The large print book, intended for visually impaired readers, still poorly known and isolated in recesses of large cultural surfaces, will finally benefit from the opening of a bookstore in Paris on Wednesday, the first of its kind.
In the Panthéon district (5th arrondissement), at 6, rue Laplace, the Large Characters Library is created by two publishing houses:
Voir de près
and
À vue d'oeil
.
The other editors will not be there at first.
“
If our competitors want to join us, we will be delighted to welcome them.
Provided that the quality in their catalog is there,
”warns Agnes Binsztok, the editorial director.
Quality of the texts, but above all of the form.
To offer satisfactory reading comfort to the visually impaired, this type of book must meet specific requirements: large and simple characters, spaced lines, and opaque paper with a soft tint, to prevent the reflection of light, while remaining light.
Readers suffering from other disorders also sometimes find it useful: dyslexia, dyspraxia, neurological disorders, etc.
"
I recently learned that the large print book helped some people who have had a stroke, and who are in rehabilitation,
" says the editor.
Or potentially millions of readers.
Large editions of 900 copies
Because they have more pages, and print costs more, these books are more expensive.
One of the successes of recent years, for example, Le Lambeau by Philippe Lançon (500 pages) sells for 21 euros at Gallimard, and 8.60 euros in pocket at Folio.
At
Voir de près
, it climbs to 44 euros, for two volumes and 850 pages in total.
Few readers can afford it.
“
When I obtained the rights, Gallimard agreed to only make 400 copies.
The success was there, we reprinted 50 of them. These are still small figures, but it was such an important story that it had to be
”, concedes Ms. Binsztok.
The simplicity of the stick characters and sufficient space between the lines are necessary for better reading comfort.
ALAIN JOCARD / AFP
The "
big prints
" remain below a thousand at the start, the publisher mentioning for example "
800 to 900 copies for a
Marc Levy", the French novelist who has sold the best since 2000. His great rival, Guillaume Musso, is with another publisher based in Le Mans, Libra Diffusio.
The last Amélie Nothomb,
Les Aérostats
(2020), appeared by Feryane, who did not adopt the "
stick characters
" deemed essential by
Voir de prè
s, editor of the previous novel by the Belgian novelist,
Soif
(2019).
Special font
According to Mathieu Rondeau, designer of these books, the lack of uniformity is a problem.
“
Typography is the most important thing,” he
says.
“
If you use Times, Garamond, which are traditional typographies in the edition
”, fine and elegant, “
you have something aesthetically very beautiful, but which for the visually impaired poses difficulties
”.
He swears by a royalty-free typeface, created in coordination with the visually impaired: Luciole.
The idea of the bookstore, where the reader can himself see if the reading comfort suits him, has emerged.
If the vicissitudes of the health crisis of 2020 have delayed the opening, the inauguration will take place, with lighting also designed for the visually impaired, under a soft and uniform light.
Coming to this segment of the large print book, "
I discovered that many people were unaware of its existence, and that the catalog suffered from a misconception, that of elderly readers who wanted regional novels
", recalls Agnès. Binsztok.
"
They are not asking for that, obviously
."