About us

Éditions J. is a small but bold independent publishing house founded in March 2021.

Éditions J. wishes to offer Swedish readers the best of French literature. You might object that »the best« is not the same for everyone, and you are right. Literature is also a matter of taste. Discussions that unavoidably arise in one’s local book club with friends or reading a bad review of a book you love make that very clear.

I am going to scan the French book market and carefully hand pick books that I love; novels that move me, disturb me and give me no rest. I plan to publish 5–10 books per year, maybe less but probably not more, as I want to be able to give all my energy and attention to every one of them, be able to wait for the best translators to be available and let them work without pressure. You will find mostly novels on my list, but even a few non-fiction books or thrillers. And if I happen to trip over a bok in another language than French that I just have to publish, then I will indulge myself that pleasure.

My goal is to reach enough readers that come to appreciate my list so much that they long and look for the next book; to make booksellers become confident in my books holding a high standard and selling. Ambitious? Yes. Difficult? Absolutely. Impossible? There is no such thing, is there? Fun? Definitely!

Who am I? I was born in May 1968 in Paris, of a French father and a Swedish mother. After graduating law school at the age of 25, I moved to Sweden for love’s sake, and I have never regretted it. I have spent the last 25 years working as a literary agent at Norstedt’s first, then at Bonnier’s and finally as a partner of Hedlund Agency. Literature is my passion, it gives me pleasure, knowledge and comfort, it creates bounds to the world and to people, it fills me with the essential feeling of belonging. I have written down every book I have read since I was 11 year’s old, and it has become quite a few. I never grow tired of reading, which I am so grateful for.

Under the heading »Nyheter«, you will find both foreign and Swedish reviews, as well as a mix of this and that. It might be a recommendation of books published elsewhere that I have really enjoyed, or some interesting news from France. Pourquoi pas? Je fais c’que j’veux!

Johanna Kinch
Head of publishing, Éditions J.