Coeur de pirate, Sarahmée, Patrice Michaud, Émile Proulx-Cloutier, Stéphanie Boulay, Guylaine Guay… The list of Quebec personalities who have tried the adventure of children’s literature continues to gain new recruits. This trend, which has existed for a long time in the English-speaking world — Paul McCartney, Madonna, Natalie Portman and Keith Richards are just a few of the celebrities who have lent themselves to the game — has been on the rise in Quebec for the past five last years.
However, is there really an advantage to inscribing the name of a celebrity on the cover of an album or a children’s novel? Do these books sell more than others? The answer is more complex than it seems.
First, a clarification is in order. If we have the impression that the entire directory of artists is in the process of reinventing itself as children’s authors, it is mainly because their works arouse great media attention. “Every year, nearly 1,000 children’s books are published in Quebec,” says Rachel DeRoy-Ringuette, professor of elementary reading and writing at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, specializing in children’s literature. Among these, there are less than a dozen written by a well-known personality. So it remains a minor market. However, when Coeur de pirate launched Nail. We are all different! (Auzou, 2022) this summer, everyone talked about it. An unknown author, even if he has an exceptional talent, can never count on so much visibility. »
At To have to, this assertion is verified. A celebrity who tries her hand at literature has a very good chance of making her way to the cover page of the Read notebook.
A moderate effect
“Does this notoriety serve as a lever for sales? Yes, it helps, but it’s far from being stratospheric, says Martin Balthazar, vice-president of the Ville-Marie Literature group, which notably includes Éditions de la Bagnole. When Mariana Mazza or Marina Orsini release a book for adults, they stay at the top of the charts for weeks. This is rarely the case in children’s literature. »
Between January 2022 and November 2022, only Coeur de pirate, Biz (The fall of Sparta2018) and Patrice Michaud (Match soup2021) have managed to slip into the Gaspard list of the 100 best-selling books in the children’s albums and novels category, recorded by the Société de gestion de la Banque de Titres de Langue Française, the top of which is occupied by the indelible Élise Gravel and its famous Potato on a bike (The short scale, 2016).
For a publishing house, having a renowned artist in its ranks above all makes it possible to make the rest of its catalog known to new readers. “We don’t always realize the precariousness of the publishing industry,” emphasizes Luca Palladino, founder of KATA publisher. Like everything else in the art world, a box’s survival depends on a bestseller or a success. We need these engines to publish more niche books and introduce our work to a greater number of people. Collaborating with a celebrity can help with this, but it’s pointless if it’s done without artistic consideration. »
Art above all
Luca Palladino himself approached Sarahmée to offer to adapt the lyrics of his song My skin (Kata, 2022) in illustrated album. “It was a dream for me,” he said. Each of his songs made images emerge in my head. We opted for a piece that fit with the editorial line of the house, and we approached it from the point of view of a music lover. We wanted to offer something new by interpreting the visual aspect found in the musicality, the refrains and the repetitions. The literary community has recognized the audacity of the proposal since the book is currently on the preliminary list of the Prix des libraires jeunesse.
Although a few publishers take a similar approach to showcasing the work of artists they respect, they mostly receive manuscripts and ideas from up-and-coming authors who have a desire to tell a story. From then on, everything is just a matter of love.
“The text that Edith Cochrane had written for behind my chair (La car, 2022) is among the most complete and well-constructed that I have seen in my life, ”raises Martin Balthazar, whose house has also served as a springboard for Catherine Trudeau, Stéphanie Lapointe and Guylaine Guay.
In fact, the vast majority of children’s works written by well-known personalities have nothing to envy to books written by seasoned authors, and many arouse the applause of the literary world. At Fonfon editions, the albums Anatole that never dried (Stephanie Boulay, 2018) and Match soup respectively won the TD Prize for Canadian Literature for Children and Young People and the Prix des libraires jeunes 6-11 ans.
For Véronique Fontaine, general manager of Fonfon editions, the success met by Stéphanie Boulay and Patrice Michaud – the latter’s album being the best-selling in the catalog – is inseparable from their artistic value. “I would never publish a text that I do not find up to par. These two transported me from the start. I didn’t feel like I was dealing with novices, perhaps because there are connections to be made between writing fiction and the profession of author-composer-performer. I don’t think I was mistaken, because we managed to sell the rights to these two books in China, Spain and English Canada. The notoriety of the author is not a selling point in international markets. »
Difficult, therefore, to say if it is the name or the quality that allows the books to find takers. “I think we would be on the wrong track if we confined creators to a single field of expression. All you have to do is open your eyes to recognize the universe and style of each of the artists in their work in children’s literature. It’s an extension of their art, and that’s what it works so well for,” concludes Rachel DeRoy-Ringuette.