The news comes after Nora was ousted on April 14 by parent company Hachette in a move that sent shockwaves through the French publishing world.

By Andrew Richard Albanese, Editor-in-Chief

Just months after being forced out of his longtime role at Hachette subsidiary Éditions Grasset, Olivier Nora has teamed up with France’s second largest publisher, Editis, to launch his own publishing house. According to Livres Hebdo, which broke the news this week, the new venture will be called Olivier Nora Editions, and will function as an independent imprint within Editis.

In a statement shared by Livre Hebdo, Nora’s new venture was described as “general-interest and independent,” and will look to publish 30-50 titles a year, both fiction and nonfiction, beginning in 2027. Sales, distribution, and other key support will handled through an agreement with Editis subsidiary Interforum. In the interim, Livres Hebdo reports that Olivier Nora Editions will publish two titles in October, in a co-publishing arrangement with Editis subsidiary Plon—Mémoires provisoires by Bernard-Henri Lévy; and Sermons sous les décombres by Delphine Horvilleur. Future titles will then be published under the new imprint.

As Publishing Perspectives reported, the news comes after the 66 year-old Nora was ousted on April 14 by parent company, Hachette, which in turn is controlled by the Vivendi Group, owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, known for his far right political agenda. Nora’s departure sent shockwaves through the French publishing world, with some 130 authors published by Grasset—including Virginie Despentes, Vanessa Springora, Sorj Chalandon, and Gaël Faye—signing a letter published in Le Monde and Agence France Presse in support of Nora, and stating that they would leave Grasset.

“We have been published by Olivier Nora for 26 years,” the letter stated. “Grasset was our home, a unique place where authors who rarely agreed on much coexisted peacefully. Olivier Nora was both our shield and our glue, thanks to his integrity, accessibility, and commitment.”

Nora’s ouster followed the departures of long serving Hachette CEO Arnaud Nourry in 2021, and Sophie de Closets, who left Fayard in 2022, both reportedly leaving over disagreements with Bolloré’s strategy.

“This profession is an act of faith in the long term,” Nora said, in a statement, according to Livres Hebdo. “After 26 years at the helm of Grasset, I am happy to be creating—with enthusiasm and humility—a new independent publishing house,” which he said would be “selective and uncompromising in its standards.”