Opened at the start of the year with the three volumes of the Gormenghast cycle of Mervyn Peake“ unfairly overlooked masterpiece of 20th century British fantasye century », the “Chimères” collection from Christian Bourgois editions already enjoys a certain notoriety among booksellers and readers.
But it is from the start of the school year that it will reach its cruising speed with the publication of The Doloriadefirst novel by the English Missouri Williams (translated by Aurélien Blanchard). With a print run of 10,000 copies and to be published in September, the work questions and parodies apocalyptic novels, dystopias and other survival stories. It will be followed in October by The childhood of the world. Capitalist science fictiona novel coupled with an essay by the Argentinian Michel Nieva (translated by Sébastien Rutès).
A contemporary, international and demanding line
“ These two titles are perfectly representative of the contemporary, international and demanding line that we want to defend with “Chimères” “, decrypted Martin Vagneur, who directs the collection. In the company of Jean Matterneditorial director of Christian Bourgois, the young publisher presented “Chimères” this Tuesday, June 11 in front of around thirty Ile-de-France booksellers gathered for the occasion in a Parisian café and who came to judge on the spot the positioning of this new offer in the vast territory of literature of the imagination.
This one will be decidedly atypical. Unlike the enormous cycles of SF or popular fantasy, “Chimeras” will concentrate “ on atypical projects, a little niche, on the fringe, avant-garde, with a real place given to magical realism, the strange, surrealism and the absurd. »
Which does not prevent Christian Bourgois from continuing to exploit the Tolkien collection, of which he is the historical publisher in large format. In October 2023, the house published another complete collector’s edition of the Lord of the Rings embellished with around forty maps, sketches and illustrations by Tolkien’s hand. Printed in 30,000 copies and sold for 89 euros, the book now has 26,000 sales, according to Elodie Pajotthe sales director.
“ Building a bridge to Tolkien readers »
And if Christian Bourgois chose to inaugurate “Chimères” with a work of heritage – the Gormenghast cycle – the decision was taken to “smoothly” ensure the transition of readers towards an expanded imaginary catalog whereas it was until now limited to Tolkien’s works only. “ I needed to build a bridge to Tolkien readersconfirms Martin Vagneur. These are the most likely to make the switch to “Chimeras” even if the Gormenghast cycle is not representative of what we will publish in “Chimeras”. »
Among the invited booksellers, Melanie Mora from the general bookstore Le livre écarlate (Paris, XIVe) looks favorably on the arrival of this new editorial offering, which it plans to implement in its imaginary section rather than in general literature. “ We have a clientele with a very literary identity who does not naturally turn to the imagination. But as Christian Bourgois also has a literary image, the bridge is obvious. We will be able to direct some of the readers towards their publications “, she believes.
With five to six titles per year, “Chimères” aims to integrate French-speaking authors in the medium term. Each end of the year, the collection will also offer a heritage title, “ if possible unpublished in French. »
“Satellites”, the pocket collection by Christian Bourgois and Globe already in orbit
A pocket collection from Christian Bourgois and its Globe subsidiary, “Satellites” was launched on March 7 to replace the “Titues” collection with a first round of five books including prestigious authors like Maurice Pons or the 2023 Nobel Prize in Literature Jon Fosse. Now rich with around fifteen references with works by Kate Atkinson, Jim Morrison or Fernando Pessoa, it should reach 25 publications by the end of the year, almost exclusively from the catalogs of Christian Bourgois and Globe. “ “Satellites” is a collection which combines heritage and very recent fundsunderlines Elodie PajotCommercial Director. For example at the start of the school year we will publish The new life by Tom Crewe (Bourgois) and The Book of Daniel by Chris de Stoop (Globe), two books which appeared in large format in 2023. » With average print runs of 5,000 copies, “Satellites” offers Christian Bourgois a significant Source of growth. It already represents nearly 20% of the group’s turnover, according to Élodie Pajot.
