Karsten Dietrich of France Loisirs dies

Karsten Dietrich, long-time programme manager of France Loisirs, one of the world's largest book clubs, has died, aged 72.

Diettrich, who was born in Germany in 1944, died last week in Paris. He ran France Loisirs for 36 years from 1973 until his retirement in 2009. 

Diettrich was chosen by the German Bertelsmann book club, which co-founded France Loisirs with French publisher Presses de la Cité in 1970, to move to France and run the French book club when he was 29 years old. There he helped to discover foreign authors for a French readership including successes like Pat Conroy, Paolo Coelho, Harlan Coben and Tatiana de Rosnay.

Diettrich is described as "a multicultural epicurean" and "friend", who loved reading great stories. Nina Salter, former publisher of Editions des Deux Terres, said: "He was internationally known for his joie de vivre and will be missed by his colleagues in publishing around the world."