[The signatories of this op-ed wished to remain anonymous out of fear of retaliation. We accepted this condition after verifying their identities.]
The headquarters of Hachette Livre publishing house in Vanves, outside Paris, October 2023. JOEL SAGET/AFP
We are employees of the Hachette group. We edit, publish, promote and distribute novels, essays, textbooks, children's books, practical guides and illustrated works. We wish to express our shock at the harshness of the dismissal of Olivier Nora, the esteemed and respected CEO of Grasset, and at the announcement of his replacement by Jean-Christophe Thiery, who is already CEO of Louis Hachette.
Read the full letter 'We refuse to be hostages in an ideological war:' The letter signed by over 130 writers quitting publisher Grasset
We are concerned for the future of the publishing house and, more broadly, for our group as a whole. We would like to reaffirm our deep commitment to it, to the diversity of voices that make it up, to creative freedom and to the employees who are the beating heart of each publishing house, for whose books and authors we have advocated every day for many years.
