Former Hachette Livre head launches 'free-standing' group of publishing houses and S&S partnership

Arnaud Nourry, the former chief executive of Hachette Livre, has launched Les Nouveaux Éditeurs, an "independent, free-standing and innovative" group of publishing houses for French authors, publishers and creatives.

The company has already entered into a partnership with American publishing company Simon & Schuster, giving it first-look agreement for future editorial acquisitions. The two publishers will also join forces in some auctions and bid together for series, licenses and other multi-book acquisitions.

Nourry left Hachette Livre in March 2021 after almost 20 years with the French group. He is well respected internationally, and there have been rumours that a return to publishing was imminent after his non-compete clause ran out.

Les Nouveaux Éditeurs’ mission is to offer "all publishing talents [...] an opportunity to develop their editorial project free of interference of any kind and in full support of their authors’ work, in an entrepreneurial culture". The publishing house will seek to ensure independence by granting publishing talents a "substantial minority stake" in their publishing house, and will aim to offer “best in class” contracts in terms of time span, transparency, payment schedules and quality of service.

The publisher will also utilise "leading edge technologies", including AI, for production, marketing and distribution, from print runs to promotion and publicity.

Shareholders of Les Nouveaux Éditeurs include chairman and chief executive Nourry, as well as Olivier Sulpice, Stéphane Distinguin, Ronald Blunden, Ugo Nourry, Erik Maris and Emmanuelle Guilbart. A capital increase will take place in 2026 to fund the company’s next stage of development.

"Les Nouveaux Éditeurs is a long-term undertaking, as befits a business based on talents that depend on a sustainable commitment to achieve success," Nourry said. "Kinship, likemindedness, freedom, the long run, innovation, profitability are the words that come to mind as we launch Les Nouveaux Éditeurs.”

For Simon & Schuster, this agreement follows its recently announced acquisition of the leading Dutch publisher VBK and is representative of its ambition to expand the scope of its international publishing efforts, in English, translated work, and foreign languages.

Chief executive Jonathan Karp said: "Arnaud Nourry is one of the most dynamic and respected leaders in both French and international publishing. We are full of joie de vivre as we join what promises to be a significant and exciting new publishing enterprise, and to be extending our reach into a major market in which reading and literary culture are valued to an extraordinary degree."

"Jonathan Karp and I go back a long way. When the opportunity arose to work together again, I was thrilled,” said Nourry. "Jonathan is an outstanding publisher who runs the powerhouse that Simon & Schuster has become with authority and skill. As a leader on the American market, he wanted to extend his reach internationally at a time when I was planning the launch of Les Nouveaux Éditeurs. Talk about planets being aligned. The fact that this partnership is based on friendship makes it all the more propitious."