The Alliance

The International Alliance of independent publishers is a professional collective that brings together more than 800 independent publishing houses from over 55 countries around the world. Created as an association in 2002, it is composed of 6 language networks (English, Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Persian) and thematic groups. Members of the Alliance are publishing houses and publisher collectives.
The Alliance’s activities promote and strengthen bibliodiversity (cultural diversity applied to the world of the book).

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

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

A presentation of the Alliance by Clémence Hedde, member of the permanent team between 2010 and 2020, in video !

• Gijón meeting (Spain), 2000 (an initiative led by four Spanish-speaking publishers in reaction to the emergence of Spanish multinationals in Latin America)
• Creation of the Alliance project by a group of publishers and Etienne Galliand – who would become the first director of the association
• Paris meeting (France), 2001 (some few days away from the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity)
• Foundation of the “Alliance of Independent Publishers Association, for Another Globalisation”, as per Law 1901 (head office in Paris) 2002
• Dakar meeting (Senegal), 2003 (Declaration of Solidarity amongst Independent Publishers)
• Guadalajara meeting (Mexico), 2005 (Declaration of independent publishers of the Latin world)
• International Assembly of Independent Publishers in Paris (France), 2007 (International Declaration of Independent Publishers to promote and strenghten bibliodiversity together)
• Name change of the association to International Alliance of independent publishers, 2008
• Creation of the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP), 2009
• International Assembly of independent publishers – preparatory meetings and closing meeting in Cape Town (South Africa), 2012-2014 (International Declaration of independent publishers, to promote and strengthen bibliodiversity together, and 80 recommendations and tools in support of bibliodiversity)
• Creation of the Bibliodiversity Observatory, 2016
• Mapping public book policies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, 2020
• International Conference of Independent publishing in Pamplona-Iruñea, 2021 (Declaration ’for independent, decolonial, ecological, feminist, free, social and solidarity-based publishing’)
• Guide to good practice, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Translated from the French by Allison M. Charette.

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

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

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

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

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

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

2/ The Alliance, a space for collaboration and sharing

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

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

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

4/ The Alliance, a laboratory of alternative editorial practices

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

5/ The Alliance, an evolving governance and operation

• REthink
• Get involved

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

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

Read the full Declaration here :

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

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

Support bibliodiversity and independent publishing through a professional solidarity network

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

Support the creation of national, regional and international book policies

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

Reaffirm and defend freedom and equity of speech

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

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

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

Reinstate equilibrium between book exporting countries and importing countries

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

Develop and strengthen intercultural sharing

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

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

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

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

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

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

During the Abidjan International Book Fair (15-19 May 2019), the Alliance will facilitate a workshop on youth literature (13 to 17 May), followed by a workshop on typography and open digital resources (18 to 20 May). These workshops will convene more than 30 publishers from more than 16 French-speaking African countries, but also from Haiti, Madagascar, France and Portugal. The programme and content of these workshops, designed with and for publishers, is available here.

On 17 May, in the context of the SILA, the Alliance will organise B2B discussions with all participating professionals : a time dedicated to buying and selling rights between publishers – to create, foster and strengthen professional relationships, rights sales and co-publications.

The Alliance will launch an unprecedented analysis of public book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar written by academic Luc Pinhas. Findings from the data collection conducted in 12 countries between June 2017 and December 2018 by Serge Dontchueng Kouam (University Press of Africa), will be presented at a panel on public policy book on Thursday, 16 May.

These workshops and meetings mark the first step of the 2019-2021 International Conference of Independent Publishers : “Rethink independent publishing, celebrate bibliodiversity” !

Public book policies : a key chapter of the 2012-2014 International Assembly of independent publishers coming to an end in 2019 !
The cross-sectional analysis of public book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar will be printed specifically for the SILA in Abidjan. In June 2019, the Bibliodiversity Journal will publish a special issue on public book policies, including cross-sectional analysis of book policies in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, articles on public book policies in Europe and North America, testimonials from professionals from the Arab world... available online here from June 2019 !

The activities organised at SILA are supported by AFD, the OIF and DDC, and are organized in partnership with Assedi (Association of Ivorian Publishers) and the Ivorian publishers members of the Alliance.

Video of workshops - International Conference of Independent Publishers (2019-2021)

Independence, diversity and solidarity !

The Alliance’ team wishes you a very happy new year 2018.

The 2018 action program will soon be available on the Alliance website.

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

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

Publisher members of the English-speaking network of the Alliance will meet with European, Iranian and Syrian colleagues, to discuss the following issues :
⁃ Situation analysis of the publishing landscape in the various countries ;
⁃ Strengthened mutual knowledge of participating independent publishers lists ;
⁃ Setting up of publishing projects between publishers from the different countries ;
⁃ Exchanges and discussions on digital publishing and freedom of publishing within publishing houses.

This meeting is facilitated through the support of Metis Publishers (Turkey), with the participation of the Chamber of Mechanical Engineers, the Turkish Publishers Association, the Hrant Dink Foundation, and UNESCO Melbourne City of Literature.

These 80 recommendations are built on the principles upheld in the 2014 International Declaration of independent publishers, an important document promoting bibliodiversity, signed on September 20th 2014, by more than 400 independent publishers from 45 countries.

They raise the necessary prerequisites, divided by themes, for the development, maintenance and strengthening of bibliodiversity in concerned countries. Some recommendations are accompanied by tools and projects (existing or to be developed in the context of the 2015-2016 Alliance programme of activities), enabling a practical implementation of independent publishers’ proposals.

Contents of the 80 recommendations & tools in support of bibliodiversity :

* Public policies safeguarding bibliodiversity
* Proposals and actions supporting digital bibliodiversity
* The Amazon system, a threat to bibliodiversity ?
* Essential measures for publishing in local and national languages
* Methods for rethinking book donations
* Proposals and actions to develop solidarity publishing partnerships
* Activities to strengthen diversity in youth publishing

For all book actors to take ownership of these recommendations and tools, we invite you to contact us with your comments, suggestions, ideas, and proposals that could enhance and strengthen this document.

1001 activités autour du livre n’a pas pour objectif d’apprendre à lire mais celui de donner la passion du livre et de la lecture aux enfants de 2 à 11 ans et au-delà.
Comment ? En jouant, en dessinant, en inventant, en parlant, en mimant… tout cela grâce aux livres. Cet ouvrage de terrain et d’expérience, ludique et original, donne envie de dévorer tous les autres !
Un véritable outil pour les professionnels de l’éducation enfantine et pour les parents attentifs.

Initialement publié par les éditions Casterman en 2013.
Publication en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : septembre 2020.
Une adaptation spécifique pour cette coédition panafricaine a été réalisée par Philippe Brasseur ; les coéditrices et coéditeurs ont par ailleurs actualisé et adapté à leurs contextes et environnements certaines des références de l’ouvrage.

Un livre coédité par 11 maisons d’édition en Afrique subsaharienne et dans l’Océan Indien : AGO Média (Togo), Atelier des Nomades (Île Maurice), éditions Bakame (Rwanda), éditions Elondja (RDC), Ganndal (Guinée), la librairie La Farandole des livres (Niger), Gashingo (Niger), Jeunes Malgaches (Madagascar), Éditions Ntsamé (Gabon), Ruisseaux d’Afrique (Bénin) et Vallesse (Côte d’Ivoire).

Cette coédition solidaire porte le label Le livre équitable.  

Ce projet a pu se concrétiser lors d’un atelier sur la littérature jeunesse organisé par l’Alliance à Abidjan, en mai 2019, dans le cadre des Assises internationales de l’édition indépendante 2019-2021 ; il a été initié, coordonné et suivi par Corinne Fleury (Atelier des nomades). Cette cession de droits, adaptation et coédition panafricaine a reçu le soutien du Centre national du livre.

The International Alliance of independent publishers wishes you a blooming year !

Greeting card made by Mariette Robbes, member of the Board of the Alliance

Read here the 2021 programme of the Alliance and the 2020 highlights !

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 :

The Alliance has adopted an original method of internal organization, respecting both the democratic principles and the functioning of an international network. The Alliance rests above all on its member publishers, who gather together in the Assembly of Allies and are represented by the International Committee of Independent Publishers (ICIP). It also relies on a Board – charged with upholding and respecting the publishers’ decisions – and a permanent staff. Additionally, some faithful volunteers make it possible to implement activities that would not exist without their help.

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

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

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

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

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

Since joining the Alliance in January 2020, Mariam is in charge of facilitating the Alliance’s Spanish and Portuguese-language networks, coordinating the Bibliodiversity Observatory and the Alliance’s advocacy pole.

After studying political sciences, Laura Aufrère was for 5 years coordinator of the French confederation gathering not-for-profit cultural professional initiatives from a variety of disciplines (music, theater, outdoor and circus, visual arts, etc.), rooted in the solidarity economy movement (UFISC). She is now a PHD student in management, looking specifically into critical approaches in the organisation theory and the digital humanities fields. She studies commons and social and solidarity economy initiatives, focusing specifically on work and labour organisation, cooperation and governance issues, and social protection. She joins the Alliance Board in 2016 and is now its President.

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

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

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