Sèvres' Anagramme Bookshop Changes Hands

The Anagramme bookshop in Sèvres is under new ownership and will reopen as 'l'a.nagramme des jours' on September 2. Founders Pascale Bragard and Marie Stefani, who ran the shop for 15 years, are passing the business to Julie Menant, according to a report in Livres Hebdo.

Menant is a newcomer to bookselling. She spent eighteen years in industrial recycling for Renault before deciding to trade spreadsheets for shelves. She told the publication, "Selling a book is selling escape, knowledge, it's fabulous!"

Her career shift was deliberate. She completed a bookselling course with Book Conseil, supplemented by internships at the Papote bookshop-café in Clichy and the Vert Paradis bookshop in Ville-d'Avray. She later took a second course focused on creating or taking over a bookshop.

Based in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Menant searched for a shop in the Île-de-France region. She said she had an immediate affection for the Sèvres establishment. "I fell in love with this neighbourhood bookshop that has existed for a long time and has loyal customers."

The transition has been smooth, with the former owners actively involved in the handover. They introduced Menant to publishing house representatives and included her in preparing orders.

The shop itself was renovated in 2021 when it moved a short distance from its original location. It now occupies 80 square meters of retail space and stocks between 5,000 and 6,000 titles. Menant plans to maintain this eclectic selection with the help of Camille Davy, an employee already familiar to customers.

A New Name for a New Chapter

The name change to 'l'a.nagramme des jours' was necessary to avoid confusion with the original owners' other shop in Meudon, which is still for sale. The added suffix 'des jours' (of the days) underscores the shop's role as a daily fixture in the community.

Menant aims to preserve the shop's core identity while adding her own touch. She plans to highlight small publishing houses she admires, such as La Peuplade and Les Ronces. While committed to serving a general audience, she stresses the importance of a backlist. She insists on the need to "keep alive works published two years ago or even a century ago, as well as recent ones."

A Focus on Young Readers

Convinced of the need to "put books in children's hands from a very young age," the new owner wants to increase activities for young people. These will include story times, workshops, and a book club. The shop's future is now firmly in the hands of its new proprietor, who found her calling after nearly two decades in a different industry.