Summer 2020. You already know the story. In just a few weeks, *Society* sold 400,000 copies of its two issues dedicated to Xavier Dupont de Ligonnès. The magazines, now considered collector’s items, are selling for a fortune on resale sites. In response to this craze, So Lonely, a publishing house within the So Press group, is co-publishing with Éditions Marabout a book compiling the two special issues dedicated to the news story of the century. Who said that in-depth articles never resurface?
Today, we’d like to talk to you about these new forms of media that are making their way into bookstores and finding their own niche. One example is the series “Les Revenants” by Les Jours, published by Éditions du Seuil. The same is true for the most popular podcasts. Nouvelles Écoutes has signed an exclusive publishing deal with Marabout for its entire podcast catalog. The first book to be published? *La Poudre*, of course. And the second volume is coming out on May 12.
There are also hybrid media companies—part media, part publishing house. Some of them are thus expanding their operations by publishing original works by writers, journalists, photographers, and artists featured in their publications. Take a look at the weekly magazine *Le 1*. Published by Éditions de l’Aube, it has its own book series. What’s inside? Several pieces by the same author originally published in the newspaper. To explore further, we also recommend taking a look at the photography magazine *FishEye* or the journal *Les Autres*: they publish books that are just as compelling as their other publications.
And then, here and there, there are publishing houses that specialize in nonfiction. Of course, we’re thinking of Éditions Goutte d’Or and their three annual publications. Each release of a long-term investigative report is carefully planned and edited to build anticipation among readers while giving significant impact to thejournalists’ investigative work. And what better format than a book to lend prestige to investigative journalism?
Whether they publish or are published, the media create, through books, a precious object to be savored and then passed on or displayed. By moving forward together, the literary and media communities can reinvent genres and shake up the conventions of publishing. Here, we particularly dream of seeing a feminist media outlet emerge that would become a publishing house for women authors. To discuss this, you know where to find us. Everything is yet to be written!
