After several years of collaboration, Audrée Wilhelmy leaves Grasset editions. The Quebec writer made the announcement on her Facebook page Monday evening.
Although the prestigious publishing house ensured the publication of three of his novels in France, the artist made the decision to end their partnership. She is therefore currently looking for another publisher ready to take care of the publication of her latest book, Bloodskin (Leméac, 2023), in France.
“If I have been magnificently supported by my editor, Chloé Deschamps, and by the Grasset team, today I am reaching the end of a cycle of work. Bloodskinmy baby book, the most honest version of everything I carry within me, must find a place that more resembles it, an editorial territory capable not only of welcoming, but of celebrating the syntactic and narrative risks that I allow me to do so,” she wrote on social media.
In interview at Dutythe novelist explains that Grasset’s editors perceived in Bloodskin stylistic obstacles that could hinder the marketing of the book.
“It is a text which presents singularities in form. The sentences have no beginning and end, and the narrative voice is constantly interrupted by a chorus. For me, these elements are constitutive of what I am trying to tell. They are the strength of the novel. » She specifies that these questions were not raised by her Quebec publisher, Leméac, nor by the critics or the public here.
Even if Grasset ultimately agreed to deal with the constraints, and to publish the story as is, Audrée Wilhelmy affirms that it was important for her to collaborate with a publishing house that would embrace and celebrate her work in its entirety, without caveats. . “I want to give myself permission to create without wondering if it will suit my French publisher. I want to work in conditions that allow me to be free, to take risks and to be sovereign over the universe that I build. »
I want to give myself permission to create without wondering if it will suit my French publisher. I want to work in conditions that allow me to be free, to take risks and to be sovereign over the universe that I build.
Considered one of the largest French publishing houses, Grasset sits, with Gallimard and Le Seuil, at the top of the literary prize lists. Over the last twenty years, the novelists accompanied by Grasset have won two Goncourts, two Feminas, four Renaudots, four Medicis and three Grand Prix de l’Académie. Quebec authors benefiting from such wide-ranging representation across the Atlantic can be counted on the fingers of one hand.
“I am extremely grateful to Grasset. The whole team was amazing to me. I owe my career in France to them. They opened up a place for me in the media and cultural events, and allowed me to win prizes. They changed my life as an artist and writer. »
For Audrée Wilhelmy, however, there is no question of locking oneself into the prestige of a publishing house. She leaves on good terms with her former allies, without knowing what the future holds for her. “It remains a calculated risk. I know there is interest from smaller houses. » The writer therefore says she is convinced that Bloodskin will travel to its European readers, “in its most wild and agile form”.