At the Grasset stand during the Paris Book Festival, April 12, 2024. BRUNO LEVESQUE/IP3/MAXPPP
More than 130 French authors whose works have been published by the French publishing house Grasset announced Thursday, April 16, they would be leaving the house to protest the dismissal of its CEO, Olivier Nora, announced on Tuesday. Nora is to be replaced by Jean-Christophe Thiery, a close associate of the billionaire media mogul Vincent Bolloré, who controls the house through the major publishing group Hachette Livre.
The group of writers, in a letter sent to Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Le Monde, said that Nora's "dismissal is an unacceptable attack on editorial independence and creative freedom." The signatories emphasized: "Once again, Vincent Bolloré says, 'I am at home and I do what I want,' disregarding those who publish, those who support, edit, proofread, produce, distribute and sell our books. And disregarding those who read us." They refuse to "be hostages in an ideological war to impose authoritarianism across culture and the media."
In the letter, whose signatories include Virginie Despentes, Bernard-Henri Lévy, Laure Adler, Judith Perrignon, Sorj Chalandon, Frédéric Beigbeder and Vanessa Springora, the writers state, "We will not sign our next book with Grasset."
