The literary season marked by rising prices

The January literary season is marked by the inevitable rise in book prices, against which those who come out on top are the authors with famous names.

These prices have been wise in recent years, increasing only 3.2%, according to INSEE.

But in 2021, the publishing sector could not escape rising costs, especially of paper.

The figures vary depending on who you talk to, with some saying that this cost has doubled, others that it has gained 40%.

The observation is the same, as summarized by the president of the National Publishing Union, Vincent Montagne, in the newspaper

at the beginning of December: “

”.

Read alsoState accounts still under pressure from inflation

For booksellers, in this context, safe bets are known names.

Among the hundreds of titles appearing from Wednesday until February, they should highlight Pierre Lemaitre, Prix Goncourt 2013 which brings together a loyal readership.

Silence and Anger

(Calmann-Lévy editions) is the second part of a trilogy started by

, a title ranked number 3 in 2022 sales in France by the GfK cabinet.

The author continues his exploration of the social novel, which brings to life the restless Thirty Glorious Years.

Between these two volumes published a year apart, and of the same length, the price difference is one euro (23.90 against 22.90).

The other event of this literary season is the end of the Malaussene saga by Daniel Pennac.

(Gallimard) still promises action, zaniness and “

” according to the publisher, for this series which mocks the codes of thriller.

Belgian discoveries

Other reader favorites will probably be Véronique Ovaldé with

(Flammarion), evoking the reappearance of a sister after 15 years of absence, or Marie-Hélène Lafon, Renaudot Prize 2020, who takes us back in the Cantal of his childhood with

(Buchet-Chastel).

Gallimard publishes both the host of the literary

on France Inter, Jérôme Garcin, and the boss of this radio station, Adèle Van Reeth.

On the same theme: family mourning, respectively in

and

.

The president of the Académie Goncourt, Didier Decoin, and his secretary, Philippe Claudel, are also part of this new school year, both at Stock.

The first with

, a historical fiction between Ukraine and Tunisia, the second with

, a police investigation in an imaginary country.

Read alsoThese forgotten poets: Casimir Delavigne

Among the discoveries, we can pick up two Belgians, Myriam Leroy with

(Seuil), about a resistant, and Sophie Wouters with

(Hervé Chopin), a novel that Amélie Nothomb loved.

In the foreign domain, the Americans Colson Whitehead, with

(Albin Michel), or Katie Gutierrez with

(Flammarion) are expected.

We can also turn to the classics.

The last years of two great German-language authors can be read in

by Laurent Seksik (Gallimard) and in Stefan Zweig's correspondence with Lotte Altmann (

, Albin Michel ).