The Phnom Penh Book Fair, an important annual event for Sipar Publishing

The Phnom Penh Book Fair is held every December. An opportunity to meet our customers and exchange ideas with an increasingly curious public.

Over four days, this fair allows Cambodians to meet different publishers and buy books suited to their tastes and ages. Every year, the number of exhibitors increases, reflecting Cambodians' growing appetite for books. Slowly but surely, books are moving away from their purely educational role and becoming a leisure activity.

As every year, the best-selling Sipar books are those aimed at children, particularly those in kindergarten or elementary school. Sipar Publishing is recognized in Cambodia as the highest-quality publisher of educational children's books. Many parents come to the fair to see and ask about new titles released during the year. Some regulars chat with the teams and even suggest new titles they would like to buy for their children. Feedback from our customers is essential in order to best meet their needs.

In addition to young parents, many teenagers attend the show, looking for manga and comics to read. The appetite for reading is growing, which is good news. On the other hand, the lack of purchasing power of teenagers and young adults means that buying a book is not a priority for them.

Both Sipar stands were well attended. Among them was Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Cambodia's Minister of Education, Health and Sports. Since 2017, he has called on Sipar to publish his books. The most recent, addressing the theme of human resources management in the education sector, was published in 2023.

DJ Nana, Cambodian influencer and godmother of Sipar in Cambodia, also paid a visit to the Sipar teams. Veary's mascot, a little dragon protagonist of several Sipar children's titles, was a big hit with her children, as with many other curious little ones.

Get to know more about our collections, visit our Sipar Book website.

All of our selling points are in Cambodia. We do not have any stock in France. Please contact our team in Cambodia for more information at this adress : promotion@sipar-cam.org

Télécharger notre liste de livres Sipar (2024) en khmer 

L’article Le Salon du livre, un rendez-vous annuel important pour Sipar Editions est apparu en premier sur Sipar.

Launch of the book Insects in Cambodia

On March 14, teams from Sipar and thePasteur Institute of Cambodia participated at Sosoro museum in Phnom Penh at the launch of our new title Insects in Cambodia. Throwback at a successful launch evening.

Around 70 people attended the launch of the book, published in Khmer, French and English. This book is the collaborative work of teams from Sipar and scientists from the Pasteur Institute. It introduces visitors to the various insects that live on Cambodian soil and theimportance of their role in preserving the country's biodiversity.

Diplomats from the French Embassy, journalists and booksellers came to discover this new book. It highlights Sipar's professionalism in researching information and creating its books. DJ Nana, Cambodian influencer and godmother of Sipar in Cambodia, was also present. Attendees were able to discover the contents of the book and had the opportunity to chat with the creators, learning about the often overlooked usefulness of insects in the balance of nature. The evening was enriched by an entomology photo exhibition organized by the Institut Français du Cambodge in the garden of the Sosoro Museum, Cambodia's economic and currency museum.

The book is on sale in all three languages in the Sipar bookshop and in our usual sales outlets. This was the most successful Sipar title at the Phnom Penh Book Fair. For more information, contact us.

L’article Lancement du livre Les insectes du Cambodge est apparu en premier sur Sipar.

More than 100,000 visitors to the Book Fair in Phnom Penh on the second weekend of December 2022! A great success after two years of a virtual edition due to the pandemic. Sipar exhibited his books on two stands that welcomed his readers, more and more numerous.

Although the majority of Cambodians do not yet have books at home, their appetite for reading is growing, especially among those under 40. The Book Fair allows us to better understand the expectations of readers to program future books. Comics are meeting a new success and the Sipar team is formed to create them locally.

Many Cambodians have little financial means to afford books and they have not integrated the purchase of books into their daily lives. Sipar must continue to develop the offer of books in Khmer but also to stimulate the habit of having books at home.

Reading pedagogy: Sipar's other mission

After years without any books, Cambodians back in school were very happy to have textbooks. Sipar is now helping them discover the value and usefulness of non-school books. It is quite a pedagogical work to learn how to choose a good quality book and to know how to use it.

Offering quality books, adapted to everyone, is a first objective. Convincing everyone of the importance and making them want to read is one more step!

Sipar also wants to promote an international literary culture, to make known authors and books that have a resonance beyond Cambodia and Asia, by publishing titles such as The little Prince by Saint-Exupéry, The jungle book by Rudyard Kipling and translations from Korea, China or Japan.

Focus on Biodiversity of coastal areas

This book shows how the publishing department has been able to grow and professionalize over the years. It allows the reader to discover the biodiversity of the coasts of Cambodia thanks to information collected from professionals. Local illustrators, beautiful photos and comics help to popularize the subject and punctuate the reading.

L’article Edition : des professionnels au service de lecteurs motivés est apparu en premier sur Sipar.

"Sipar is a wonderful initiative" : meet our godmother, Marie Desplechin

Successful author in France but also in Cambodia thanks to her title Verte that we translated into Khmer in 2021, Marie Desplechin has been godmother of Sipar since 2014. She also co-authored the book Sothik, an autobiography of our director Sothik Hok in Cambodia, who grew up under the Khmer Rouge regime. Committed, she firmly believes in Sipar's mission and the importance of reading.

Sipar: When did you meet Sipar?

Marie Desplechin : In 2012, Suzanne Sevray told me about Sipar, brought me to Versailles and I loved the association. I arrived like that and then I quickly went to Cambodia to meet the teams and beneficiaries. I wasn't particularly looking to get involved in an association, Sipar just crossed my path.

Sipar: Why did you agree to become a godmother?

MD : I was a teenager in the 70s and I remember being fascinated by the arrival of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, thinking, with a teenage vision, that it was a revolution for the people by the people. But after the fall of Phnom Penh, we heard nothing more about Cambodia. When I heard all the horrors that happened, I thought, "If I have the opportunity to do something for them, then I will do it." Within my family, we also gravitated a little around Cambodia so this link has always been there.

Sipar: What do you have in common with the association?

MD : I am a youth author and I really believe in the power of transmission, in the power of making society, making humanity together. Sipar it's a really generous thing, it's a know-how that is transmitted, we train, we give keys to people. The team on site is 100% Khmer and that for me was important, that it is the Khmers who invest in the development of their country.

And then, of course, the book. We are not going to make the revolution by learning to read but it is a tool of happiness, enrichment, openness to others that transcends cultures and continents. The book is the reader who does it in his head, it is he who makes it with his images. Giving away a book is really the best you can do.

Sipar: Tell us about your collaboration with Sothik

MD : I met Sothik the first time I came to Cambodia, he picked me up at the airport. Busy traffic in the streets of Phnom Penh, Sothik begins to tell me about his childhood under the Khmer Rouge. He then told me that he should write a book one day but that he did not have time. Then I do my activities in Cambodia, writing workshops among others and I visit the different projects of the association, we do not see much with Sothik. On the eve of leaving, after three weeks in Cambodia, I propose to Sothik to co-write this book. On went back and forth like that for about a year until publication. I knew it was going to be good, it's a bit like Tom Sawyer who tells his adventures. It works very well with children and then above all it ends well.

Sipar : Sothik is also available in French but also in Khmer, like your book Verte that we translated within our publishing house. How does it feel to think that Khmer children discover your literature?

MD : I'm obviously very proud. The translation was done at the initiative of the Phnom Penh team and I hope that Khmer children like to meet this world of the invisible which is also very present in Cambodia. Cambodia is not a great country of reading because of its history, and I am happy if I can also contribute to reading. That's why I love Sipar, it's a wonderful initiative.

L’article <em>« Sipar est une magnifique initiative »</em> : rencontre avec notre marraine, Marie Desplechin est apparu en premier sur Sipar.

Sipar publishing: a unique know-how in Cambodia

Jacqueline Kerguéno, former press editor and member of the Board of Directors at Sipar, explains why the Sipar publishing house is special and unique in Cambodia, thanks to a know-how that has greatly developed since 2000. She testifies.

"When you leaf through the Sipar Edition catalogue, with regard to local editorial production, two particularities emerge by their originality: books for early childhood, (less than 6) and documentaries for young people (6-18 years old). Cambodian children's book producers mainly publish traditional tales, illustrated albums, inspired by local folklore or animated television films," explained Jacqueline Kerguéno.

Educational picture books: a specialty of Sipar Publishing

 This production began in 2010, at the same time as the development of kindergartens in Cambodia's main cities.

The Sipar editorial team had the chance to benefit from training led by an artistic director, Anna Tran, from Bayard France (who publishes Pomme d’Api).

Some members of the team quickly realized that simple images, in relation to the familiar world of a child, can help him develop his intelligence and communication skills. Exchanges with the adult who reads or comments on the magier help the child to recognize the first symbols, to become more observant of what surrounds him. The progressive recognition of images increasingly structured and developed according to age, facilitates the construction of language.

For 2-4 years old, little by little, magiers have been created with various themes, linked to the living environment of the little ones (house, familiar objects, food, family life). Then, for the older ones, 4-6 years old, an observation of the Cambodian environment (city, countryside, transport, school). And also festivals, local events (Khmer New Year, Water Festival, zodiac signs...).

The picture books are accompanied by words in Khmer and English. They can serve as a learning medium for the first writings (5-6 years), reading being facilitated by image recognition.

In 2018, team members visited Montessori schools in Phnom Penh, where all printed learning tools were exclusively in English... for English-speaking students, but also Cambodians. We wanted to allow all children to benefit from this method, recognized worldwide, by making them accessible in their mother tongue.

The next step was to publish a box set of five Montessori albums in Khmer, for an approach to reading that was both educational and fun. Vanthary Oum, editor at Sipar, with a pedagogical training and a good experience of children made in 2019 these albums to discover the consonants and the numbers up to 10. A second box, published in 2022, continues these learnings with vowels and geometric bases.

Given the success of these albums, the first Montessori material in Khmer in the country, Sipar is preparing for 2023 another series, stages of entry into reading level 1 (CP), first words that make sense and other mathematical notions.

The documentaries for young people: knowing how to adapt to each age

 Creating a documentary requires a technique of searching for targeted information based on the theme and age of the reader. It is necessary to know how to presentthis information to the reader to help him understand new concepts for him, by offering images, texts, a model, which will be as many doors of entry into the chosen subject.

It is a unique know-how at Sipar, which the team has acquired over the years, thanks to the support of Françoise Récamier, (former editor-in-chief of Image Doc and Okapi in Bayard France and member of the Board) then by participating in some training sessions led by publishers from France or elsewhere. To date, a Cambodian publisher does not know how to create youth documentaries taking these requirements into account.

Sipar has a rich catalogue of documentaries for readers from 8 to 16 years old, and for adults.

Some titles are created locally to discover the environment (Angkor explained to young people, The diversity of Cambodia, the History of the Khmer...). Other titles, of a universal nature, are translated, and sometimes adapted, after purchase of rights in various countries (Korea, Japan, France, USA ...) Titles in comics, on the History of Science, the History of the World, the Human Body, are very popular with middle and high school students and this format is expected to develop in the years to come.

The collection Discover... helps 8-12 year old to decorate universes such as the birds of the Tonle Sap, the animals of the oceans, the savannah, the ice floes... etc. Many images, photos, illustrations, targeted texts, are laid out to help understanding and discovery.

We are proud of our Edition team, which now includes seven people, five editors and two layout designers, who in 20 years have developed the Sipar publishing house. Every year new titles are published and old ones reprinted, much to the delight of Cambodian readers. Since 2000, we have published 244 titles in 16 collections and 3.1 million copies have been published! In 2021 and despite the teleworking implemented within our teams, the publishing department was able to produce 24 new books. Congratulations to them.

L’article <strong>Les éditions Sipar : un savoir-faire unique au Cambodge</strong> est apparu en premier sur Sipar.