Carnets Nord

Carnets Nord was a French independent publishing house founded in 2007 as a subsidiary of Éditions Montparnasse, a video and DVD publisher. Based in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, the company published approximately twelve new titles per year, focusing on two editorial lines: French and foreign literature and topical essays and non-fiction works. The company was placed into compulsory liquidation in October 2019.

History

Foundation and early years

Carnets Nord was created in 2007 by Renaud Delourme, co-founder and director of Éditions Montparnasse, and Benoît Chantre, a philosopher, editor and essayist known for his work on mimetic theory. Chantre served as editorial director.

The publisher's first titles, released in late 2007, included two notable works: Achever Clausewitz, a book of conversations between René Girard and Benoît Chantre on the thought of Carl von Clausewitz, and Mille et un bonheurs, a collection of meditations by Sister Emmanuelle. Achever Clausewitz was widely discussed in academic and intellectual circles and was later translated into English as Battling to the End.

The catalogue was distributed by the CDE (Centre de distribution de l'édition), a subsidiary of Éditions Gallimard. Over the years, Carnets Nord published essays, literary fiction, crime fiction and non-fiction, including works by authors such as the Colombian novelist Tomás González, the Austrian writer Heinrich Steinfest, and the French novelist Richard Morgiève.

Separation from Éditions Montparnasse

Éditions Montparnasse had been experiencing financial difficulties since 2015, partly due to video piracy and the underperformance of its video on demand platform. In 2017, the company's shareholding was restructured: producer Dominique Vignet and his company Ciné-mag Bodard acquired a 67% stake in Éditions Montparnasse, while Renaud Delourme retained 33% and took full control of Carnets Nord, which became a separate entity.

Tout le bleu du ciel and closure

In February 2019, Carnets Nord published Tout le bleu du ciel, the debut novel by Mélissa Da Costa. The book, which tells the story of a young man diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's disease who embarks on a road trip with a stranger, became a major commercial success. Da Costa had initially self-published the manuscript on the platform monbestseller.com before being discovered and signed by Carnets Nord. The novel received the Prix du jeune romancier at the Salon du Touquet-Paris-Plage and later the Prix Alain-Fournier in 2020.

Despite this late success, the publishing house was placed into compulsory liquidation by the Commercial Court of Paris on 2 October 2019, with a cessation of payments dated 18 September 2019. The procedure was closed for insufficient assets on 18 February 2021. Mélissa Da Costa went on to publish her subsequent novels with Albin Michel, becoming one of France's best-selling authors.

Notable publications

• René Girard (with Benoît Chantre), Achever Clausewitz (2007)
• Sister Emmanuelle (with Sofia Stril-Rever), Mille et un bonheurs (2007)
• Jean-Michel Oughourlian, Genèse du désir (2007)
• Tomás González, Au commencement était la mer (2010)
• Gaël Giraud and Cécile Renouard, Le Facteur 12 (2017)
• Mélissa Da Costa, Tout le bleu du ciel (2019)