It's a rapprochement that's almost like passing the baton. Here we meet the two men behind the alliance, which aims to make Editions Montsalvens a key player in the publishing industry in French-speaking Switzerland.
At first glance, nothing seemed to bring together the two men behind the alliance between the Montsalvens publishing house and the Chiron Media group, which came into force at the beginning of the year. Romain Chesa, the founder of Chiron Media, is a discreet man who spent part of his career abroad before setting up his own company in the heart of Fribourg three years ago, which has since taken over Academic Press Fribourg, among others. Francis Antoine Niquille, on the other hand, is a well-known figure in the publishing world of French-speaking Switzerland. For the past seven years, he has been the driving force behind the Montsalvens publishing house, which boasts some fifty publications ranging from «local thrillers» to historical essays and crossword puzzles specializing in Helvetian themes.
However, as the two men put it, «it just clicked». Romain Chesa and Francis Antoine Niquille share the same vision of the business. Proximity, short distribution channels, attachment to the terroir: they share the same values to explain why they came together. The alliance with the Chiron Media group is like «a puzzle where everything fits together», says Francis Antoine Niquille.
Do it all in Switzerland from A to Z
Since its creation in 2016, Editions Montsalvens has been promising «books from our region, written by local people». The ambition is to carry out the entire production chain in Switzerland, from typesetting to printing and binding. This approach has been rewarded with a Swiss Made label, which the association intends to continue displaying. In any case, the head of the Chiron Media group pledges to continue along this line, which is «part of the DNA of Editions Montsalvens». He refers to a committed approach to sustainable development, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting the local economy. This is one of the reasons why the Chiron Media group entrusted the management of stock and logistics to the Organisation romande d'insertion et de formation (ORIF), active in the training and integration of people in difficulty or with health problems.
The terms of reference within this new alliance are clearly defined. Creative responsibility will remain in the hands of the current Montsalvens team, while the Chiron Media group will handle operational and financial matters. The stated ambition is «to create the number one book publisher in the canton of Fribourg» and «to become a key group beyond that in French-speaking Switzerland». But, for Francis Antoine Niquille, it is above all a question of ensuring the future of Editions Montsalvens (80,000 copies printed to date) in a publishing sphere whose future is uncertain. «We don't know how the market will evolve. We're moving towards a digitization of society, which didn't exist ten years ago. It's a changing world, and we want to be attentive and, above all, close to people,» stresses the founder of Editions Montsalvens.
Tradition and innovation
This notion of proximity is paramount, and recurs repeatedly in the words of both men. It's the strength of our publishing house," says Francis Antoine Niquille, referring to the presence of our authors at numerous events, fairs and literary gatherings throughout French-speaking Switzerland. Romain Chesa, for his part, stresses the importance of books that speak of what's happening in French-speaking Switzerland, works with which readers can identify. Editions Montsalvens' ambition is to publish at least one writer from each of the French-speaking cantons each year, in order to become even more firmly rooted in the Swiss terroir.
The issue of up-and-coming literary talent is also a top priority for this partnership. At the end of the year, the partnership plans to release the very first book by an 18-year-old author from Fribourg. For Romain Chesa, supporting new writers and bringing them to the attention of the general public is intrinsically linked to the work of a good publisher. He talks of the need to continue what Francis Antoine Niquille has been doing up to now, while at the same time focusing on innovation, in particular through the new writers the publishing house wants to promote. To be continued.
Write to the author: sandrine.rovere@leregardlibre.com
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