Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteurs

Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteurs is an independent French-language publishing house founded in 2007. It specialises in publishing first works (premières œuvres) on a traditional publisher's account (à compte d'éditeur), meaning authors are not asked to pay for publication. The house is best known for the Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été, a manuscript competition it runs with the magazine Femme Actuelle and the Prisma Presse group, and for the Prix du Polar VSD. The publisher was created in response to a perceived problem in French publishing: only a few hundred authors are launched each year, manuscript rejection rates are very high (the company cites 98%), and rejections are rarely explained. To work around what it describes as opaque, closed reading committees, Les Nouveaux Auteurs built a public or 'citizen' reading committee. Volunteers who love reading register on the company's website and evaluate submitted manuscripts using a scoring system and written reading reports (fiches de lecture). Manuscripts that receive the best evaluations are then published on a publisher's account. The company's website presents itself as a 'machine à best-sellers' (a bestseller machine) and reports community figures such as tens of thousands of members and reading reports, hundreds of titles published, and millions of copies sold. It also states that one author in three is picked up in paperback (poche). Among the authors it has launched are Agnès Ledig, Claire Favan, Jérôme-Arnaud Wagner, Laurent Guillaume, Jacques Saussey, Hervé Jourdain and Valentin Musso. Beyond its own catalogue, the house operates literary prizes that combine public evaluation with celebrity juries. The Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été, launched in 2008 with Femme Actuelle and Prisma Presse, has been presided over by figures such as Paulo Coelho, Éliette Abécassis and Gilles Legardinier. The Prix du Polar VSD, launched in 2009, was directed by Frédéric Beigbeder and later presided over by Yann Queffélec and Didier van Cauwelaert. These prizes have produced a series of winning and shortlisted novels across the summer novel, thriller/polar and feel-good categories. The publisher remains an independent, private French company focused on francophone literature and on discovering new voices through its online community.

Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteurs was founded in 2007 as an independent French-language publishing house. Its founding concept was a response to the structure of French publishing: according to the company, only around 500 authors are launched each year, manuscript rejection rates reach 98%, and rejections are rarely explained. The house set out to bypass what it saw as occult, closed reading committees by creating a public or 'citizen' reading committee. Volunteers who are passionate about reading register on the company's website and evaluate manuscripts transparently through a scoring system and written reading reports (fiches de lecture). Manuscripts that receive the best evaluations are published on a publisher's account (à compte d'éditeur), so authors do not pay to be published. In 2008 the publisher partnered with the magazine Femme Actuelle and the Prisma Presse group to launch a manuscript call that became the Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été. Using the house's evaluation system, the best manuscripts are published and the best of them receives the Grand Prix Roman de l'été. In its first edition the Grand Prix went to David Hepburn's Le Cercle du silence. The coup de cœur of jury president Paulo Coelho went to Jérôme Manierski's À l'aube du septième sens, and the jury's coup de cœur went to Yann-Hervé Martin's L'Ange au sourire. The 2009 edition, presided over by Paulo Coelho, awarded its Grand Prix to Jean-François Bouygues's Au bord des cendres, with Coelho's coup de cœur going to Alexandra Rossi's Les Lames de Dieu and the jury's coup de cœur to Yves-Daniel Crouzet's Les Fantômes du Panassa. The 2010 edition, again presided over by Paulo Coelho, gave the Roman de l'été and Coelho's coup de cœur to Yves-Olivier Muhleim's Le bouclier de Sainte Odile; the Thriller de l'été to David Moitet's L'homme aux papillons; the Coup de cœur des lectrices to Marie Roquelaine's Couleur sépia; and the jury's coup de cœur to Marie la Fragette's Chasse de tête. In 2011, with Paulo Coelho still presiding, the Roman de l'été and Coelho's coup de cœur went to Diane Peylin's À l'endroit où elles naissent; the Thriller de l'été to Sandrine Monfort's En proie au temps; the Coup de cœur des lectrices to Agnès Ledig's Marie d'en haut; and the jury's coup de cœur to Géraldine Jaujou's La guérisseuse. In 2009 the house also launched the Prix du polar VSD on the model of the Femme Actuelle prize, under the direction of Frédéric Beigbeder. The first edition's winners were announced in March 2009: Stéphane Lefebvre won the grand prix VSD du polar with Opale; Beigbeder's prix coup de poing went to Laurent Guillaume for Mako; and the prix du jury went to Hervé Jourdain for Sang d'encre au 36. The 2010 edition was presided over by Yann Queffélec: Claire Favan won the grand prix VSD du polar with Le Tueur intime, ahead of Éric de l'Estoile's Pas de traces!, and Queffélec's prix coup de cœur went to Jean Depreux for Les meurtriers de Dieu. The 2011 edition was presided over by Didier van Cauwelaert: Dominique Maisons won the grand prix VSD du polar with Le Psychopompe; van Cauwelaert's coup de cœur went to François-Xavier Cerniac for Le Tombeau du Phénix; the prix des lecteurs went to Yves Corver for Genèse de l'enfer; and the prix spécial du jury went to Damien Leban for Le Sanctuaire d'Ombos. The Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été continued under new presidents. The 2012 edition was presided over by Éliette Abécassis: the Roman de l'été went to Jean-Michel Denis's Les Mots du passé; the Thriller de l'été to Fabrice de Caupenne's Mortelle Vengeance; Abécassis's coup de cœur to Manuela de Seltz's Tropique du Capricorne; and the jury's coup de cœur to Isabelle Huc's Rondo Capriccioso. The 2013 edition, also presided over by Éliette Abécassis, awarded the Roman de l'été to Patricia Hespel's Au bout du chemin; the Polar de l'été to Aurélie Benattar's Un corbeau au 36; Abécassis's coup de cœur to Véronique Alunni's La Ballade de Kassandre; and the jury's coup de cœur to Franck Labat's Naturalis. In 2014, again under Éliette Abécassis, the Grand Gagnant was Alain Roquefort's Sous le velours, l'épine; Abécassis's coup de cœur went to Michel Brunel's Hannah, le prix de la liberté; the Coup de cœur des lectrices to Dany Rousson's Les Genêts de Saint-Antonin; and the jury's coup de cœur to Jeanne-Marie Sauvage-Avit's Elles, des femmes dans la grande guerre. The prize returned in 2017 under the presidency of Gilles Legardinier: the Grand Prix went to Rosalie Lowie's Un bien bel endroit pour mourir; the Coup de cœur des lectrices to Dominique Van Cotthem's Le Sang d'une autre; the Prix du polar to Christophe Vasse's Celle qui ne pleurait jamais; and Legardinier's coup de cœur to Amandine Mollo's Nerina. The 2018 edition, again presided over by Gilles Legardinier, awarded the Grand Prix to Frank Leduc's Le Chaînon manquant; the Coup de cœur des lectrices to Helène Vasquez-Marchive's Je veux toucher les nuages; the Prix du polar to Manuel Masse's L'Affaire Dunkel; Legardinier's coup de cœur to Pierre Jean Veroye's No Trace; and a Prix feel good to Émilie Riger's Le Temps de faire sécher un cœur. Over its history the house has launched authors including Agnès Ledig, Claire Favan, Jérôme-Arnaud Wagner, Laurent Guillaume, Jacques Saussey, Hervé Jourdain and Valentin Musso. Its website presents the company as a 'machine à best-sellers' and reports community and sales figures such as tens of thousands of members, hundreds of titles published and millions of copies sold, along with the claim that one author in three is picked up in paperback.

• 2018

  Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été edition presided over by Gilles Legardinier; Grand Prix: Frank Leduc's Le Chaînon manquant.

• 2017

  Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été returns under the presidency of Gilles Legardinier; Grand Prix: Rosalie Lowie's Un bien bel endroit pour mourir.

• 2014

  Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été edition presided over by Éliette Abécassis; Grand Gagnant: Alain Roquefort's Sous le velours, l'épine.

• 2012

  Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été edition presided over by Éliette Abécassis.

• 2011

  Prix du Polar VSD edition presided over by Didier van Cauwelaert; Dominique Maisons wins the grand prix with Le Psychopompe.

• 2010

  Prix du Polar VSD edition presided over by Yann Queffélec; Claire Favan wins the grand prix with Le Tueur intime.

• 2009

  Prix du Polar VSD launched under the direction of Frédéric Beigbeder; first winners announced in March 2009.

• 2008

  Partnership with Femme Actuelle and Prisma Presse launches the Grand Prix Femme Actuelle Roman de l'été; first Grand Prix awarded to David Hepburn's Le Cercle du silence.

• 2007

  Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteurs founded as an independent French-language publishing house.

Independent francophone publisher that discovers first-time authors through a transparent, public reading committee and publishes them on a publisher's account.

• Le Cercle du silence by David Hepburn

• Au bord des cendres by Jean-François Bouygues

• Le bouclier de Sainte Odile by Yves-Olivier Muhleim

• À l'endroit où elles naissent by Diane Peylin

• Marie d'en haut by Agnès Ledig

• Les Mots du passé by Jean-Michel Denis

• Au bout du chemin by Patricia Hespel

• Sous le velours, l'épine by Alain Roquefort

• Un bien bel endroit pour mourir by Rosalie Lowie

• Le Chaînon manquant by Frank Leduc

• Opale by Stéphane Lefebvre

• Mako by Laurent Guillaume

• Sang d'encre au 36 by Hervé Jourdain

• Le Tueur intime by Claire Favan

• Le Psychopompe by Dominique Maisons

1. 1Nouveaux Auteurslesnouveauxauteurs.com
2. 2Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteurswikidata.org
3. 3Éditions Les Nouveaux Auteursfr.wikipedia.org