In July and August, while the world of Parisian publishing takes up its summer quarters while waiting for the start of the literary season, the Editions Alain Bargain is running at full speed. A quarter of the 700,000 euros in annual turnover is achieved during the summer season, and in the industrial warehouse located in a quiet street in the south-east of Quimper (Finistère), three of the five employees are active.
Infographist Frédéric Lepinet lays out the manuscripts and polishes the covers of the next publications, Caroline, the wife of Carl Bargain, at the head of the publishing house, prepares the order boxes, which will be sent by carrier within the supermarkets, press centers and bookstores in the four Breton departments.
Wind of terror on Bréhat, Murderous nights in Paimpol, Acid bath in Douarnenez, Night of hell in Quiberon, Lucifer in Saint-Philibert, Torrid summer in Névez, Vendetta in Auray, It dies dry in Locquirec… Since its creation in 1996, no less than three million copies of the 420 titles in the “Enquêtes et suspense” collection have been sold. Prominently displayed on display units flocked with the publisher’s logo, the pocket-sized volumes at 8 euros each are snapped up and have become a local signature in the same way as buckwheat pancakes or Guémené andouille sausage.
Largely ignored by the Germanopratin world of letters, regional publishing has flourished everywhere in France for the past thirty years, taking advantage of tourism and a small economy, far, far, from the demands of the major publishing groups. Parisian. Everyone plays the ultra-local card to the fullest: in Bordeaux, Editions Sud Ouest (a subsidiary of the press group of the same name) published La Rochelle, beautiful and deadly, Or The Price of the Past on the Ile de Ré; the Baie des Anges editions, in Nice, display thrillers with picturesque titles (Alert at Coco Beach, Or Cyanide at Valrose).
In Les Houches, near Chamonix (Haute-Savoie), the Editions du Mont-Blanc, whose literature department gives pride of place to mountain stories, also sometimes play on regional roots for their “Mont-Blanc black “ : The Second ice axe, The Lord of the boxes… Ignored from the national press and literary prizes, these releases generally enjoy limited distribution (although they are now widely available online) and use a simple and effective style to serve plots rich in detail. local, to be tasted preferably on the spot.
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