The duty announced Thursday a new partnership with the publishing house Somme tout. An agreement that will allow the independent daily to publish books – about ten per year – and to “highlight the authors of the To have to, journalists and collaborators, [ses] current content and [ses] archives, ”newspaper editor Brian Myles told his employees.
“The format of the book, more robust and less ephemeral than that of a daily newspaper, is another showcase to highlight the talent of our journalists and our collaborators as well as the wealth offered by more than 110 years of archives” , added Mr. Myles in a statement.
The editorial program
During the first year, the Somme tout /The duty intends to publish ten titles and develop the “series of collections”, as explained by the president of Éditions Somme tout, Serge Théroux. ” I read The duty very differently since we discussed this agreement, he said over the phone. I see plenty of possibilities for the editorial program, which we still have to build. “
“It could be broken down around the Duty of Philosophy and in synthesis and popularization books – we could call it” The Duty to Understand “… -, or on subjects that touch on identity, culture …” a he gave as examples.
The format of the book, more robust and less ephemeral than that of a daily newspaper, is another showcase to highlight the talent of our journalists and our collaborators as well as the wealth offered by more than 110 years of archives.
The director of To have to added, for his part, that “there could also be published extensive reports, collections of chronicles, and even an entirely original work, an essay, why not? “.
“Overall it was a natural fit,” Myles said afterwards. Former journalists from To have to Serge Truffaut, Guy Taillefer and Claude Lévesque are already published there, as well as the photographer Valérian Mazataud. “
“We wondered if we were going into publishing too, like the others,” said the director. Since 1989, Éditions La Presse, for example, has been giving practical books, cookbooks, biographies, stories and essays, often writing or speaking, sometimes both, to well-known public figures.
Les Éditions du Journal (Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec), founded in 2015, are part of the Ville-Marie Literature Group, which has extensive editorial experience.
“We preferred this association project, cobranding with All in all, which will allow us to achieve our objectives more quickly ”, that is to make more shine, and in a longer time, the journalists and the contents of the To have to.
The power of ideas
The bulk of the work, according to Serge Théroux, will be to pass the ephemeral side of information to the greater longevity of the book. “The idea is to expand the readership. Ideally, there will always be something new. “
Brian Myles, Editor-in-Chief of To have to, Marie-Andrée Chouinard, and Serge Théroux form the committee which will choose the projects. The editing work will be carried out by Somme tout, through freelance delegated editors. The graphic grids will be thought out jointly.
To facilitate writing, The duty may release journalists whose projects have been selected for a period of up to eight weeks.
“Our agreement is not binding on journalists and collaborators of the To have toBrian Myles said in his email to the editor. However, we will encourage and facilitate the publication of works in the Sum-All /The duty to the extent possible. “Serge Théroux adds:” There is no question at all of diverting journalists from To have to who already have agreements with other publishers. “
The partnership will allow the To have to to receive modest royalties on the use of its mark, which will vary according to the type of works and according to whether they are based on archives or on unpublished.
“There was no question that it eats away the copyrights of our journalists,” said Brian Myles. Journalists-authors will sign a direct agreement with Somme tout, by mutual agreement.
The mesh
The link between information media and book publishing is regularly found in the print landscape. “It was a“ classic ”alliance in the years 1895-1934, indicates the sociologist of literature Michel Lacroix, at a time when publishing was still fragile and publishers rare. Newspapers had the advantage of already having the material basis for printing. “
Today, the professor at UQAM sees it more as a sign of “a return to a conception of journalism and publishing, as essentially centered on ideas, chronicles, editorials, etc., rather than on the news. “