Seventh Edition of the Author-Publisher Dialogues

On 29th November 2017, FEP held the 7th edition of the Author-Publisher’s Dialogues with the French authors Fatou Diome and her publisher Gilles Haéri (Flammarion), and another tandem composed of Jean-Paul Didierlaurent and his publisher Marion Mazauric (Au Diable Vauvert) at the European Parliament in Brussels. This highly successful event was attended by over sixty guests, including MEPs and assistants, as well as members of FEP and representatives from SOFIA (who sponsored the event) and the European and International Booksellers Federation, among them was French MEP Pervenche Berès (S&D), host of the event.

MEP Mary Honeyball - © Photos - Roberta Balduzzi

Pervenche Berès introduced the evening, emphasising that “the author-publisher relationship is at the heart of creation” and that it is “a relationship that must be monetised.”. During the dialogues, moderated by Pierre Dutilleul, Director General of Syndicat national de l’édition and past FEP President, Jean-Paul Didierlaurent explained that there was a spark between himself and Mazauric from the first time they met at a short story contest. For him, the author-publisher relationship is an “intimate subject… the publisher is both a coach and a confidant.” He continued: “They [the publisher] are there to act as a mirror.” More used to writing short stories, Jean-Paul Didierlaurent confessed that he “had a complex about writing long works”, but Marion taught him how to “get right to the bone”. Mazauric herself believes that “one of the difficulties of being a writer is not being able to read what one has written, not being able to take a step back”. Speaking of the economic aspect of their industry, she said that “a writer does not necessarily live by his pen, and without his social life and experiences at work, Jean-Paul Didierlaurent would not have been able to write as he did.”

Jean-Paul Didierlaurent and his publisher Marion Mazauric

In the second dialogue, Gilles Haéri affirmed that “at the core there is the author: the publisher does not direct the author and must respect their work. Primarily, the job of the publisher is to turn down the majority of manuscripts.” He continued: “On Amazon or Google, anyone can write anything. Authors create, publishers must then mediate the text… the author-pubisher-bookseller triangle is at the heart of creation.”. Fatou Diome views her editor as “the one who gives me an anchorage… the interlocutor who trusts me, even when I write nonsense.”. Diome confesses that she is: “a child who wants to give something to the world”, and emphasises the importance of the support of her editor in allowing her to do so. Finally, Gilles Haéri put forward the notion that “gratuitousness is often put in opposition with creation, but there is an economic fight to be carried out on behalf of the authors in order to preserve copyright, a human right.”

Fatou Diome and her publisher Gilles Haéri

FEP President, Henrique Mota closed in the evening thanking all participants and asking the politicians and officials to remember, when they vote or draft legislation, that without copyright, all this would be jeopardised.

FEP President, Henrique Mota

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Thanks to Catherine Blache (SNE) for the contribution

For more information, contact rbalduzzi@fep-fee.eu or call us at 003227701110

Hosted by MEP Pervenche Berès

With the support of SOFIA

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JEAN-PAUL DIDIERLAURENT
Having twice won the prestigious Prix Hemingway, as well as numerous other literary contests for his short stories, Jean-Paul Didierlaurent has successfully turned his hand to writing novels. His first novel, Le Liseur du 6h27, is a Folio best-seller and has been translated in 30 countries. His other works include Au diable vauvert, a collection of short stories entitled Macadam and the novel Le reste de leur vie.

FATOU DIOME
Born in Senegal, Fatou Diome moved to France in 1994 and has lived in Strasbourg since. She studied literature at the Marc Bloch University of Strasbourg, and went on to study at the Higher Institute of Education of Karlsruhe in Germany.
Diome is the author of nine books, including an anthology of short stories titled La Préférence nationale, and five novels: Le Ventre de l’Atlantique, which was published by Anne Carrière in 2008 and Kétala (2006), Inassouvies nos vies (2008), Celles qui attendant (2010) and Impossible de grandir (2013) which were published with éditions Flammarion.
In her most recent work, an essay called Marianne porte plainte !, Diome tackles themes of education, secularism and the concept of national identity.