Éditions d'en bas

Éditions d'en bas is a Swiss independent publishing house based in Lausanne, founded in 1976 by Michel Glardon with the support of others including Gilbert Musy. The name means "Editions from Below," reflecting its mission to give voice to those who are not heard—the marginalized, the excluded, and the "hidden face of Switzerland." The publisher emerged from the socially turbulent 1970s, a time of unemployment, strikes, anti-nuclear protests, and prison reform movements. Michel Glardon, who had served as tuteur général in the canton of Vaud from 1970 to 1973 and was involved in the Groupe Action Prison (GAP) in Geneva, wanted to collect testimonies from "people who can barely write, but know better than many others what they think." Initially an association of friends operating largely on volunteer work, the house published 70 books in its first decade, including the 1982 bestseller Moi, Adeline, accoucheuse, the memoir of a Valais midwife, which sold 30,000 copies. In 2001, Michel Glardon passed the torch to Jean Richard, who had worked in bookshops and at Éditions Zoé. Under Richard, the catalogue diversified to include local history, bilingual poetry translating texts from other linguistic regions of Switzerland (Pedro Lenz, Ernst Burren, Ariane von Graffenried, Guy Krneta, Arno Camenisch, Lou Lepori) and from immigrant writers (Ilma Rakusa, Irena Brežná). By 2016, the catalogue numbered some 350 titles, with about 15 books published per year. The house is a signatory of the "Declaration of Independent Publishers" and is part of the informal network of French-Swiss publishers "Le Cran littéraire." It co-edits some works with the group Ethno-Doc in the collection Ethno-Poche and has published the review Hétérographe. The Association pour l'étude du mouvement ouvrier (AEHMO) is another partner. The publisher remains economically fragile but committed to its mission of critical, pluralistic publishing.

Éditions d'en bas was founded in 1976 by Michel Glardon (1943–2003) in the socially turbulent context of 1970s Switzerland. Glardon, who had been tuteur général in the canton of Vaud from 1970 to 1973 and was active in the Groupe Action Prison (GAP) in Geneva, observed that there was a lack of books recounting the lives of the excluded. He created the publishing house "to give voice to the small, the obscure—those from below, this hidden face of reality that must be brought to social consciousness." He wanted to collect testimonies from "people who can barely write, but know better than many others what they think" (1981). Initially an association of friends operating largely on volunteer work, the committee included Marie-Ange Wicki, Claire Gagné, Margrit Patrocle, and Pierre Chessex, with translators Gilbert Musy and Ursula Gaillard. This lightweight structure published 70 books in its first ten years, including the 1982 memoir of Valais midwife Adeline Favre, Moi, Adeline, accoucheuse, which sold 30,000 copies. This success allowed the publisher to become more financially comfortable and to pay its collaborators. During the demonstrations in support of Walter Stürm, a prisoner and Swiss-German escape artist, Michel Glardon was incarcerated and GAP and Éditions d'En Bas materials were seized by police; the publisher protested the sequestration of its subscribers' file. In 2001, Michel Glardon passed the torch to Jean Richard, then 48, a literature graduate who had worked in bookshops and for a long time at Éditions Zoé. Under Richard, the production diversified, with a collection on local history and a bilingual poetry collection translating texts from other linguistic regions of Switzerland (Pedro Lenz, Ernst Burren, Ariane von Graffenried, Guy Krneta, Arno Camenisch, Lou Lepori) and from immigrant writers (Ilma Rakusa, Irena Brežná). Jean Richard worked with Pascal Cottin and Antonin Gagné, supported by a group of close associates. In 2011, Swiss Trading SA (co-published with the Déclaration de Berne), on commodity trading, reached 5,000 copies sold. By 2016, the catalogue numbered some 350 titles, and the publisher released about 15 books per year. Jean Richard remarked that "it is a magnificent, exciting profession, but with great economic fragility and permanent worry." The house is a signatory of the "Declaration of Independent Publishers" initiated in November 2005 at the Guadalajara International Book Fair (400 publishing houses were members of the International Alliance of Independent Publishers in 2016). Some works are co-published with the group Ethno-Doc (founded in 2000) in the Ethno-Poche collection. Éditions d'en bas published the review Hétérographe, revue des homolittératures ou pas (Lausanne, 2009/2013). The Association pour l'étude du mouvement ouvrier (AEHMO) is another partner. The publisher is part of the informal network of French-Swiss publishers "Le Cran littéraire."

• 2016

  Catalogue reaches about 350 titles; publishes about 15 books per year.

• 2011

  Swiss Trading SA reaches 5,000 copies sold.

• 2005

  Signatory of the Declaration of Independent Publishers.

• 2001

  Jean Richard takes over as director.

• 1982

  Publication of Moi, Adeline, accoucheuse, which sold 30,000 copies.

• 1976

  Founded by Michel Glardon with support from others including Gilbert Musy.

Independent, committed publishing house focusing on social critique, marginalized voices, and translated literature.

• Moi, Adeline, accoucheuse

  Memoir of a Valais midwife, published in 1982, sold 30,000 copies.

• Swiss Trading SA

  Book on commodity trading, co-published with Déclaration de Berne, reached 5,000 copies sold in 2011.

• Almanach des calendes : 40 ans d'édition engagée

  Published in 2016, 159 p., ISBN 978-2-8290-0533-6.

• Luttes au pied de la lettre : 1976-2006

  Published in 2006, 224 p., ISBN 2-8290-0328-4.

1. 1les éditions d'en basenbas.net
2. 2Brigitte Studer, François Vallotton. Histoire sociale et mouvement ouvrier/Sozialgeschichte und Arbeiterbewegung, 1848-1998 (1997)enbas.net
3. 3À Proposenbas.net
4. 4Ernst Burren. Feu d'artifice. Histoires à voix hautes (2017)enbas.net
5. 5Editions d'En-Baswikidata.org
6. 6Éditions d'en basfr.wikipedia.org