More than 500 Books in twelve years. One thing in common: a key printed on the edge. About twenty years ago, Sandrine Pondaven, salesperson at Cloître Imprimeurs, met Florent Patron, editorial director of Coop Breizh, a Breton publishing house now in difficulty. They create their own house. Locus Solus, “unique place” in Latin, is also the title of a strange novel by Raymond Roussel published in 1914. He recounts the visit to the park belonging to the scholar Martial Canterel, a place populated with curiosities: unexpected monsters, displaced objects …
“We started in a 50 m² premises in Lopérec”, traces Sandrine Pondaven. The duo made their editorial debut for five years in this town of 800 people in the Monts d’Arrée (Finistère). Seven years ago, they moved to Châteaulin, in the Run ar Puns artisanal zone, the name of a concert hall anchored in the area. Sandrine, commercial and administrative director, and Florent, editorial director, now work alongside six other people.
Marianne Ramel is a layout designer, Régis Lemersier in charge of marketing, Kevin Callec management assistant, Cloé Moallic takes care of communications, François Rissel coordinates the comics and illustrated books from Paris and Benjamin Bruneau is a layout designer. “We are a small general publisher with a regional focus”, summarizes Florent Patron.
“An authors’ policy”
Art books, illustrated books, comics, nature and environment, sea… Locus Solus leaves no theme behind. The publisher, who has nothing to be ashamed of in the face of the “big” Parisian houses, has gone from around thirty to around fifty books per year, a challenge of one per week. Offices exude a professional joie de vivre and a love of a job well done. On the walls are displayed the proofs of what readers will discover in the bookstore.
Sandrine Pondaven and Florent Patron build their catalog on “meetings, tastes, favorites, links with subjects that speak to us”. With “an author’s policy” : They have, for example, published all of Briac’s comics: Armen, Meridian, Mists, The night Mac Orlan… But also big names like Lepage, Juillard, Hyman, Mattotti, Loustal, Bruno Le Floch…
With its million euros in turnover, Locus Solus, which is part of the association of publishing houses in Brittany (Ameb), was classified by Weekly Books 84e out of 4,500 French publishing houses. The quality of the object and its content is the key to its success.
Related News :