80 Authors Publish 'La Grande Évasion' on Departure
A collective of 80 authors and intellectuals publishes 'La Grande Évasion' with Buchet-Chastel, reacting to Olivier Nora's removal from leading Grasset.
Eighty authors have published a collective book reacting to the removal of Olivier Nora from the leadership of the publishing house Grasset. The book, titled La Grande Évasion, was published on Thursday, September 10 by Buchet-Chastel.
It is described by its publisher as a choral work that juggles between the intimate and the plural, the word and the drawing. The collective behind it, called Les États Généreux, includes former Grasset authors joined by other writers, illustrators, and intellectuals.
A Collective of 80 Voices
The contributors range from Laure Adler and Carole Zalberg to Virginie Despentes, Frédéric Beigbeder, Hervé Le Tellier, Lola Lafon, Anne Berest, Bernard-Henri Lévy, and Vanessa Springora. Novelist Félicité Herzog writes that a collective chrysalis formed from individualities that everything seemed to separate. She states that writers of different generations, sensibilities, and aesthetics united to defend a profession that introduces complexity where certainties are imposed.
Author Anne Berest extends the thought. She describes the process as making a book together in the secrecy of a hive, where each knows their task without losing sight of the others, bringing their tiny and essential part. She writes that from this collective intelligence, this multitude of tiny gestures, a common work is born.
The Nora Affair and Its Aftermath
The book follows mobilization that began in French publishing last spring. On April 14, the Hachette Livre group confirmed the departure of Olivier Nora, who had led Grasset since 2000. He was replaced by Jean-Christophe Thiery, CEO of the Louis Hachette Group.
After Grasset authors protested, 249 publishers signed a column in Le Monde denouncing an attack on editorial diversity. In August, Olivier Nora launched his own independent publishing house, Olivier Nora Éditions, backed by the Editis group. Its first two titles, by Bernard-Henri Lévy and Delphine Horvilleur, are due in October.
Authors on Resistance and Risk
Several authors speak directly in the book about the situation. Virginie Despentes writes that in a situation of predation, the criticism of those who are attacked always legitimizes those who attack. She states the group is trying to oppose a resistance, starting from their books, to reclaim rights over their novels.
Frédéric Beigbeder strikes a personal tone. He admits his last book is well placed in Relay stores and that he even signed copies at L'Écume des Pages. "Yes I admit it: I am a prisoner of Vincent Bolloré," he writes, adding that he is more often invited on Europe 1 than on France Inter. He says he has everything to lose by joining the protest but wants to defend Grasset, the house to which he owes everything.
Essayist Bernard-Henri Lévy comments on the fate of the authors. He writes that some authors will have no difficulty finding another publisher. Others, like himself, have a book planned for the autumn and seek an exit from the trap. Then there are the others, the most numerous, who have no certainty, no guarantee, no plan B, yet take all the risks.
La Grande Évasion is published outside the Hachette group by Buchet-Chastel, a label of the Franco-Swiss Libella group directed by Vera Michalski, who also signed the spring column of support for the publisher. The publishing house notes that between "book" and "free" there is only one letter of difference. Beyond supporting Olivier Nora, the collective says it wants to rebalance the relationship between authors and publishers.
