Who are we ?
Riveneuve, “the indie publisher that tells stories of the world to the French and of the French to the world”, was born in 2001 on the shores of the Mediterranean, more precisely on the Rive-Neuve quay in the old port of Marseille, with the literary review Riveneuve Continents. Our interest was always in foreign horizons, foreign shores, and new frontiers. After moving to Paris in 2007, Riveneuve expanded its publication to the humanities and a literature open to the world.
In 2016, we moved into a larger space at 85 rue de Gergovie in the 14th arrondissement – the Montparnasse district known for the School of Paris (Picasso, Modigliani, Chagall, etc.) and its printers. Riveneuve not only publishes about twenty books a year (circulated and distributed by Interforum and Primento for e-books), it also creates social ties around books, and promotes « living together ». With exhibitions, conferences, debates, musical readings, concerts, writing or calligraphy workshops, a Christmas market, etc., Riveneuve is also a small cultural centre in the heart of Paris’s 14th arrondissement ! In addition, Riveneuve takes part of several Bookfairs and Festivals about books in France and abroad (Egypt, Tunisia, Italy, etc.)
Although we work on the scale of a small press, our moto is thinking globally and acting locally. Mindful of the fact that a significant share of the humanities and French-language literature (that is to say, works in translation or from the multi-faceted French-speaking world) is generated by exile and travel, here at Riveneuve we seek to contribute to the debates that animate French society through the varied prisms of people in Europe, Africa, Asia or the Americas. Riveneuve is attentive to the foreign part that exists in every French citizen, as well as to the French part that exists in every foreign author that we publish. It’s all about telling stories of the world to the French and of the French to the world.
What about our first European project in Sarajevo ?
In June 2023, Riveneuve is publishing the famous comic strip about a Yugoslav hero of the Second World War : “Valter defends Sarajevo” in the framework of the Creative Europe supported project BOSNAEUROPE 2. This project, named : “Civilisations’ Meeting Point – Building the European Identity of the Youth” is coordinated by the indie publisher and bookseller Agarthi Comics of Sarajevo. It is the first step in Agarthi Comics’ long-term plan to offer the youth in Bosnia and Herzegovina more information on Europe and different cultures it encompasses, as well as to present bosnian culture to Europe. The Project consist of translation of 14 works by European (Ukrainian, Swedish, Italian, Spanish, Czech, French, German) authors into Bosnian language, and translation of one work by a Bosnian author, Ahmet Muminovich, into French language. Literature is often considered as a tool that helps different civilizations meet, and the name of the project clearly reflects just that. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a historical meeting point of civilizations. As such, it is truly the heart of Europe, so the title also serves the purpose of reminding the youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina of their European identity. In return, the publication for the first time in French of the comic strip translated by Boba Lizdek with an article of Balkan Specialist Jean-Arnault Dérens allows the French and French-speaking public to discover an important figure in the history of South-Eastern Europe. the book has been presented at festivals and fairs (Balkan book fair in Paris, ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the Courrier des Balkans, etc.) in France and has been officialy presented in a ceremony at War Museum in Sarajevo with the two Bosnian and French publishers, the translator, the author’s widow, officials and media on August 10th, 2023. In 2025, if new BOSNAEUROPE programme is selected, a new comic strip by Muminovic shall be translated into French and in return French comic strip « Rouge Sang » (Red Blood) by Roman Gigou and Benoît de Tréglodé might be translated into Bosnian language at Agarthi Comics publishing house. Wait an see…
Official Book Launch in Sarajevo : https://www.riveneuve.com/valter-a-sarajevo-le-retour/
- Valter : https://www.riveneuve.com/catalogue/valter-defend-sarajevo/
- Agarthi Comics : https://agarthicomics.ba
- Official Book Launch in Sarajevo : https://www.riveneuve.com/valter-a-sarajevo-le-retour/
- Official presentation at Balkan Book Fair in Paris : https://www.riveneuve.com/un-salon-et-un-anniversaire-pour-les-balkans/
Who are our partners ?
We are regularly working with the translation assistance programs of the CNL (National Book Center) in France, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and within the framework of the Creative Europe program of the European Union.
We have also obtained support from the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations for our collection of contemporary Vietnamese literature.
What is our second European project about ?
The project of translation and communication in French about the novel “Male a est” by Italian writer Andreea Simoniel initialy published by Italo Svevo publishing house (Riveneuve’s partner in Rome and Trieste) belong to a wider project : “Women Write The Trip”. “5 novels by 5 women from 5 different countries, each expressing in her more or less minority language in the European zone the imaginations of tomorrow in the field of travel, from exploration to migration, from departure to return, with all the nuances of exile and expatriation”. The global project was originally planned to begin in September 2023 with the translation of the italian novel to be published for the “rentrée littéraire d’hiver” in January 2024. But Riveneuve had to resubmit the application form for next year. The italian title and the 4 others novels from other countries (Tunisia, Serbia, Armenia and Bosnia-Herzegovina) will then be published if selected between January 2025 and January 2026.
The objective is here to carry out in the best conditions the translation and the publication in paper and e-book version of: Male a Est by the Italian novelist of Romanian origin Andreea Simionel for the Winter literary season in January 2025 and to promote it through the appropriate major book fairs such as the Italissimo Festival in Paris (75) and Etonnants Voyageurs in Saint-Malo (35).
This project shall be done in the framework of Creative Europe.
What is the WIR alliance ?
Riveneuve had settled in 2021 an alliance with italian independent publishing house Italo Svevo, founded in Trieste in 2018 after the publisher Alberto Gaffi from Rome bought the catalogue of an oldest house founded in 1966 by the Fenice Bookshop. Together, they already published a mixed book each one in its language and country : Le Hérisson et autre bestiaire / Il Riccio e alter bestiarieta by French writer Roland Cailleux, Italian writer Carlo Alberto Parmeggiani and French illustrator Pascal Colrat in 2022.
The publication of the book gave rise to joint events in Venice (Toletta bookstore) and Trieste as well as in Paris (Beaubourg center bookstore, town hall of the 14th arrondissement) in February and March 2022.
Initially conceived as a German-Italian-French trio – WIR is based on the first letter of the three publishing houses behind the project: Wolff Verlag, Italo Svevo and Riveneuve éditions for a play on the words as “wir” means “we” in german – the Alliance is now looking for a German partner following the defection of the first one.
- italosvevo.it
- https://www.riveneuve.com/lalliance-wir-se-retrouve-au-salon-de-rome/
- https://www.riveneuve.com/alliance-dediteurs-europeens-wir-trois-evenements-a-paris/
- https://www.riveneuve.com/alliance-wir-la-tentation-de-venise/