Last week, I had the pleasure of receiving contract authors into my Fnac Bercy-Village shop. I wanted to share this bookstore joy with you: welcoming writers we love and want to share with our customers by creating a meeting, an opportunity for exchange and discovery. I invite you to go behind the scenes of this event.
Displayed books
As part of Agullo Editions’ European Thriller tour, I had the pleasure of welcoming Portuguese author Miguel Szymanski and Italian author Valerio Varese.
Miguel SzymanskiWriter and journalist, born in Faro in 1966. Specializing in economics, he worked for several newspapers in Portugal and Germany. He is now a correspondent for the weekly Freitag and Portugal newspaper mail. He also comments on current affairs in Portugal for several TV and radio stations in Germany and Austria. Oh Economist Accidental, her first novel, was published in 2010 in Portugal. In 2019, he started a series featuring former journalist turned Malian brigade chief, Marcela Silva. First volume Card Castle It appeared in Portugal in 2019, followed by the second, O great templepublished in 2020.
He came in particular to publish his second novel in France, entitled The great templewhile the first version has just been launched.
In this second opus, the plot centers on Lisbon. The presence of a large Chinese yacht in port fuels all conversations. Especially when you know that most of Lisbon’s intellectuals are invited there to spend unforgettable evenings. The stakes seem much higher with the whims of jet-setters. It seems that a historic agreement is about to be signed between Portugal and China. An agreement likely to upset the balance of the country and the lives of its residents. Can a country be sold? With this new journalistic investigation, Miguel Szymanski perfectly fits the niche of the forensic economic novel. Permeated with doses of humour, full of gastronomic references, this book will have you traveling as much as thinking about the state of the world and Portugal in particular.
in the store
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Valerio Varese He was born in Turin on August 8, 1959 to Parmesan parents. Graduated in Philosophy from the University of Bologna after a thesis on Kierkegaardbecame a journalist in 1985. He is the author of eleven novels with recurring protagonists, including Fog River Nominated for the prestigious Italian Literature Prize strega as well as in Gold Dagger Award in Great Britain. The investigations of Commissioner Soneri, a lover of good food and fine Parmesan wine, have been translated into eight languages.
This is just the beginning, Commissioner Sonneri It is the eighth book in the Soneri series to be published in France. Let’s say it right away, it is absolutely not necessary to read them in order, even if the interest in reading a series as it is being published is of course to follow the development of the characters. Much of the Italian author’s work excels in the atmospheric noir novel à la Georges Simenonalways with a plot that connects Italy’s past with the present and that brings up crucial social and political debates, involving the moral case of our favorite policeman but also that of an entire country.
This last novel remains a favorite of mine: between lost ideals, disillusionment, and radiant compliance, Soneri’s post-’68 past is a hit. Work after work, Varesi builds a complex character with a tormented soul, which alone symbolizes the moral and political turmoil in our society. We have it all in us from Soneri.
“Taking hope away is like taking breath away.”.
in the store
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How does signing work in Fnac?
An in-store event requires some organization. I was already a fan of Valerio Varesi’s work, so I contacted his publisher because I wanted to welcome him to my store. And what better reward than to receive a writer whom we respect, so that we may converse with him and share this meeting with his clients.
The first step is to agree on a date when the authors will be available: Agullo, the publisher, offered me a joint meeting with Valerio Varesi as well as Miguel Szymanski. The advantage of meeting as a duo is of course the dual opportunity to introduce the writers, who are European and therefore do not often have the opportunity to shoot in France.
The second step is communication: the signature label is produced by Fnac’s communications department. It is then transmitted on social networks by the publisher but also by myself to inform people who are likely to be interested. And of course it is displayed on the shelves to warn our customers as soon as possible. Events are also announced on your shop page: here Percy Village.
The dedication often takes place in the afternoon. The more it is moved, the more likely it is that people will be drawn to it. When it is transmitted by the official Fnac website, as it were, it increases visibility and gives greater effect to the event.
In the shop, of course, you have to create a private area. For my part, I like to prepare in advance a small space that accompanies the poster and introduces some works before the authors come.
On the day of the gift, a larger part of the library is filled by moving furniture often or adjusting the arrangement of products.
And then all you have to do is wait for the event: the authors arrive and greet, the clients arrive, some who have made the trip in particular and others who will pass by by chance.
Whatever the intention, the key in an exchange, whether brief or lively, will always be rewarding.
For the bookseller, the reward is in sharing: privileged moments with authors and publishers whose work we especially value are invaluable and make for beautiful professional and emotional memories.
I hope I managed to make you want to attend my dedication and, on occasion, to meet you there.
