Home 5 News 5 “Gallimard” tells authors to stop sending manuscripts!

“Gallimard” tells authors to stop sending manuscripts!

by | Apr 14, 2021 | News

Gallimard, known for publishing Marcel Proust, Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus, wrote politely on its website and on Twitter: “Given the exceptional circumstances, we ask you to defer sending your manuscripts. Take care of yourselves and happy reading”.

Successive Covid-19 lockdowns in France have given budding writers the time to finally work on that idea for a novel or to polish up an old manuscript languishing in a drawer. As a result, publishers are overwhelmed. Before the pandemic, Gallimard received around 30 manuscripts a day; now they receive around 50.

Gallimard isn’t the only French publisher facing an uptick in submissions. Publisher Seuil normally receives around 3,500 manuscripts a year. In the first three months of 2021, it had already received 1,200.

In addition to the mountain of submissions to wade through, the publishing industry is already facing a backlog. Bookshops in France were ordered to close during the country’s first March-May lockdown, and were only open for click-and-collect in the second October-December lockdown. In February 2021 the government decided to class bookshops as “essential” services, authorising them to open amidst regional restrictions and during this month’s third nationwide lockdown.

Véronique Cardi, director of publishing house JC Lattès, said they’ve never been so prepared for the autumn period when publishing houses traditionally publish a wave of new releases. “Our authors have had the time to finish their manuscripts. And we’ve acquired a lot of new authors, people who took advantage of being in lockdown or under curfew to write”.

Many writers are also turning to self-publishing, bypassing the need for a publishing house. Librinova, an agency that helps authors self-publish their books, published 40% more books in 2020 compared to the year before – and 90% more in April 2020 alone. The self-publishing platform Books on Demand also saw similar growth in France.

While more than 80% of the French remain avid readers, there was an overall drop in reading last year, according to a report released by the Centre national du livre (National Centre for Publishing). This was due to the closure of reading spaces such as libraries, the loss of the valuable reading time that a commute affords many French workers, and the difficulty of separating work from leisure time when working from home.

Source: France 24

Recent News

18Feb
Ian Chapman to Step Down as S&S UK CEO in May

Ian Chapman to Step Down as S&S UK CEO in May

After 25 years at Simon & Schuster, Ian Chapman, who serves as CEO and publisher of Simon & Schuster UK & International, will depart in May.   Chapman, who became CEO in 2013, has led publishing, editorial, marketing, and sales operations in the UK, Australia and India. His title-marked years were majorly growthy; for 2022 and 2023, Simon […]

18Feb
IPA Condemns Attack on Publisher at Bangladesh Book Fair

IPA Condemns Attack on Publisher at Bangladesh Book Fair

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has condemned an attack on publisher Sabyasachi’s stand at the Amar Ekushey book fair in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Extremists were protesting at the presence of books by author Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi writer who is known for her work on women’s oppression and criticism of religion.  Some of her books are […]

18Feb
AI and Copyright: Key Takeaways from the AI Action Summit

AI and Copyright: Key Takeaways from the AI Action Summit

Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains the issue of the moment.  The former chief executive of Google, Erich Smidt proposes a balance between government oversight of AI development and over-regulation of the sector.   He told the BBC: “The truth is that AI and the future is largely going to be built by private compaanies.  It’s really […]

Related Posts

IPA Condemns Attack on Publisher at Bangladesh Book Fair

IPA Condemns Attack on Publisher at Bangladesh Book Fair

The International Publishers Association (IPA) has condemned an attack on publisher Sabyasachi's stand at the Amar Ekushey book fair in Dhaka, Bangladesh.  Extremists were protesting at the presence of books by author Taslima Nasrin, the Bangladeshi writer who is...

AI and Copyright: Key Takeaways from the AI Action Summit

AI and Copyright: Key Takeaways from the AI Action Summit

Artificial Intelligence (AI) remains the issue of the moment.  The former chief executive of Google, Erich Smidt proposes a balance between government oversight of AI development and over-regulation of the sector.   He told the BBC: “The truth is that AI and the...

International Interest in Newly Discovered Joan Didion Manuscript

International Interest in Newly Discovered Joan Didion Manuscript

There is strong international interest in a new book by the celebrated American writer and journalist Joan Didion who died in 2021.  Entitled Notes to John, the manuscript was discovered in a portable filing cabinet next to her desk after her death.  The book is a...

Previous Next
Close
Test Caption
Test Description goes like this

Pin It on Pinterest