Barracuda for ever, a "feel good" novel with rights sold to more than ten countries, is targeted at young readers 12 and up, as well as adults. In 2017 a children’s book version of Pascal Ruter's work was published by Didier Jeunesse and an adult version by JC Lattès. 

While the boundaries between children's and adult literature have become increasingly porous in recent years, thanks, in part, to the success of fantasy cross overs, few publishers publish two versions of the same title.

 

Barracuda for ever, the story of Leonardo who accompanies his grandfather, Napoleon during the last years of his life, lends itself well to this experiment "because everyone can understand this book”, explains Michèle Moreau, Director of éditions Didier Jeunesse, who has followed the author since he started. "Pascal Ruter's voice excites me because his stories are profound and light at the same time, and the way he evokes a child's point of view is fine art."

 

Knowing that they don't have much time left together, Leonardo and Napoleon, former boxer, string together the 400 blows at a frenzied pace: a kidnapping, bowling and bouts, abducting a nurse... Always invincible, and never KOed, this is their motto until reality catches up with them, because Napoleon, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, eventually dies. It was a challenge for Michèle Moreau to pitch a children’s book with these themes to the sales teams: "I constantly had to practice a form of self-censorship”. 

 

Hence the idea of publishing a separate adult version.  Karina Hocine, Deputy General Manager at JC Lattès at the time, was up for it. That’s how the book was released with two different covers at Didier Jeunesse and JC Lattès in January 2017. Though sales were slow in France as it was difficult to create a buzz around a children’s book at the beginning of the year, just after Christmas. The rights’ sales took off in Frankfurt, recalls Éva Bredin-Wachter, Director of Foreign Rights at Lattès, and responsible for international rights for both versions. "On the Monday after Frankfurt, we sent pdfs everywhere; on the same day, there was big auction in Germany followed by others in Italy and Spain. We closed seven or eight countries pretty quickly, the buzz was amazing. The other sales were closed the following year and some, such as South Korea, came from Didier Jeunesse contacts as the South Korean publisher had already published the author."

 

The "win-win" proposition for both houses resulted in sales in Germany, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom, Russia, Estonia, Romania, Israel, China, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam. What attracts foreign publishers? "The subject matter and Pascal Ruter’s tone and writing style." says Éva Bredin-Wachter. "This novel is one of the first in the "feel good" genre and Alzheimer's was not often broached in contemporary and commercial literature at the time."

The "English" title Barracuda for ever was telling, but several publishers eventually preferred another: The Last Adventure of Napoleon Sunshine for the English edition and Monsieur Bonheur geht auf Reisen ("Mr. Bonheur goes on a journey") for Droemer Knaur in Germany, where the book has sold very well. "We all had something to gain" conclude Michèle Moreau and Éva Bredin-Wachter, ready to launch another children/adult twin publication if they find a book that lends itself to it.

 

Interview by Katja Petrovic

January 2021