Under a scorching Mediterranean sun, eight French publishers, representing 17 children’s and comics publishing brands, met around twenty Greek publishing houses on June 6 and 7 in Athens. Organized by the Bief (International Bureau of French Publishing), the French Institute of Greece and the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, the meetings were an opportunity for editorial exchanges and presentations of the book market in the two countries . A visit to bookstores was also organized.
For the French publishers, the trip was above all an opportunity to reconnect with Greek publishers who finally seem to be getting back on track, little by little, after 16 economically difficult years.
For its contacts with Greek publishers, the School of Leisure works with Catherine Fragoufrom Agence Iris, who participated in the meetings. Iris Declercqin charge of foreign rights for the School of Leisure, also made the trip, noting that in 2019 exchanges with Greece were still “ calm » but that from 2020, the publisher Minoas purchased transfers, including the series Rotten Dog of Colas Gutman and Marc Boutavent. Iris Declercq says that the operation was also an opportunity to renew contact with Ammos editions with which sales had already taken place in the past and which, during the economic crisis, had disappeared. But, “they kept their network, and the house bought classics, like Loulou by Grégoire Solotareff, or Roger Poussin by Isabelle Bonameau”she adds.
“ We know little »
If Iris Declercq hesitated to make the trip to Athens, she was “very surprised and happy. There are small comic book publishers who do not necessarily travel to Angoulême or Frankfurt. For youth, there were four publishers that I knew and many others that I didn’t know because they don’t come to the fairs either. There was real interest; French production interests them.”
Judith Parenteauresponsible for youth derived rights at Actes Sud, was also able to meet “ indie publishers who have very interesting production which corresponds more to our somewhat independent Franco-French style.”
Although Actes Sud brands work with Greece, “we know little about the market” explains Judith Parenteau. It was an opportunity for her to take stock of a market “which has evolved enormously over the last ten years”.
Like other French publishers, she noted “ loneliness » Greek publishers who spoke out strongly about the lack of government aid: the Greek equivalent of the CNL having closed ten years ago.
“What really struck me is that Greek publishers are against the State, there is no policy in favor of books and reading and they are completely left to their own devices”adds Charlotte Botrel, who handles foreign rights for the young publishing house La Parti. But she also discovered a “ vitality » among Greek publishers and said she was impressed by the variety of illustrated publications in bookstores, despite economic difficulties.
Phase of renewal in comics and youth
Antoine Labye, the only publisher from outside France, takes care of foreign rights for Mijade editions in Belgium, which publishes a number of French authors and illustrators. Before the meetings in Athens, he already had 34 contracts established in Greece and had maintained relationships with certain publishers for 20 years. But it’s “a market with a not very intense cruising speed. Hence the interest in consolidating contacts, or finding publishers with whom we had lost contact, or establishing them with new ones. »
The meeting was also an opportunity to renew ties with Papadopoulos, a publishing house with which Mijade had a contract 20 years ago. Antoine Labye was also surprised by “the total absence of support from the state”, but has also noted a phase of renewal in comics and youth. Like his colleagues, he found the format of meetings on a human scale fruitful compared to larger trade shows and fairs. He says that a Greek publisher who had a good knowledge of Mijade’s catalog having looked through it on the stand at the Bologna book fair, but who did not show up due to lack of time, “took the time here and we had very encouraging discussions. »
French publishers found that Greek publishers often seemed to be interested in non-fiction and strong subjects, such as school bullying, and in albums with psychological subjects such as screen addiction. Series and documents on emotions also aroused interest.
Nopi Chatzigeorgiouwhich coordinates the Thessaloniki book fair and which is part of the Hellenic Foundation for Culture, found this new model of collaboration with the Bief bringing together Greek and French publishers and agents very promising and says it is already working on the next stages of “this creative direction. »
For more information on the Greek market, see the 2019 BIEF study.
