Éditions Rencontre (Meeting Editions) was a
left wing publishing house
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
in
Francophone Switzerland founded in
Lausanne
, neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
in 1950. In 1970 they sold 6 million books globally to the Francophone world.
Éditions Rencontre was founded as a
co-operative society
A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomy, autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratical ...
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 emphasi ...
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 sal ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...
.
The six founding members were:
*
Henri Debluë
*
Yves Velan
Yves Velan, (29 August 1925 in Saint-Quentin, Aisne – 6 May 2017) was a Swiss writer from Bassins.
Biography
He studied literature at Lausanne, where he joined the Society of Belles Lettres, and worked two years as a reader at the University ...
*
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