Éditions Rencontre
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Éditions Rencontre (Meeting Editions) was a left wing publishing house in Francophone Switzerland founded in Lausanne in 1950. In 1970 they sold 6 million books globally to the Francophone world.[1]
Éditions Rencontre was founded as a co-operative society on 16 June 1950.[2] It was founded with the aim of establishing La revue Rencontre, a youth culture magazine despite the founders having no experience in the publishing world. However it became one of the most important book clubs in Europe.[2] The six founding members were:[2][3]
- Henri Debluë
- Yves Velan
- Jean-Pierre Schlunegger
- Michel Dentan
- Georges Wagen
- Jean Messner
However, they soon involved Pierre Balthasar de Muralt, who soon became the principal person running the company, particularly after the review and the publishing house split.[2]
In 1953 they started producing the "Great Novels" series, under the direction of Louis Guilloux.[2]
By 1968 the company employed 550 people in Lausanne.[3]