Non-Aligned Books takes inspiration from the Non-Aligned Movement, pictured above. After the United Nations, the Non-Aligned Movement is the biggest grouping of countries in world.
A brief introduction to the history of the movement:
- “The Non-Aligned Movement has its origins from what has been referred to as the first large-scale Asian–African or Afro–Asian Conference, held on the 18th–24th of April, 1955. It is popularly known as the Bandung Conference (taking on the name of the City where it was held – Bandung, Indonesia). The Conference was attended by delegations from twenty-nine (29) governments, mostly from Asia – owing to the fact that most present-day African states were still under colonial control. The Bandung Conference was convened to discuss peace and the role developing countries had in the face of the raging cold war, as well as economic development and the decolonization of countries under colonial occupation. In other words, Bandung was convened out of a desire by the convening countries not to be involved in the East-West ideological confrontation of the Cold War, but rather to focus on national independence struggles and their economic development.” (NAM History, Uganda Chairmanship 2024-2027:1)
Non-Aligned Books aims to reflect this history of self-determination, solidarity and sovereignty. We manifest these histories and the map above, by centering African literature, while curating a smaller, but nonetheless critical offering of Asian, Pasifika and Latin American literature.
Outside of officialdom, we stand firmly with the indigenous, marginalised and disenfranchised peoples of the world. We stand with all those whose very existence, autonomy and dignity runs counter to, and is not aligned with the interests of the State. It is the existence and voices of these, the forgotten people of the world, that we aim to platform at Non-Aligned Books.
Our homepage is coloured in the hues of the Pan-African flag, designed by black nationalist, Marcus Garvey. This choice further symbolises our commitment to privileging the perspectives of Africa and its Diaspora. At Non-Aligned, we believe the centering of African knowledge and life-ways to be especially important as we operate on land stolen by the British. We acknowledge that Non-Aligned exists in a matrix of Australian colonial violence and we are presenting our work to an audience that is the product of such a matrix. In so-called “Australia”, it seems, people tend to know very little about Africa and its rich cultural, intellectual and literary traditions. We hope to bring these traditions out of the myterious, colonial shadows into which they have been placed by legacy media, a de-educated schooling system, racism (both covert and overt) and an enduring bias toward The Global North.
We’re starting small, with our first selections and independent publication coming in 2026.
Thank you for coming along with us.
est. 2025,
Bona Obiri-Yeboah
Naarm / Melbourne, so-called “Australia”.
Wurundjeri Country, Eastern Kulin Nation.
Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.
Copyright © Non-Aligned Books 2025