Agent in Paris

Shelley Power, literary agent, writes to SOAF: ‘I am an English literary agent who happens to work from Paris rather than from London. My details can be found at the end of this message and as you may tell from the Ltd, the agency is an English company, banking in London. I am not a French agent and in fact I make regular trips to London to visit authors and publishers… Anglophone writers who live in France would have the advantage with me of being able to work with someone on the same soil who is also involved in London publishing. I have only a small client list, do all my own reading and am able to offer personal attention. [Prospective authors] should bear in mind that the fact that a project is set in France, does not make me a more likely agent than someone in London since I have to sell to the same British publishers… I am interested in good fiction, literary and commercial, though not science fiction, fantasy and horror, with one exception, vampire chick-lit, a curious sub-genre following in the footsteps of "Buffy"… I am interested in non-fiction, though not academic books - members could ask me in a short email whether their subject is of interest to me. I only deal with adult books. I do not take on poetry or plays or original tv/film scripts.’

Shelley Power Literary Agency Ltd
13, rue du Pré Saint Gervais
75019 Paris, France

shelley.power@wanadoo.fr
Tel: +33 (0)1 42 38 36 49
Fax: +33 (0)1 40 40 70 08

An Author's Christmas

Even for pagans Christmas was a season of lights and of hope. Those of us who have published this last year a blockbuster to great acclaim will have no problem calling out the cymbals, cornets and sackbuts -- a celebration we should all be happy to share. There are others whom we may call the expectant, and for them the message of hope is only too real: a life’s work near completion, a labour of love coming out next year, a research project finally ready for the press, or simply an enchanted poem that’s just waiting to be read. Their glasses of red claret will glow with special warmth on this day. Then there are the rest of us who perhaps published last year, or the previous year, three years or five years ago -- disappointed people for whom today’s band doesn’t quite seem to hit the high note expected. Do they now turn away, hide themselves in an unlit nook, and not really enjoy the music? Well, Christmas was never meant to be blind joy. The original story, don’t forget, is that of a family which finds no place in the inn. But, all the same, it remains a story of hope and of mission.

The basic thought behind SOAF is that authors’ lives are not easy in a world of fast talk and mass media. Working in France carries its peculiar challenges. Because we live abroad we see things that people who stay at home do not. Our books cross frontiers. Our voices, wherever we stand in the publishing cycle at year’s end, add special value to the culture of our time. That is why we all celebrate Christmas today.

French 'Sécu' in English

Last Wednesday my studies of the final painful hours of Oscar Wilde’s life in Paris were interrupted by a telephone call from a lady so cheerful that she could have raised Lazarus from the dead. She was calling from a Paris office of the French Sécu -- the French national health insurance system.

Up until then my quest for a clear, user-friendly explanation of how it all works, presentable to SOAF, had come up against a series of obstacles, not least of which proved to be AGESSA, the health security organisation designed specifically for professional authors in France. To my question as to whether somebody in his association could explain to a nice group of British authors the Man From AGESSA bluntly answered: ‘We don’t give explanations.’ There followed a pregnant silence. Then: ‘Just send your members in to open up their dossiers and we will do what is necessary.’ I was about to ask why they should bother to open those enigmatic, multi-coloured dossiers when a prolonged expiring sound -- like Oscar’s death rattle -- came down the phone line: I had, apparently, not completed this year’s ‘blue form’ correctly. The ‘blue form’ is the thing you fill out each year to reveal the riches earned from your latest bestsellers. Obviously I had caught AGESSA at a sore moment and I turned elsewhere.

The call I got on Wednesday was in response to a letter I had sent to the Department of International Relations at the national headquarters of the Sécurité Sociale, which sits in Paris's Twelfth Arrondissement. I had not expected an answer and was surprised at the wealth of information this lovely person passed on to me. I am now convinced that SOAF’s request last October for a presentation on the Sécu will be realised some time in the New Year -- well, let’s say, around March.

Among the useful bits of information I received are two websites, both available in English, that present in a clear, Cartesian fashion, a history and the Sécu 's general workings -- including organigrams of rather fantastic design. Like Britain’s NHS, the French Sécu is a religious system born out of the aftermath of the Second World War, which excites emotions of varying intensities. But it also offers some very real services. The first site, www.adecri.org , was set up by an association that is specifically designed for foreigners; ADECRI has apparently a full-time time team of experts whom I am quite sure will respond to our requests -- you can of course contact them directly through this site.

The second site, www.protectionsocialefrancaise.org , was also created by ADECRI and it outlines the history of the Sécu, its benefits, its mutuelles and the way it is organised locally. I find it a little weak on authors’ problems. But as a general introduction to the system it would be hard to better. From the site you can download a 55-page booklet, The French Social Protection System. It’s the best piece of literature I have yet come across on the operations of the French Sécu.

Naturally, we will continue in our quest for clear guides on the Sécu. In the meantime, I do encourage you all to consult these two sites. If you have any suggestions or information to share with us, do let us know.

A Christmas Carol

Whether you are one who celebrates in late December a Winter Festival, a Festival of Lights or a genuine Christmas you almost certainly -- as an expat in France -- have a nostalgia for English carolling. What better place to hear those ancient songs than at Saint George’s, just off the Arc de Triomphe on the corner of Avenue Iéna and Rue Auguste Vacquerie. Peter Hicks directs the choir there. A stirring, yet somewhat pensive sound. Not ten minutes walk from the Champs Elysées lies this welcome corner of England. Saint George’s carol service will be held next Sunday, 17 December, at 6.30 pm. Hot wine is served afterwards. I wouldn’t miss the event for anything in the world.

I often, in fact, attend Sunday service at Saint George’s to hear the sermons of the Revs. David Houghton and Bernard Sixtus; the singing of hymns which I learned in childhood; and those soaring harmonies of Peter’s choir. Lunch is usually served afterwards. Many a British author -- young and old -- has sat at that merry table. For more information tap into www.stgeorgesparis.com

The NUJ Wishes You a Merry Christmas

You seek good company, fine jokes and somebody to prop up your glass after midnight? They’re all there in the Paris branch of the National Union of Journalists. Last Friday, 8 December, I attended their Christmas Party at ‘Le Grand Bleu’ by the Bastille and didn’t get home until five (am). Jeff Apter chaired a most businesslike business meeting that addressed itself to the problems that matter. There followed a grand banquet with over sixty talkers at table. Was that a Russian sauce they spread on the mutton chops? Whatever, it made the conversation glow. The surprise came with Jim Pollard's cabaret that followed: an astonishing display of musical talent from the best word-mongers in town -- pop, country and a second Liza Minelli. That’s no exaggeration. Then the drinks and the dreamy chatter. On Friday night I discovered a delightful, sweet, gallant and creative people -- people who are going to help us further the civilised aims of SOAF. Just watch this blog!

And for more on the NUJ in Paris tap into http://www.nujparis.org.uk .

Watch Out! You're Googled!

In the age of Google all authors are much more widely traceable on the web, even if they are hiding out in deepest France. There was a very funny article in the International Herald Tribune about being an author, in this case living in Berlin, and 'Being Googled' in advance by people the author would come into contact with. Worth a read for anyone who posts material on the web about themselves.
The article was titled Paying a Price for Googleability and the full article can be found at http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/04/opinion/edstein.php

Agent's Advice to British Authors in France

Dawn Cooper forwards me the following interesting item :

A few weeks ago I visited Paris to talk to my literary agent. An agent whose family have operated from the same office and with the same vast knowledge of French and worldwide publishing for over one hundred years.

Our conversation covered the Frankfurt Book fair – ‘a great disappointment’ to my agent, who felt that no one there was interested in publishing good, readable books, but only in making money. To his dismay he sees bookshelves full of look-alike plots and bad English. The idea of ‘pile ‘em high and sell ’em cheap’ is not quite there but talent and good writing is not going to be in the ascendancy.

His advice to English writers living in France was that, in his experience, French publishing houses would not publish anything that has not already been published in the writer’s own first language. His advice is to accept that UK publishing houses are not the preserve of gentlemen publishers any longer and if you want your book published here then you have to look, for now, to the small but elite publishers in the USA or university publishing houses who are prepared to take the risk to publish in English first. This may account for the number of foreign writers receiving French literary prizes.

Dawn Cooper

dfpcantab@yahoo.co.uk

Secretary of SOAF

Last week I was in the craggy heights of Lower Normandy, known as La Suisse Normande, to inspect the fortified medieval town of Domfront where there had been a tragic siege back in 1574 -- a subject that I am currently writing about. In the local café I met Richard and Dawn Poupart, who represent all I have come to expect of British authors living in France: you couldn’t find a more British couple in Sussex, yet they are well integrated in the local life that they lead in this part of Normandy, and they are absolutely charming. Dawn is a first-rate literary biographer and we discussed the many editors and publishers we discovered we had in common. Richard, I was pleased to find out, knows a good deal more about computers than I. It was the sort of meeting that we at SOAF encourage.

Richard has very kindly volunteered to act as Secretary at SOAF, an offer which, on behalf of our members, I immediately accepted -- much I must say to my relief. Collating membership lists, maintaining correspondence and keeping our new Blog up to date is quite a task. I imagine we are all grateful for Richard’s help. On occasions he will be contacting you directly.

An updated Networking List should be out to you shortly, thanks to Richard’s aid. We are also actively seeking a qualified speaker who can address our members on the French Sécu, as well as answer your questions. Keep you eyes on this Blog.