The First Line

Forthcoming in July 2025.

A sharp, witty send-up of the literary world, set in the world of book publishing—a must-read for anyone who’s ever dreamt of (or dreaded) getting published.

Meet Cyril Cordouan, the beleaguered editor at Fulmen, a distinguished publishing house known for its solid but not particularly popular literary titles. Every day, Cyril faces an avalanche of subpar manuscripts, struggling to find a glimmer of quality amid the piles of drivel. Rejections are a routine part of his job, but the aspiring authors don’t take kindly to having their magnum opuses dismissed. One distraught writer resorts to drinking her multicoloured ink, while another tragically ends his life after his manuscript is declined.

Devastated by this drastic action and disheartened by the never-ending stream of terrible submissions, Cyril decides to create an outlet for these rejected writers. He founds Authors Anonymous, a support group where failed authors can confess their obsessive compulsion to write: ‘My name is XXX, and I have a writing problem’. Can group therapy for the hopelessly hopeful cure Cyril’s woes? Not quite. Between vengeful widows, surprise bestsellers, and a crippling crisis of conscience—plus his own ill-advised foray into writing!—Cyril’s life is a hilarious disaster.

With sharp wit and keen insight, Laclavetine, himself an industry insider, having been an esteemed editor at French publishing house Gallimard, offers a satirical look at the literary world, skewering everyone from pretentious publishers and literary theorists to the desperate scribblers yearning for publication.