round.

Discover also the WomenList: a thematic and international selection created in 2018, celebrating women’s struggle!

Context…

  • 2009: The members of EDINAR (collective of Argentinian independent publishers) present a selection of the best books from their list at the Buenos Aires Book Fair. This selection is then promoted in independent bookstores across Buenos Aires.
  • 2010: Argentina is the guest of honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair. However, Argentinian independent publishing is poorly represented. The Argentinian independent publishers, in partnership with the Frankfurt Book Fair, decided to present a HotList on the stand of independent German publishers: a showcase of the diversity and quality of their offering.
  • 2017: The HotList 2017 opens to independent publishers from Latin America! Thanks to the collaboration with the collective Kurt Wolff Stiftung (independent German publishers), a selection of about 40 titles from publishers from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, and Uruguay is exhibited in Frankfurt on the “Reading Island” (Hall 4.1).
  • 2018: Following the success of the 2017 edition, the HotList is repeated and opens to Brazilian publishers. In addition, a thematic and international selection is launched: this year, the theme of “women’s struggle” is selected in the WomenList 2018, showcasing more than 30 titles edited by independent publishing houses from all continents.

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HotList 2017 from the Latin American independent publishers!

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.

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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

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International Conference of Independent Publishers

Pamplona-Iruñea Declaration ’for independent, decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based publishing’

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.

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For a decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based independent publishing: preliminary conclusions of the Pamplona-Iruñea Conference and perspectives!

Illustrations and video: Mariette Robbes (https://marietterobbes.fr/)

The International Conference of Independent Publishers held in Pamplona-Iruñea brought together more than 100 book professionals from 40 countries and was attended by more than 300 participants connected to the Babelica platform.
6 round-table discussions and 3 collective workshops in 4 languages of communication; B2B meetings; closing speeches by Vandana Shiva and Djaïli Amadou Amal...

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

The conclusions of the Conference are currently being drafted and will be available on the Alliance’s website in early 2022. They will present the highlights of the Conference, the proposals and recommendations of the independent publishers for REthinking, and the Alliance’s perspectives for the period 2022-2025.

The declaration of the Conference “For an independent, decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based publishing” is also being finalised (proofread by the different networks of the Alliance, in several languages). This declaration will be completed by a guide of good practices - the first drafts of this guide were elaborated during the Conference and are the object of a collective work within the Alliance, for publication during the first quarter of 2022.

The photos and press review of the Conference can already be found here!

The Alliance would like to thank once again all the partners of the Conference (see here) and especially the association EDITARGI, co-organiser of this unique meeting!

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International Conference of Independent Publishers, Pamplona-Iruñea, 23-26 November, 2021

To find out more about the participants, practical information and to follow the Conference online, go to Babelica, the Alliance’s virtual space!

Consult the program below and register now!

To participate in the Conference, click here.

The Conference is organized by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers and the Association of Independent Publishers of Navarre, EDITARGI.

Physical meetings, virtual window, sound archives
The meetings can be followed in streaming (via the virtual space Babelica or the Alliance’s YouTube channel). They will also be recorded and may be the subject of audiovisual editing, depending on the agreement with the participants. The conclusions of the roundtables and workshops will be disseminated afterwards to all participants.

Bibliodiversity ambassadors!
Bibliodiversity ambassadors are public figures who have agreed to amplify the voices of independent publishers, to accompany the reflections and practices of publishers, to defend and support bibliodiversity. The personalities solicited will be revealed in the coming weeks!

Presence of international independent publishers at the Navarra Book Fair (25-28 November, 2021), organized by the Association EDITARGI
A collective stand dedicated to the invited international publishers will present the variety and diversity of independent production internationally. This collective stand will be a meeting place for readers but also a space for sales/ purchases/ trade of copyrights between invited and local professionals.

Calendar 2021 of the Alliance and the Pamplona Meetings

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International Conference of Independent publishers 2019-2021

The “Conference”, a snapshot of independent publishing worldwide
Since the creation of the International Alliance of independent publishers (an international network of 750 independent publishers from 55 countries around the world) in 2002, the “International Assemblies/ Conferences” have been held every four to eight years and bring together some 100 independent publishers from around the world: in 2003 in Dakar (Senegal); in 2007 in Paris (France); in 2014 in Cape Town (South Africa) and in 2021 in Pamplona-Iruña (Province of Navarre/ Spain).

They represent a landmark moment for international independent publishers, bringing together actors from all continents – they collectively provide a portrait of global independent publishing (Latin America, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Arab world and Oceania). They are a unique space for debate, meetings, and reflection on independent publishing – with no other equivalent worldwide.

Celebrate and REthink in 2021...
Between 2017 and 2018, when the Alliance network was planning and launching the 2019-2021 conference, the goals of this event were obvious: celebrating bibliodiversity and the work of independent publishers, REthinking the solidarity practices that we build through perseverance and determination, but also the relationships with other book professionals, and the relationships with readers.

This is obvious in view of the progress made since the last meeting in 2012-2014, but also in view of the experience of the Alliance, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2021.

2020, a global health crisis, a year of transformation
While the consequences of the health crisis are still difficult to assess in detail from an economic, social, and political vantage point, REthinking remains obvious but also becomes a necessity.
Why are independent publishers important actors in this period of crisis? How do they accompany societal transformations and transitions at work? What are the tools and practices that they put in place to apprehend the realities of tomorrow, to understand them? In what ways do books and the ideas they convey help defend and preserve the diversity of creations, points of view, ideas?

“Tomorrow’s” independent publishing?
This Conference is thus a moment of documentation on the state of the world, an international mapping of the movements of transition and/or interruption.
Its objective is to question and inform discussions on the role of books – of ideas – as a social and emancipatory trajectory.
It is a space for reflection, sharing of experiences and practical know-hows concerning the issues of today and tomorrow: ecology, social economy, inclusive publishing, cultural platforming...
Finally, the Conference is a space of solidarity, trust, human relationships, and dialogues between cultures.

Process and phases of the Conference
The Conference of the Alliance is built of our own accord over a long period of time, against the often-frantic rhythm that has become the norm. It follows a common thread that has been running for 20 years within the Alliance: the issues defended by the Alliance since its creation are always prominent (solidarity, equity of relations, rebalancing of flows, circulation of ideas, local creations and productions, fair speech, ecological concerns...). These are the foundations on which the independent publishing movement is based and are addressed considering contemporary issues and debates.

They are built collectively, based on the work carried out since the 2021-2014 conference and the 80 ensuing recommendations, from feedback from professionals in the field of books, from monitoring independent publishing throughout the world, from regular dialogue with other cultural actors, but also from observation of practices, trends, and alternatives that emerge here and there.

The Conference is built on two levels (public and “internal”), which feed each other and are complementary.
A public level with an aim to meet, discuss, learn – which is embodied by meetings open to all (book professionals, readers, cultural actors, academics, civil society movements, etc.). It is about taking advantage of the space that the Alliance is to REthink practices, question the relationship of independent publishers to the current world, explore themes, allow each other utopias, look together to the future.
An internal level (focused on the Alliance network) to formulate recommendations and tools, to elaborate objectives for the upcoming period, to define and refine the governance of the network.

The conference is structured around working groups and thematic workshops set up since the 2012-2014 Conference of the Alliance (1/on public book policies; 2/on the freedom of publishing; 3/ on digital publishing; 4/on publishing in local and national languages; 5/on solidarity-based editorial partnerships; 6/on the impacts of book donation practices).

Concretely, for the Alliance network, the aim is to achieve the following results for the period 2022-2025:
• Recommendations (based on the 80 recommendations from the previous Conference but also in the context of the current crisis)
• Objectives and action plan for the period 2022-2025
• Adjustments and validation/ endorsement of the governance of the association

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Videos of the 2019 preparatory workshops for International Conference of Independent Publishers

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!

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International Declaration of Independent Publishers 2014

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).

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Why an international Assembly 2012-2014?

"In this age of deep transformation, we wish to convene a meeting to reflect on our practices, listen to new ideas and include new generations of publishers who share our concerns. Considering two new factors – emergence of new digital actors and global financial crisis – we wish to question our role and reaffirm the issue of bibliodiversity.

In this spirit, we have decided to hold the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, which will be a series of preparatory and thematic workshops in 2013, closing with an Assembly of allies (general meeting) in 2014. The whole process will lead to:
* propositions and recommendations towards bibliodiversity aimed at public authorities;
* cooperative and innovative publishing between independent publishers, based on equity principles;
* new forms of partnerships with other professionals from the book industry meeting in the context of bibliodiversity.

Gathering more than 100 independent publishers from the five continents, the International Assembly of independent publishers is a unique event, professional and intercultural. Professionals, public authorities, institutions and civil society representatives are invited to join us to strengthen and keep bibliodiversity alive".

Paris, on 26 October 2012

by the International Committee of Independent Publishers:
Nouri Abid (Med Ali publishers, Tunisia),
Serge Dontchueng Kouam (Presses universitaires d’Afrique, Cameroon), Susan Hawthorne (Spinifex Press, Australia),
Hamid Medhipour (Forough Verlag, Germany),
Araken Ribeiro Gomes (Contra Capa, Brazil),
Juan Carlos Sáez (JC Sáez Editor, Chile)

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International Assembly 2012-2014, a guide

First step - 2013 preparatory workshops: from practices to propositions promoting bibliodiversity

Throughout 2013, independent publishers will meet in Latin America, Africa and Europe, in the context of preparatory and thematic workshops. The 2014 Assembly of Allies in Cape Town (South Africa) will close this process. These workshops have a trifold objective: develop and mutualise cooperative and innovative work practices between independent publishers; sustainably strengthen professional capacities and human relations amongst the book industry’s actors; formulate concrete propositions towards bibliodiversity.

The workshops will be held over three to five days, and are structured on a common template:
* Practical training (with the intervention of professionals and/ or specialists, depending on the themes) and knowledge and experience sharing based on concrete projects and little known initiatives;
* Formulation of propositions and recommendations towards bibliodiversity.

For workshops to meet expectations, publishers will design their own daily programme, based on the local context in which they operate and on their concerns. As beneficiaries and actors, the transmission of practical knowledge and practices is at the heart of these days.

To enrich these workshops and promote cooperation, some professionals from the book industry, associative structures, and private and public institutions are invited to share original projects and unique experiences that could be repeated in the publishing sector.

The conclusions of each workshop are centralised by the International Committee of Independent Publishers – and redistributed to participants – to collectively build the 2014 Assembly of Allies’ agenda.

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Workshops 2012-2014 to promote bibliodiversity

Bibliodiversity in action in Guadalajara
In the context of the Guadalajara International Book Fair (Mexico)
24 to 28 November 2012

Book donation: A system to review
In the margins on the Paris Book Fair (France)
20 and 21 March 2013

African Youth Literature: What visibility on the international market?
In the margins of the Bologna Book Fair (Italy)
23 and 24 March 2013

Local and national languages: What opportunities for publishing in Africa?
Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
11 to 13 June 2013

Fair Trade book: A real issue for tomorrow / Co-publishing, rights transfers and other solidarity publishing partnerships
Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)
14 to 17 June 2013

Diffusion of human and social sciences works: What innovative strategies to get what you want?
In the margins of the Frankfurt Book Fair (Germany)
13 to 15 October 2013

Digital publishing: What issues for bibliodiversity in the Arab-speaking world?
In the margins of the Abu Dhabi International Book fair
30 April to 3 May 2014

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The 2014 Assembly of allies in Cape Town: 62 independent publishers united for bibliodiversity

After the 2013 preparatory workshops, an Assembly of Allies will be held from 18 to 22 September 2014, in Cape Town, under the patronage of UNESCO.

In order to achieve this, and in line with practical case studies and sharing of practical knowledge during the workshops, it is essential for publishers to discuss the evolution of bibliodiversity in their countries and publishing houses since 2007: How does bibliodiversity materialise itself on a daily basis for a Malian publisher, an Indian publisher, an Argentinian publisher? How does independent publishing empowers itself in the various countries? How does the publishing field in Madagascar, Peru or Afghanistan professionalise itself?

The Assembly of Allies, a unique intercultural and multilingual space in the field of publishing, is in itself a reflection of international independent publishing. For four days, publishers will discuss their background, for some their struggle, share their experiences and the risks they face. Communication digital tools offer the possibility for publishers to be in regular and quasi instant contact – but they cannot replace human exchanges, essential to trust and solidary relations characteristic of a network such as the Alliance’s.

The Assembly of Allies is moreover a decisive moment for the Alliance’s governance: directions for the coming years, and the ensuing programme of activities, will be decided upon there, collectively.

In the spirit of long term capacity building of its members, the Alliance therefore continues to work towards an international solidarity professional network – to promote the circulation and access to works and ideas.

As a unique meeting, the Assembly of Allies primarily serves publishers’ desire to federate around common wishes: to promote and strengthen bibliodiversity together.

We thank our valued partners: Jacana Media (South Africa), Modjaji Books (South Africa), Open Book Festival (South Africa), French Institute in South Africa, Alliance française du Cap (South Africa), National Library of South Africa, Goethe Institut (South Africa), Fondation Charles Léopold Mayer (Switzerland), Organisation internationale de la Francophonie, région Ile-de-France (France), Centre national du livre (France), Fondation de France (France), Direction du développement et de la Coopération (Switzerland), French Institute in Lebanon, French Institute in Tunisia, Cooperación Regional Francesa para los Países Andinos (Bolivia), Canarias Cultura “Canarias crea” (Spain), Copyright Agency Cultural Fund (Australia), Centro Estero per l’Internazionalizzazione (Italy), Centre Universitaire de Recherches sur l’Action Publique et le Politique (CURAPP) / Université de Picardie Jules Verne (France)… and the publishers themselves!

Contact: assises@alliance-editeurs.org

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