Calmann-Lévy Launches Rue Vivienne Collection for Editorial
French publisher Calmann-Lévy marks its 190th anniversary with the launch of the Rue Vivienne collection, dedicated to reissuing works from its back
French publishing house Calmann-Lévy has launched a new collection named Rue Vivienne to highlight its editorial heritage. The collection, announced as the firm celebrates its 190th anniversary, will focus on reissuing French and foreign literature and social science texts from its catalog.
Led by Aude Cirier, the house's literary director, the initiative formalizes a reprint policy the publisher has pursued for several years. The collection's name references the address of the first bookstore founded by Michel Lévy in 1841 on Rue Vivienne in Paris.
Valuing the Back Catalog
Rue Vivienne aims to bring out-of-print texts back to market. It structures a re-edition policy already seen with recent new editions of four titles by authors Vassili Grossman and Arthur Koestler last year. Aude Cirier states the effort is meant to recall the history and founding principles of the house.
"For an editor, the back catalog is what fixes the DNA of a house," she said, citing Michel Lévy's historical desire to make books accessible to the greatest number of people.
Inaugural and Upcoming Titles
The first title in the Rue Vivienne collection will be Alexis de Tocqueville's 'De la démocratie en Amérique.' It is scheduled for publication on October 21. The edition has been prepared by Sophie Vanden Abeele-Marchal and includes a new preface by Dominique Schnapper.
"We are starting with Tocqueville a few months before the 2027 elections to remind our readers what democracy is," explained Aude Cirier.
In March 2027, the collection will publish four works by Hermann Hesse. The details of these editions are as follows:
Collection Design and Output
The Rue Vivienne collection will have a common graphic identity. Books will be in a 13 × 19 cm paperback format, using 60g Primapage paper with a white cover featuring clean typography. The design will combine the author's signature with the historic Calmann-Lévy logo, and each cover will include an illustrated band.
New editions may include contextual documents and some volumes could gather multiple works by a single author. According to Livres Hebdo, the collection is expected to publish seven to eight titles per year, with print runs between copies each.
