Booksellers, authors, publishing houses, the book industry is suffering from inflation. To support this, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region is providing aid. A vote will take place during the transfer of the regional council this Thursday December 19 and Friday December 20, 2024.
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In the city center of the Limousin capital, the bookstore intended for young people “Rêv’en pages” is one of 200 listed in New Aquitaine. For three years, Rachel Faure-Lencroz has been independently running her establishment in an increasingly tense economic context.
Some independent bookstores offer books at low prices for the holidays, ranging from 6 to 10 euros.
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© Margaux Blanloeil, France 3 Limousin
A sector in crisis?
The increase in the cost of living is having an impact on this manager’s business. In addition to increases in electricity charges and the delivery of books, Rachel Faure-Lencroz is faced with a new problem. “Above all, we have a huge drop in the average basket because people have less means and because the price of the book has increased. Some have taken more than two euros, so obviously people cannot afford to buy certain books which rose to more than twenty euros.”
Even at Christmas, booksellers feel it. A few years ago, Rachel offered books for Christmas for thirty-five euros, thinking that people could afford them. Today, she says that she tries to offer them at low prices, between six and ten euros, so that children who want to read can continue to do so.
We have a change in the behavior of readers who think that a book at twenty euros is expensive, whereas a book is not a product, it is a good that lasts.
This situation is shared by independent publishers who do not hesitate to talk about a crisis. Starting with their regional president, Esther Merino. The manager of Maison des Monédières, a publishing house that is forty years old, sees several reasons. Concentration, overproduction, inflation, but also purchasing actions which are changing profoundly. “We have a change in the behavior of readers who think that a book at twenty euros is expensive, whereas a book is not a product, it is a good that lasts. We are arriving today today to consume a book not as a cultural good, but as a consumer good, which means that adding to this overproduction and the means that we independent publishers do not have to keep these books alive, we find ourselves at always have visibility for the same authors, the same houses publishing.”
Also read: The book economy in the face of crises by the French bookstore union
New Aquitaine could invest two million euros
Faced with these difficulties, the region started from an observation: New Aquitaine has no fewer than 200 booksellers, 250 publishing houses, a national record and six times as many authors. This allows it to adopt a proactive strategy by planning to invest more than two million euros until 2027. Which translates into financial support such as scholarships and the opening of creative residencies.
A system from which a Limougeaude, illustrator for 20 years, Claire Gaudriot, benefited. “The scholarships, It is a sign of recognition. We need it to continue and develop our work. It’s flattering. It motivates us, we’re really happy.”
In order to help the authors, the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region invested two million euros.
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© Margaux Blanloeil, France 3 Limousin
We hope that this will help combat illiteracy.
Gérard Halimi, President of the “Make books” festival in Saint-Junien
This strategy of supporting books also extends to festivals. Thanks to it, the one in Saint-Junien, entitled “Faites des Livres” which takes place in June, strengthens its actions aimed at a public far removed from reading. “With the booksellers, we created a book voucher worth fourteen euros that we give to children with disabilities who have met an author in the class, explains Gérard Halimi, President of the “Make books” festival in Saint-Junien. They worked upstream, they discussed with the author, they produced a work and at the end, the child will buy the author’s book which will be signed. Thanks to this check, it creates a dynamic that did not exist before. These young people were in a situation of exclusion, they did not enter bookstores, so we hope that this will make it possible to fight against illiteracy.”
This regional aid is welcome for the book market. Because according to the French bookstore union, the difficulties it faces could increase in the years to come.
If small bookstores are the first to be affected, medium and large ones are not spared, suggesting a threat of layoffs or even closures.
