Presentation & orientations
Language networks
Genres of publication
Bibliodiversity Observatory
Publishing "in developing countries"
Cooperation and Fair publishing
Public Book Policies
Freedom to publish
Bibliodiversity indicators
Bibliodiversity Journal
International network of 750 publishers in the world in favor of bibliodiversity
2019 programme of the Alliance
Read here the 2018 highlights and the 2019 programme of the Alliance!
Read here the 2018 highlights and the 2019 programme
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.
Meetings, workshops & book fairs
Autumn news: a celebration, professional meetings, a new website...
A celebration - the 21st September 2015!
Celebrate bibliodiversity with us on the 21st of September.
For the 5th International Bibliodiversity Day: picnics, debates, readings, books appearing in unusual places... And coming soon, a video!
Write to us for more information, or to tell us about events going on in your country!
MICA and the Alliance's Spanish-speaking publishers meeting (Argentina), 2-6 September 2015
In parallel with MICA (Argentina's cultural industry trade show), 16 Argentinian publishers from Bolivia, Chilli, Colombia, Spain, the Canary Islands, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay will get together in Buenos Aires thanks to support from MICA, the Argentinian Book Chamber and Argentinian members of the Alliance. On the agenda: the implementation of the 80 recommendations promoting bibliodiversity in Latin America and Spain, the creation of a map of Latin America's public policies...
The publishers will also participate in MICA events: copyright exchanges, co-publishing days, round-table discussions about the concentration of publishing and bibliodiversity...
The program for the Spanish-speaking publishers meeting will be available on the Alliance's site soon. More information about MICA here!
The International Committee of Independent Publishers meeting - ICIP (Paris) 9-11 October 2015
The ICIP is made up of 6 representatives of the Alliance's linguistic networks and will meet in Paris for 3 days: the governance of the Alliance, a report and implementation of the recommendations and project resulting from the International Assembly of Independent Publishers, meetings between Alliance partners, freedom of expression and publishing, copyright in Europe and the rest of the world... a busy program!
The CIEI program will be available on the Alliance site soon.
A new website!
A new design, new functions and an improved "Resource Center": Discover the new Alliance website in November 2015!
The Alliance will be closed from the 10th to 21st August. We wish you a great August in the meantime!
A workshop on the promotion of Francophone African publishers digital lists, Dakar (Senegal), 15-19 June 2015
Publishing countries : Senegal
17 publishers from West Africa will meet in Dakar for this workshop facilitated by the Digital Lab of the Alliance, and through the support of the International Organization of the Francophonie, in partnership with Wikimedia France, the Afrilivres association and the Senegalese publishers association.
The workshop will include 3 sessions: training on Wikipedia (facilitated by Georges Fodouop and Donatien Foffi, two volunteer members of Wikimedia); the promotion of publishers lists on social networks (facilitated by Nicolas Gary, director of publication of the ActuaLitté Website); the development of Websites for African publishing houses, based on the Web template developed by the Digital Lab of the Alliance (facilitated by Mouhammed Diop, Senegalese developer).
Read the programme_in French
Independent publishers at the Paris Book Fair, 20-23 March 2015
17 independent publishers members of the Alliance will attend the Paris Book Fair, from 20 to 23 March 2015. The Alliance and publishers will also take part in meetings and roundtables… Consult the list of participants and programme through the link below!
And in the margins of the Fair:
Partial meeting of the French-speaking network: 2015 perspectives and discussions on "Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Publishing"
24 March 2015, Centre national du livre (CNL), Paris/ for members of the Alliance only
Meeting with independent publishers or authors from the Maghreb, facilitated in partnership with the Arab and Hebraic World Sorbonne Association (SAMAH)
24 March 2015, 19h00, University of Sorbonne, amphi Guizot (17, de la Sorbonne St - 75005 Paris)
Programme of the French-speaking network meeting in Paris
Participating publishers and meetings not to be missed!
The programme of the Alliance in 2015
Solidarity publishing partnerships, collaborative spaces, resource centre, Intercultural and face-to-face meetings... discover the programme of the Alliance in 2015!
The Alliance in 2015, click here!
We, independent publishers, are Charlie
The world (of ideas) is wounded
After the attack this Wednesday, January 7th 2015 against the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, the 400 publishers of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers offer their most afflicted condolences with friends and family of the victims.
Today more than ever, solidarity is essential —we think about the journalists, cartoonists and publishers from all around the world who risk their lives for freedom of expression. We also hope that these attacks will not serve to feed more islamophobia and xenophobia in Europe.
We will continue with determination and conviction, as we have expressed it in the Declarations of Dakar (2003), Paris (2007), and Cape Town (2014), to work with journalists, authors and creators to struggle against any form of suppression of the word, and to foster fair speech.
9 January 2015, 400 independent publishers from 45 countries in the word,
members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers
"Terres solidaires", Léonora Miano and Hubert Haddad, 2015 winners!
On 23 October this year, the "Terres solidaires" reading Committee selected the next two titles to be published in the collection.
As every year, the committee, composed of book professionals and mediators in Africa, held a continent-wide virtual meeting. After several hours of exchanges and discussions it is, once again, two great African literature novels that were selected: Léonora Miano's La saison de l'ombre (initially published by Grasset publishers in 2013, 2013 Fémina prize winner) and Hubert Haddad's Palestine (initially published by Zulma publishers in 2007, 2008 Cinq Continents prize winner). These two novels will be available in Africa in 2015 and 2016 respectively, at a price adapted to local readers' purchasing power, through an African publisher collective that will copublish these books.
Click here for more information on the other 9 titles published in the "Terres solidaires" collection, as well as on the collection's publishers and countries where books are distributed.
The Alliance wishes to thank and acknowledge the exceptional work of the reading committee members:
•	Saïd AFOULOUS (journalist, Morocco)
•	Layla CHAOUNI (Le Fennec publishing, Morocco)
•	Élisabeth DALDOUL (elyzad publishing, Tunisia)
•	Yasmin ISSAKA-COUBAGEAT (Graines de Pensées publishing, Togo)
•	Ludovic KIBORA (journalist, Burkina-Faso)
•	Rachid MOKHTARI (journalist, Algeria)
•	Jean-Claude NABA (Sankofa & Gurli publishing, Burkina Faso)
•	François NKEME (Ifrikiya publishing, Cameroun)
•	Serge POUTH (journalist, Cameroun)
•	Felwine SARR (teacher, researcher and bookseller, Senegal)
Since its creation, "Terres solidaires" collection is supported by the International Orgainsation of the Francophonie.
Presentation of the two 2015 "Terres solidaires" collection winners_in French
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.
See the list of signatories of the Declaration 2014
Read the International Declaration of Independent Publishers 2014
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!
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).
Read the report of the Assembly and the perspectives
Read the detailed programme of the meeting_in English
See the agenda and the participants of the Cape Town meeting
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.
Co-publishings and translations
Author(s) : Corinne GENDRON ; Arturo PALMA TORRES ; Véronique BISAILLON ; Olga NAVARRO-FLORES
Price : 80 pesos argentin ; .000 CLP
Chilean version of "El comercio justo"
À quand l'Afrique ? Joseph KI-ZERBO and René HOLENSTEIN
Author(s) : Joseph KI-ZERBO ; René HOLENSTEIN
Publishing countries : Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Ivory Coast, France, Haiti, Mali, Switzerland
Language(s) : French
Price : 10 € (France) ; 15 CHF (Suisse) ; 16,95 CAD (Canada) ; 3 000 FCFA (Afrique subsaharienne) ; 350 G (Haïti)
The new edition of "À quand l'Afrique", launched some years after Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo untimely death in 2006, addresses the relevance and insightfulness of his thoughts. It is simultaneously published in Africa, Europe, Canada and Haiti.
This new edition includes notes compiled by Pallas Publishers from Brazil, for the Portuguese translation of this book. These notes were translated into French by Caroline Sordia.
Date of first edition: 2004; new edition: 2013; 240 pages; paperback; ISBN France: 9782708241626; ISBN Switzerland: 9782829004568; ISBN Quebec: 9782897120337
This co-publishing bears the label "Fair Trade Book".
Copublishers and the Alliance wish to thank Mr Claude Calame, Director of studies at Paris EHESS and the Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency for their valuable support.
OGM- La verità riguarda anche te!
Author(s) : Corinne LEPAGE ; Beatrice CERRAI (traductrice)
Publishing countries : Italy
Language(s) : italien
Price : 9 €
The tobacco manufacturers' gimmicks, some lies perpetrated about the Mediator, the chemical industry's hidden truths on Biphenyl A, etc. In short, public health related scandals abound. Although there has never been scientific confirmation of these products' harmfulness, the precaution principle should prevail. And today, we face a similar situation relatively to MSGs.
Noting the public authorities' refusal in playing a leading a role, and the gaps, conflict of interests and other gimmicks aimed at impeding independent research and transparency regarding the adverse effects of MSG's, the Committee of Independent Research and Information on Genetic Engineering (CRII-GEN) decided to carry out an experimentation that is a first in the field.
In her book, Corinne LEPAGE relates the saga surrounding this experience, and how it forms part of the history of MSGs in Europe and the perspectives for civil society participation. It proposes a new expertise model, that is pluralist, multidisciplinary and opposing, based on experts responsibilities and policies, and in which citizens find their rightful place.
Summary extract of Charles Léopold Mayer Publishers website.
Publisher: Il leone verde
Publication date: 2013; 140 pages; ISBN: 9788865800669
Author(s) : André SCHIFFRIN
Publishing countries : Lebanon, Syria, Tunisia
Language(s) : Arabic
Words and Money, initially published in 2010 by Verso publishers (United Kingdom) was translated and published in France by La Fabrique (L'argent et les mots). The book is now available in Arabic, co-published by three publishing houses: Al Intishar (Lebanon), Med Ali (Tunisia) and Atlas Publishing (Syria). This co publishing project bears the "Fair Trade book" logo.
Read the presentation of the book on the Verso books website.
Author(s) : Hamed Abdel SAMAD ; Traduit par B. BINIAZ
Publishing countries : Germany, France
Language(s) : Farsi
A co-publishing of the English-speaking network: Forough publications in Germany and Khavaran publishing in France.
Book translated from German into Persian.
Year of publication: 2012 ; Date de publication : 2012 ; ISBN: 978-3-943147-15-5
Making Peace with the Earth: Beyond Resource, Land and Food Wars
Author(s) : Vandana SHIVA
Publishing countries : South Africa, Australia, India
Language(s) : English
Price : Rs. 375 (India) / $AUD: 32.95
Wars in the 21st century are wars against the earth; against natural resources like water, soil, forests, minerals, seeds. The global corporate economy based on the idea of limitless growth has become a war economy and the means it uses are instruments of war. Trade wars. Waters wars. Food wars.
In a compelling and rigorously documented exposition, Vandana Shiva demolishes the myths propagated by corporate globalisation in its pursuit of profit and power, by demonstrating its flawed assumptions and devastating fallouts.
Consumerism lubricates the war against the earth, corporate control violates all ethical and ecological limits. It promotes technologies of production based on genetic engineering, geo-engineering and toxins; industrial development that entails the enforced appropriation of land, rivers, mountains; agribusinesses that deplete nature's diversity; land-grab in Africa, Asia, South America. Exploitation of this order incurs the kind of ecological and economic debt that is unsustainable, unbailable and unbearable.
Making Peace with the Earth outlines how a paradigm shift to earth-centred politics and economics is our only chance of survival; and how collective resistance to corporate exploitation can open the way to a new environmentalism of interdependence and earth democracy.
Vandana SHIVA is a world-renowned environmental thinker and activist, a leader in the International Forum on Globalisation (IFG) along with Ralph NADER and Jeremy RIFKIN, and of the Slow Food Movement. Director of Navdanya and of the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resource Policy, and a tireless crusader for farmers', peasants' and women's rights, she is the author and editor of a score of influential books.
Vandana Shiva is the recipient of over 20 international awards, among them the Right Livelihood Award (1993); Medal of the Presidency of the Italian Republic (1998); the Horizon 3000 Award (Austria, 2001); Save the World Award (2009); Sydney Peace Prize (2010); Calgary Peace Prize (Canada, 2011); the Thomas Merton Award (2011); and the John Lennon-Yoko Ono Grant for Peace.
Vandana Shiva is currently working on a three-year project with the Government of Bhutan on how to achieve their objective of becoming an organic sovereign country, the first in the world.
Vandana SHIVA received the Fukuoka Grand Prize Laureate, 2012.
Year of publication: 2012; 267 pages; ISBN: 81-88965-75-8 (India) / ISBN: 9781875559275 (Australia)
Australian cover of the co-publishing.
Author(s) : Mohamed EL KHADI ; Mohamed EL KHABOU ; Ahmed SMAOUI ; Mohamed Najib AMANI ; Ali ABID ; Noureddine BEN KHOUD ; Fathi NASRI ; Mohamed Ayet MIHOUB
Publishing countries : Algeria, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia
Price : 30 000 TND
The "Dictionnaire de la narratologie" ("Dictionary of Narratology") is a reference work whose objective is to facilitate the dissemination and transmission of ideas by standardising concepts among Arabic-speaking readers. It enables the refinement of the definitions offered in various essays by Arab critics, whose conceptual framework is drawn directly from the works of theoreticians of Western narratology. The Dictionary is presented in the form of a glossary of terms in use in the analysis of the narration. It also contains terms relevant to the study of narrative and enunciative narratology, terms and notions borrowed from pragmatics and discourse analysis.
Arab terms have their French and English equivalents to fulfil the needs of a readership both French-speaking (Maghreb) and English-speaking (Middle East).
The Dictionary of Narratology is intended for students and researchers, literary critics and authors.
Year of publication: September 2010, 600 pages, 16,5 X 23,5 cm, 540 concepts presented in French, English and Arabic,
Author(s) : Sanou MBAYE ; préface d'Aminata TRAORE
Publishing countries : Algeria, Benin, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, France, Mali, Switzerland
Price : 9 € ; 500 DA ; 3 000 FCFA ; 15 CHF
How can Africa emerge from the impasse? Surprisingly, the author shows that Africans themselves have the means of achieving their own development. Since independence the model of development imposed on Africa by the West has been a complete failure. The author analyses the structural causes of this failure which has dragged African populations down into a spiral of poverty and violence. He shows what the West has been responsible for, without shying away from the responsibilities of Africans themselves. His multi-dimensional analysis goes on to suggest a range of innovative solutions which will allow Africans to take in hand their own development. Very persuasively, Sanou Mbaye suggests political, economic and financial reforms, legal action and a resource mobilisation plan which could bring about the true renaissance the regional populations dream of. On its own Africa will deal with its own problems and the author inspires us with hope for the future of the continent. Profoundly Pan-Africanist, he is convinced that the solidarity of the African peoples would constitute fertile ground for this radical change, which would enable them to reappropriate their identity ruined by centuries of domination and to achieve fulfilment.
Sanou MBAYE, former senior official of the African Development Bank, is a political and economic commentator. His writings on the development of African countries put forward political alternatives to what has been established in Africa by the West and its instruments: the IMF and the World Bank.
Year of publication: 2010, 222 pages, 11 X 18 cm
First large print edition: l'Atelier Publishing, 2009
Author(s) : Sous la direction d'Adame BA KONARÉ
Publishing countries : Algeria, Mali, Senegal
Price : 6 500 FCFA ; 800 DA
After the Africans' first heated and indignant reactions to Nicolas Sarkozy's speech in Dakar on July 26, 2007, his declarations on the African continent's inaction or the absence of French responsibility in its current problems deserved a well-argued response, uncluttered with any emotional diversion. In the aim of enlightening President Sarkozy, yet also his entourage and, broadly speaking, the general public, about the reality of African history, Adame Ba Konaré launched in September 2007 a noticed call to the historians' community. This book is the product of this mobilization: 25 contributions by world-famous experts or younger researchers, both African and European, who each tackle with rigor and precision one aspect of the continent's rich, complex and little-known history.
Year of publication of the pan-African version: 2009, 350 pages, 15,5 X 24 cm
Author(s) : Marie-Monique ROBIN ; Translated by George HOLOCH
Publishing countries : Australia, United States, India
The result of a remarkable three-year-long investigation that took award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker Marie-Monique Robin across four continents (North and South America, Europe, and Asia), The World According to Monsanto tells the little-known yet shocking story of this agribusiness giant—the world's leading producer of GMOs (genetically modified organisms)—and how its new "green" face is no less malign than its PCB- and Agent Orange–soaked past.
Robin reports that, following its long history of manufacturing hazardous chemicals and lethal herbicides, Monsanto is now marketing itself as a "life sciences" company, seemingly convinced about the virtues of sustainable development. However, Monsanto now controls the majority of the yield of the world's genetically modified corn and soy—ingredients found in more than 95 percent of American households—and its alarming legal and political tactics to maintain this monopoly are the subject of worldwide concern.
Released to great acclaim and controversy in France, throughout Europe, and in Latin America alongside the documentary film of the same name, The World According to Monsanto is sure to change the way we think about food safety and the corporate control of our food supply.
Marie-Monique Robin is an award-winning French journalist and filmmaker. She received the 1995 Albert-Londres Prize, awarded to investigative journalists in France. She is the director and producer of over thirty documentaries and investigative reports filmed in Latin America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. She lives outside of Paris. George Holoch has translated more than twenty books, including Notes on the Occupation (The New Press). He lives in Hinesburg, Vermont.
Year of publication: 2010 ; 384 pages
Dernières nouvelles de la Françafrique (Latest news from French Africa )
Author(s) : Sayouba TRAORE, Kangni ALEM, Abdourahman A. WABERI, Engène EBODE, Dave WILSON, Ange-Séverin MALANDA, Soeuf ELBADAWI, Tanella BONI, Camille AMOURO, Yahia BELASKRI, Jean-Jacques SEWANOU DABLA, RAHARIMANANA, Diogène N'TARINDWA
Publishing countries : Burkina Faso, France
Price : 16 €
Africa.
A continent of vast riches buried under countless ills...
Words, deaths and blood...
Africa is doing badly. But who says so?
Its children. Its artists. And its writers.
Thanks to Raharimanana and Soeuf Elbadawi, African voices are unmasking the truth about French Africa through short stories. Chicanery, espionage, torture and other manipulations... Anything goes.
Thirteen writers remind us that Africa is neither deaf nor dumb. They give us the latest short stories from French Africa to show again and again the reality of what is at stake in the old French colonies, which are now considered independent.
Author(s) : François CHENG
Publishing countries : China, France
Language(s) : Chinese , French
"Fate would have it that from a certain moment of my life, I would become a bearer of two languages, Chinese and French. Was this solely due to fate? Or did a dose of deliberate will enter into it after all? Regardless, I took up the challenge by assuming, in my own manner, both languages, all the way to the extreme consequences. Two complex languages, commonly considered 'major', so rich in history and culture. And above all, two such fundamentally different languages separated by the largest chasm imaginable.
Nothing surprising in what since then, at the heart of my linguistic adventure oriented toward love for an adopted language, has become a major theme: dialogue..."
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.
Author(s) : WANG Yipei - Olivier BLEYS
If we are to believe the major myths and tales, travel is part of the human adventure. Whether man embarks for good or toward a promised land (Abraham or Moses), experiences numerous tribulations before returning to his point of origin (Ulysses), takes to the road to seek wisdom through multiple encounters (Buddha) or goes off to discover terra incognita (Christopher Columbus or Marco Polo), he enriches his perception of the world.
In an era when travel is part of our daily life, Wang Yipei, writer and specialist in Western literature, very sensibly evokes the Chinese approach in which the themes of internal exile and migrations are omnipresent. Olivier Bleys, a young novelist and traveler, offers his Western perspective on the theme of travel through literature and the history of civilizations.
Author(s) : Michel SAUQUET - YE Shuxian
Is the theme of passion the core locus of cultural difference between East and West? Western civilization sees in passion a founding experience, emotionally, aesthetically and spiritually fundamental. Yet the East is more skeptical, reflecting Buddhist wisdom, which invites people to free themselves from passion to achieve awakening.
In a chronicle embodied in contemporary China, Ye Shuxian chooses to talk about loving passion. Codified in traditional China and repressed under the Cultural Revolution, the feeling of love is expressed more strongly today.
Michel Sauquet shows all the richness and ambiguity of the word passion in European culture: it sustains life and suffering; it absorbs, builds and destroys. Loving passion, passion of the artist as best exemplified by the character of Rimbaud; mystical passion exalted by the music of Bach.
Author(s) : YANG Xin - Dom Angelico SURCHAMP
For centuries, human cultures have rooted themselves in stone and monuments for utilitarian or artistic purposes, reflecting the power of kings or the greatness of gods. When first learning about Chinese architecture, what could be better than a guided visit to several emblematic monuments, such as the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven and the Summer Palace? This is what Yang Xin provides, in a text full of detailed description. We are taught how Chinese architecture is a total art, rooted in the axes of thought: relationship with nature, permanent negotiation between the yin and yang, the empty and full, the sky and the earth. On the other side, Dom Angelico Surchamp, eminent specialist in Roman art, sets forth a panorama of the history of Western architecture, showing the gradual evolution of the temple, church and dwelling house. Little by little, space becomes organized around key values. More than the simple struggle between man and the elements or between man and material, the art of building translates a vision of the world.
Author(s) : GONG Gang - Paul ARIÈS
So few people know Chinese culture, yet many are familiar with Peking duck and fried rice. Gong Gang happily explains how much, in China, the idea of beauty melds inseparably with the idea of goodness, in an association that may appear strange to a Westerner. Drinking tea, for example, invokes particular values, of clarity and limpidity, according to a broader definition of the five senses. For Paul Ariès, the issue is more controversial. Recalling the origin of good taste in the West, expressed particularly in culinary art and in restaurants, which arose in the early 19th century with characters such as Brillat-Savarin, Mr. Ariès is alarmed by globalization and its threat to this table culture. "Can good taste coexist with modernity?" An exchange of views that will delight culinary enthusiasts.
Author(s) : ZHU Cunming - Dominique FERNANDEZ
There is a close relationship between the notion of beauty and that of culture, between aesthetic and humanity. "I am beautiful, o mortals, like a dream of stone" wrote Baudelaire, personifying the relationship. But is beauty truly accessible? How is beauty translated in the universe, whether Chinese or Western? From an original perspective, Zhu Cunming shows how the experience of beauty is universal but also profoundly tied to that of ugliness. Witness the temple bronzes and the dragon heads with enormous mouths, like so many hidden facets of the feeling of beauty. On the other side, Dominique Fernandez defines beauty as an experience of ambiguity. More than the cathedral, which speaks too directly of God, music in particular evokes this inaccessible intangible. Beginning with the myth of Orpheus, which runs through Western culture from Monteverdi to Jean Cocteau, Dominique Fernandez pursues the truth of beauty in an amazing meditation. A delightful, cultural read.
Author(s) : YUE Dai Yun - Anne SAUVAGNARGUES
While Europeans are in a struggle or in forced coexistence with nature, the Chinese are, according to Confucian tradition, in symbiosis, in communion, mutually dependent. "We look at each other, the sky and I, without tiring", sings the famous poet Li Po, cited by Yue Dai Yun. In the countless legends recounted by Yue Dai Yun, man is or becomes nature: how many young girls and (formerly human) gods or goddesses have been transformed into hills and their tears into streams? Mountains, river water and the immensity of seas are not things in China, but living realities that teach man time, death and the insurmountable. As a result, says Yue Dai Yun, we must "not force ourselves or, worse, oppose nature, but rather adapt to ourselves." For many Chinese people, nature is the source, not the object, of intellectual thought. There is nothing like climbing, for example, to think: "The succession of mountains has no limits for the Chinese, for it represents the elevation of their mind and the expansion of their thought." Let us not seek out the East-West opposition throughout these two texts. Doesn't the aforementioned Chinese veneration for high reliefs correspond to our own tradition, that of the Sinai and the Thabor, not to mention the mount of the well-known Sermon? Would our mystics argue when the Chinese say, according to Yue Dai Yun: "There are mountains beyond the mountains; there is another world beyond ours"? And does China have a monopoly on wonder? The magic of nature's products, which Miao women take to market in autumn, these wild, dazzling red fruits, these leaves of palm – Aristotle also knew this magic. His ideas, according to Anne Sauvagnargues, "were always limpid, full of rocks, animals, men and the starry sky that we observe at night when we lie on the ground."
Reading these two very different, very literary texts, the reader learns about visions of the world and of nature that were often inherited from the distant past. Distant? Not really! The story of saving the moon", in which Yue Dai Yun heroically took part in her childhood, tells us how much traditional myths permeate men and women today and just may give them the strength to fight for a less despoiled nature
Author(s) : TANG Yi Jie - Xavier LE PICHON
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."
Author(s) : JIN Si Yan - Maurice BELLET
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."
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.
Contes de l'Île Maurice
Author(s) : Shenaz PATEL (texte) ; Sébastien PELON (illustrations)
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).
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).
La Forêt sacrée
Author(s) : Nicolas CONDÉ (texte) ; Irina CONDÉ (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Benin, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Togo
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).
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.
Kofi et le petit garçon de feu
Author(s) : Nei LOPES (texte) ; Hélène MOREAU (illustrations)
Publishing countries : Benin
Translated from Portuguese (Brazil) into French by Flavio Corrêa de Mello
Ruisseaux d'Afrique (Benin), 2012; 37 pages
Les nouveautés du fonds "Lectures d'Afrique(s)" à découvrir d'urgence !
Téléchargez les nouveautés du fonds Lectures d'Afrique(s) !
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.
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
Solidarity with the Mexicans, 22 September 2017
On 21 September, all around the world, we have celebrated the International Day of Bibliodiversity. Meantime, in Mexico, the terrible earthquake occurred 2 days before, on 19 September, turning streets into dust, causing victims, hundreds and hundreds of roofless people…
The International Alliance of independent publishers expresses –in these days of celebration of cultural diversity, ideas and texts flows– its solidarity with the Mexicans.
The Association of Mexican independent publishers (AEMI), member of the Alliance, proposes to collect Latin-American books to offer especially to children and young Mexicans –so that their imaginations do not focus on this disaster, and that stories and words coming from abroad can help them in these painful moments.
This is also bibliodiversity: be careful about the surrounding world, keep awake and conscious, in solidarity.
Read the communique here
Call for freedom of speech and publishing in Turkey, 22 August 2016
The International Alliance of independent publishers demands that Turkish authorities immediately release publishers, authors and journalists currently detained. It is necessary to guarantee freedom of speech and publishing in Turkey. The Alliance joins the Turkish Publishers Association's condemnation of the summary closure of publishing houses and media as a clear human rights violation, and urges the Turkish authorities to rescind those summary closures.
Read the Communiqué in English and French
Call for freedom of speech and publishing in Bangladesh, November 2015
Extract from the Communiqué by the Alliance for a call for freedom of speech and publishing in Bangladesh, 10 November 2015:
For several months, authors, bloggers, publishers and booksellers have been the victims of violent and deadly attacks in Bangladesh.
The International Alliance of independent publishers, representing 400 independent publishers from 45 countries in the world, condemns these murderous attacks and assault on freedom of speech and publishing. The Alliance also reaffirms the essential role needing to be played by public authorities, in Bangladesh and throughout the world to enable the emancipation of its citizens, and to guarantee a public space conducive to dialogue and peace. Plurality and diversity of ideas constitute the foundation of democracy. It is urgent that the Bangladeshi government protects and supports actors in the book industry, thus safeguarding the foundations necessary for their work and freedom of speech.
Read the full Communiqué
Communiqué from the Alliance on the Tunis meetings, 27 May 2011
Publishing countries : Tunisia
15 publishers from 8 countries (Algeria, Argentina, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, France, Morocco, Tunisia, Syria) met in Tunis, from 12 to 15 May 2011, to discuss e-publishing. The meeting was organised by the International Alliance of Independent Publishers, with the support of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie.
The publishers who met in Tunis wished it to be known that these meetings took place in a peaceful and secure environment. The warm welcome we were given, despite the curfew then in place, enabled us to organise meetings of a high standard, from both a professional and a human perspective.
We wished to show our solidarity with our Tunisian partners in this way, by inviting associations, NGOs, organisations and institutions, tourists and the simply curious to rediscover Tunisia – a Tunisia where freedom is in the air.
Read the communiqué of 27 May 2011 in full_in French
Communiqué from the Tunisian Publishers' Union, 21 January 2011
Extract from the Tunisian Publishers' Union's communiqué, published on 21 January 2011
"The Tunisian Publishers' Union, whose members met on Friday, 21 January, congratulates the Tunisian people, is proud of its glorious revolution and pays tribute to its martyrs, while declaring its unwavering support for the popular resistance".
Read the communiqué of the Tunisian Publishers' Union_Arabic version
Read the communiqué of the Tunisian Publishers' Union_French version
Communiqué in support of Txalaparta Publishing following attacks on "El manual del torturador español" and on freedom of expression, December 2010
Paris, December 2010
It is with great concern that the International Alliance of Independent Publishers has noted the recent censorship of a book in Spain, and the threats made against the independent publishing house Txalaparta, member of the Alliance's Spanish-speaking network.
The book in question, "El manual del torturador español" (The Spanish Torturer's Manual) – by Xabier MAKAZAGA denounces the torture carried out by the Spanish police. The book was withdrawn from a public library (in the Basauri town council), following a request by a political party and certain Madrid newspapers to remove it from all libraries where it was made available to readers. However the practices described in this book support the accusations already made in reports by Amnesy International and by the UN Recorder on Human Rights. The campaign against this book has already been publicly denounced by public librarians. Furthermore the Basque Country Human Rights Observer (Behatokia) sent a letter of protest to Frank de la Rue, Special Recorder on Human Rights and Freedom of Expression with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, whose headquarters are in Geneva.
The International Alliance of independent publishers, whose objectives include defending freedom of expression and denouncing all forms of censorship, also has a duty to respond publicly when attacks or infringements are directed – for ideological reasons – against independent publishers, whose very job it is to encourage the dissemination of ideas and to contribute to forging the identity of people and their culture.
One has only to examine Txalaparta's publishing catalogue to appreciate the vast range of literary works and essays which constitute an undeniable contribution to bibliodiversity, while reflecting a clear editorial policy.
This is why we independent publishers are appealing to the Spanish authorities to respect the work of independent publishers and to encourage respect for fundamental rights and democracy.
We also appeal to independent publishers, booksellers, librarians and readers to follow the development of this matter closely and to express their support to Txalaparta Publishing in order to defend and respect the right to information that is true and diverse.
The Spanish-language network of the International Alliance of independent publishers
Read the communiqué by Txalaparta Publishing_in Spanish
Preferential postage rates for books: urgent for Latin America, August 2010
Massively used by small publishing firms to distribute their products to bookstores, libraries, and readers, the postal service is the most popular means of circulating books throughout the world. However, the absence, suppression or questioning of special postage for books is an impediment to bibliodiversity in many countries.
In Latin America, with a huge territory to cover and limited circulation, a large share of publishers ensures the delivery of their products themselves. For these publishers, preferential postage rates for shipping books are all the more vital.
Read the advocacy
Haiti, let's mobilise for the long haul, February 2010
The International Alliance of Independent Publishers calls on all international solidarity organisations to mobilise in Haiti. The Alliance will do do its outmost to support Haitian book professionals in the long-term, particularly librarians, publishers and booksellers, by joining forces with existing and future stakeholders in Haiti.
The importance of culture should be considered in the reconstruction process. In the Haïtian context, where symbolism has a special place, reinventing Haïti also involves supporting the arts and culture, particularly books and authors that promote the people's complex and fascinating identity. A people cut off from its culture is a dead people.
Rodney Saint-Éloi, author and publisher member of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers
Read the declaration: Haiti, let's mobilise for the long haul. The Alliance thanks the International Association of French-language Booksellers (AILF) for its partnership in the dissemination of this declaration
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.
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!
European Support for the Development of Publishing Sectors in Emerging and Developing Countries
Setting a fix European book price
Europe Needs a General Assembly for Books
Financial and Activity Report
Read the financial and policy report 2009 (in French)
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.
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…
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/
40 stories unveiling the names of independent publishing houses from all around the world
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HotLists & thematic selections
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.
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!
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!
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!
- 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!
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!
WomenList 2018: The catalog!
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
We hope you will appreciate!
I'm not a robot.
of Independent Publishers