Le Livre de Poche
| Company type | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Publishing |
| Founded | February 9, 1953 |
| Founder | Henri Filipacchi |
| Headquarters | France |
| Products | Paperback books |
| Owner | Hachette-Livre (80%), les Éditions Albin Michel (up to 20%) |
| Parent | Librairie générale française (branch of Hachette) |
| Website | www |
Le Livre de Poche ("The Pocket Book") is a series introduced on 9 February 1953 by Henri Filipacchi and published through Librairie générale française, a branch of Hachette. It occupies a prominent role within the French mass-market book sector, paralleling the impact of Penguin and Signet in English-language publishing.
History
Although pocket-sized books had been available since 1905, with Editions Jules Tallandier offering popular novels under the name Livre de poche, the breakthrough for Le Livre de Poche came from merging consumer interest in low-cost books with visually striking covers inspired by movie posters, featuring high-quality literary works.
The concept reportedly originated with Henri Filipacchi after observing an American soldier tear pages from a book to fit it inside his uniform pocket. He successfully persuaded leading publishers such as Albin Michel, Calmann-Lévy, Grasset, and Gallimard to become founding collaborators.
The inaugural publication was Kœnigsmark by Pierre Benoit in 1953, with subsequent releases appearing biweekly. Sales escalated from 8 million copies during 1957-58 to 28 million by 1969. This notable achievement encouraged competitors like J'ai lu from Flammarion (1958), Presses Pocket from Presses de la Cité, and Gallimard’s Folio series (1972). Having distributed nearly one billion copies and selling over 18 million volumes in 2002, Le Livre de Poche continues to be France’s foremost paperback collection.
Some facts
La Librairie générale française, structured as a limited company, has its capital comprised of 80% ownership by Hachette-Livre and up to 20% held by les Éditions Albin Michel.
- Catalogue includes approximately 3,500 titles as of 31 December 2002
- Total of 14,000 titles published since the series began in 1953
- Nearly one billion copies distributed since launch
- Releases around 360 new titles each year
- Approximately 1,000 titles reprinted annually
- More than 18 million copies sold in the year 2002
External links
- Bienvenue au Livre de Poche - Une vie à lire : Littérature générale, Policiers, Thrillers… – official website (in French)