Whether online or in person, these authors have stuck together. On April 14, Hachette Livre, the publishing group owned by conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré, abruptly ousted Olivier Nora, the veteran head of Grasset, one of its flagship houses. In response, around 60 Grasset authors set aside their political differences and gathered in a café to draft an open letter published in the press. “His dismissal is an unacceptable attack on editorial independence and creative freedom. (…) We will not sign our next book with Grasset,” they announced.
The group has since grown to more than 200 people, organized via WhatsApp, and has been searching for “weapons” to fight back, as novelist Virginie Despentes put it on French TV show Quotidien on April 20. Under media glare, they’ve appointed a community manager and split into working teams focused on bookseller relations, press and communications and legal strategy. The former Grasset authors are trying to break free from what they describe as a toxic relationship with their longtime publisher and regain control of their works, whose rights are held by the house.
You have 74.83% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
