Editions Zoé: identity and editorial line
Since their beginnings as an independent publishing house in 1975, Editions Zoé published strong literary and original voices, which developed personal universes and stories. Based in Switzerland, a small but cosmopolitan country with four official languages, Zoé publish authors from different cultural backgrounds, whether they write directly in French or are translated. Amongst our important authors, Agota Kristof, Nicolas Bouvier, Elisa Shua Dusapin, Bruno Pellegrino. Books published by the publishing house are, of course, available in Switzerland, but also in France, where Zoé is an important player in independent literary publishing.
At Zoé’s, we have been translating foreign literature into French for several years, mainly from German and English. We recently decided to expand our catalogue to find texts that echo our editorial line, regardless of the language of writing. The book of our dreams is a personal writing tone, an original look at the world, an ability to evoke feelings and emotions in a powerful way.
In 2017, we have published into French a Korean classic, Three generations <삼대> by Yom Sang-seop. In August 2021, we will release "Je vais ainsi", the French translation of <계속해보겠습니다> by contemporary author Hwang Jung-eun. In both cases, we have been struck by the rich writing and the unique worlds of each author. After those two projects which gave us a first but promising glance at the Korean literature, we would be glad to learn more about it, hoping to find other great texts to translate and publish into French. Online Publishers Roundtable is an opportunity to learn more about Korean literature.
As a deputy publisher working at Zoé since 2014, I am responsible for administrative, communication and rights. I also work on different translations (including French translation of Hwang Jung-eun’s <계속해보겠습니다>, to be released next August) and oversee imprint Zoé Poche, gathering the main titles of the house in a compact and economical format.
