HC creates HarperCollins France

HarperCollins has further expanded its global publishing programme with the creation of HarperCollins France.

HarperCollins bought out Hachette Livre SA's stake in Harlequin SA to create the division, called HarperCollins France. Harlequin SA has operated in France for 30 years and was jointly owned by HarperCollins and Hachette Livre SA.

The business will continue to publish romance under the Harlequin imprint, and expand its commercial trade publishing with titles from HarperCollins as well as local authors.

Emmanuelle Bucco-Cancès, managing director of the former Harlequin SA, will become managing director of the newly formed HarperCollins France.

Bucco-Cances said: “We are thrilled to become HarperCollins France and expand our publishing program in mainstream fiction under the HarperCollins imprint. We will leverage our strong experience in publishing and our commercial strengths to develop HarperCollins authors locally, while continuing to grow our position in romance under the Harlequin imprint. This is a turning point for the company and an exciting journey for the whole French team.”

Brian Murray, president and c.e.o. of HarperCollins Publishers, added: “We're excited to announce the formation of HarperCollins France and complete the rebranding of our Harlequin offices in Europe. There is a long and successful history of publishing in France and we look forward to growing the program further and providing our authors with a global, multi-language publishing platform.”

Murray added: “Hachette has been a fabulous partner for many years and we look forward to a great ongoing partnership for distribution and sales as we move forward with an expanded list in the coming months.”