Who is the publisher behind “The cleaning lady”, best-seller in bookstore? – L’Express

You should be on Mars for not having heard of The cleaning lady of the American Freida McFadden or Auschwitz’s midwife From the British Anna Stuart, real tsunamis in our bookstores for more than a year. On the other hand, City Éditions, the blessed French publishing house of these two bestsellers, is perhaps less familiar to you, not to mention Frédéric Thibaud, his boss, a legendary discretion.

So much so that when you type its name on the Internet and social networks, you find an administrative and financial director in Orléans, a mechanic cable in Toulouse or a sales manager at Groupama Center-Atlantique, etc. There is a publisher on Facebook, but he lives in … Montreal. “I don’t like to put myself forward,” concedes, smiles, Frédéric Thibaud, who does not belong to any of the edition cenacles and flees the Germanopratin cocktails. More reason to meet this publisher who today everything seems to smile.

Ex-Journalist in RTL

This is how we learn that this 52 -year -old native of Bourges has accumulated diplomas (Higher School of Commerce, Masters in Modern Letters, Strasbourg Journalism School, Masters in Art History), before indulging in journalism, especially in RTL, where he became friends with Christian English. A good pair, which will soon align the works with four hands, including some successes, at First, as Tuesday September 11, 2001 Or Unclassified business. In 2005, torn by the need to be in the fire of the action, Frédéric Thibaud took the plunge, and created City Éditions with his friend. “From my first job, I kept the desire to transmit, simply, content to the greatest number,” he says. Including act. He published non-fiction, then soon to the consumer public and thrillers, created labels, lands of stories, Ideo, Eden (Romance), Korrigan (fantasy), drop the first two, not profitable enough. Arrives 2015. Always so responsive, he published the first novel by Virginie Grimaldi, The first day of the rest of my life – “At the time, there was only contempt for the feel good “then gets her author bitten by a large house, “it’s the terrible game of edition”.

Accelerate. In 2022, he received an email from the Bookouture rights in charge, the English publisher who spotted Freida McFadden – self -published for years – which praises him the merits of The housemaid. “The domestic or psychological thriller having passed from fashion, I opened it without enthusiasm, Mas read it in one go, seduced by its twists and turns, good balance between gloomy and humor, with touches of feminism. I was not the only recipient, I made an offer the next day. Not very high, it was not yet a phenomenon.” Two months later, scalded by “the terrible game of …”, he buys three other titles then all his novels. Meanwhile, he contacted pocket publishers. “I read” wins the bet – Anne Maizeret, the director of foreign literature immediately hung and persuaded her president, Hélène Fiamma without difficulty. It is “I have read”, moreover, who first plays the role of resonance fund. “This is normal, abroad, this type of books are mainly sold in pocket format,” explains Frédéric Thibaud.

“I have never seen this in my life,” said Hélène Fiamma. We published The cleaning lady In October 2023, and sales doubled from month to month from May 2024, there were a million copies; It is that young people and usual non-readers followed the movement. “Training effect, while at City, this first volume had sold 35,000 copies, the third, The cleaning lady sees everythingpublished at the end of 2024, exceeded 150,000, while The shrinkfrom this same McFadden, approaches 110,000 (and that The teacher, Programmed in April will benefit from a first draw of 180,000 copies!). It is true that the revenge of his heroines, a little bizarre and not necessarily touching, on appalling men is most enjoyable.

A publisher who has flair and … luck

Another nugget in the City’s handle, the British Anna Stuart, passionate about the fate of women during the Second World War. Again, there is talk of Flair, “but also luck”, would like to specify Frédéric Thibaud. “When his agent sent me Auschwitz’s midwifeI immediately appreciated this well -written and moving novel taken from a true story. “I read is again from the game, just like the influencers, who, from Instagram to Facebook, ignite for this Historical High Public Novel.

Result, The Auschwitz orphanThird Opus by Anna Stuart which has just been published by City, settles in the best sales – and The midwife… Exceeds 600,000 copies in pocket format. “Frédéric knows how to identify the very good popular literature, underlines Hélène Fiamma, and again, among buyers, number of non-readers and teens.” It’s a safe bet that his ascent does not stop there, Frédéric Thibaud placing “a lot of hope in many titles to come”. We will not know more is that competition lurks, and discretion more than ever.