Éditions Rencontre (Meeting Editions) was a
left wing publishing house
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
in
Francophone
The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
founded in
Lausanne
Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...
in 1950. In 1970 they sold 6 million books globally to the Francophone world.
Éditions Rencontre was founded as a
co-operative society on 16 June 1950.
It was founded with the aim of establishing ''La revue Rencontre'', a
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community.
An emphasis ...
magazine despite the founders having no experience in the publishing world. However it became one of the most important
book clubs
Book club may refer to:
* Book discussion club, a group of people who meet to discuss a book or books that they have read
** Literature circle, a group of students who meet in a classroom to discuss a book or books that they have read
* Book sale ...
in
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
The six founding members were:
*
Henri Debluë
*
Yves Velan
*
Jean-Pierre Schlunegger
*
Michel Dentan
* Georges Wagen
* Jean Messner
However, they soon involved
Pierre Balthasar de Muralt, who soon became the principal person running the company, particularly after the review and the publishing house split.
In 1953 they started producing the "Great Novels" series, under the direction of
Louis Guilloux.
By 1968 the company employed 550 people in Lausanne.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Editions Rencontre
Swiss literature
Co-operatives in Switzerland
Publishing cooperatives