There are 167 publishers represented on the BIEF stand from France at Frankfurt this week. Image: FBM, Eric Dupuy
By Eric Dupuy | @duperico
A View From the French
With 167 publishing houses represented, Bureau International de l’Édition Française, or BIEF has mounted one of the largest collective stands at Frankfurter Buchmesse.
While the aisles aren’t crowded, the schedules of rights managers are said to be fully booked.
“We’re very busy,” says Geneviève Rudolf of Citadelle & Mazenod, but we’ve reduced our presence to two days, down from three just a few years ago. On this first day of the fair, it’s still too early to draw conclusions, especially since the market seems to have picked up in recent days.”
Pauline Buisson from VP Scouting agency says that business “wasn’t moving much three weeks ago, but things have waked up.”
That shift was triggered, in part, by Albin Michel’s strategic move to send out an early release on Monday morning (October 14).
“Everything stopped,” says Cristina De Stefano, who rescheduled her meetings after receiving the email recommending a fast read of Alice au pays des idées (Alice in the Land of Ideas), written by philosopher Roger Pol-Droit and programmed for next year in France.
After the success of Les Yeux de Mona (The Eyes of Mona), which has already been translated into 37 languages, Albin Michel repeated the same strategy, and it seems to be paying off, even right directors turning down preemptive offers. It appears to be the French hot title of this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.
Gilles Haéri of Albin Michel looks at cover art for Pope Rancis’ autobiography, the Mondadori title that Michel is to publish in France in January. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Eric Dupuy
‘Serious Market, Less Buzz’
“It’s a serious market with less buzz than in the past,” says Philippe Robinet, CEO of Calmann-Lévy, part of the Hachette Group.
His team of five representatives also has a packed schedule and has already pre-purchased several titles, including an Italian novel. “It’s a market that’s regulating itself, although there are struggling areas, like the Netherlands, for example,” Robinet says.
Despite a general feeling that the fair has “shrunk,” as observed by a group director, major French publishers say they remain optimistic.
Joachim Schnerf, left, and Olivier Nora from Grasset confer on the BIEF collective stand. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Eric Dupuy
Another title that seems to be sparking interest is a romantic comedy presented by Flammarion, Paris-Hollywood by Cécile Mury—a genre not typically associated with this Madrigall Group publisher.
“Our authors always attract attention,” says Judith Rozensweig, rights director at Gallimard, which is showcasing two headliners from the French literary season: Kamel Daoud and Maylis de Kerangal, the latter already translated into 20 languages.
“We’re waiting for the final results of the literary prizes,” she adds, which will be announced in the first week of November—leaving room for further discussions about French titles on display at Frankfurt.
Antoine Gallimard, BIEF president, speaks at the inauguration of the French collective stand at Frankfurt. Image: Publishing Perspectives, Eric Dupuy
More from Publishing Perspectives on the French market is here, more on book publishing in Europe is here, more from us on Frankfurter Buchmesse is here, more from Publishing Perspectives on the work of BIEF is here, and more on international translation and publication rights and licensing is here.
Our 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair Magazine, currently being read at Frankfurter Buchmesse by trade visitors, now is available in a digital edition here.
You’ll read our focused coverage of issues and events in an exit interview with the outgoing IPA president Karine Pansa of Brazil; an interview with Scholastic chief Peter Warwick; perspectives on audio in Italy from Mondadori’s Miriam Spinnato; and much more.
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