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The number of novels published in France’s unique rentrée littéraire—the period which follows the summer—has declined for the third consecutive year. However the French publishing association has dismissed claims that this statistic shows weakness in the market.
The rentrée—something of an extended literary Super Thursday—is the August through early October period when French publishers release the novels they hope will vie for book prizes. The number of titles to be published this rentrée, released by the French trade publication Livres Hebdo, is 555, sharply down from 646 in 2011 and the record 727 in 2007. The last four months of the year usually account for 40%–45% of sales in the French market.
This is the third straight year rentrée title production has declined. The total number of new French novels dropped to 357 (from 462 in 2012), while translations dropped to 198 (from 220 the previous year). However, débuts rose to 86, from 69 in 2012.
However, even the reduced number is still too high for some. Publishers are producing books at “a suicidal rate in their effort to maintain a continuous market presence,” sai Jean-Yves Mollier, a history professor at the Université de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yveslines (UVSQ) who specialises in the media and the book industry.
French publishers have reduced their output partly because of the lingering economic crisis, but also because they are worried as there is still no return on digitisation, Mollier said. “Overall, they are caught in a dangerous spiral.”
The total volume of books published in France has almost doubled in fewer than 20 years to some 60,000 titles annually, whereas peoples capacity to read has declined, with television and internet competing for their time. “Publishers are all aware of the problem, but none will take the step of drastically reducing output,” said Mollier.
Vincent Montagne, president of the French Publishers Association (Syndicat National de l’Edition, SNE), and chairman and c.e.o. of Média Participations, acknowledges that publishers with fragile finances have had to cut back investment and be more selective, but he dismisses the idea that they are on a “suicidal track”.
Montagne said: “The number of new books shows France is rich in editorial creativity, a vitality that extends to the regions. There are small publishers all over the country, which was not the case 20 years ago.”
Montagne welcomed the fact that nearly all rentrée titles were being published in both physical and electronic versions, and in the Daisy audio format for the blind and partially sighted. He also welcomed the attempt by some publishers to spread production of big sellers more evenly throughout the year to ensure a steadier flow of customers for booksellers, and reduce outlets’ storage bottlenecks.
For Xavier Moni, co-owner of the Comme un Roman bookshop in central Paris, the reduced rentrée book production is a healthy sign. “The number of people who read books is stable at best, or is dropping,” he said. “This time the choice of titles is less polluted by poor quality. Good books are now more visible, instead of being drowned by quantity.”
The rentrée littéraire dates back to the late 1880s, when the wealthy Parisians returned from their summer retreats. It has gathered momentum as the autumn literary prizes, led by the coveted Prix Goncourt, have increased in number and importance for the sales charts. France has at least 2,000 literary awards.
French prizes: the big six:
The six major French literary awards are all presented in the autumn, led by the Prix Goncourt, which was first awarded in 1903 and which will present its top gong for best prose work on 4th November. The Goncourt also has awards for first novel, biography, poetry and short story.
The other major awards are the Grand Prix du Roman de l’Académie Française (24th October), Prix Renaudot (4th November), Prix Femina (6th November), Prix Médicis (12th November) and Prix Interallié (13th November).