May 2026

Dear Foundry Friends

So, it’s already May and lovely to have some consistent blue skies and even a bit of warmth in the air. April was a busy and distinctly not cruel for us, but some sobering news from across the Channel made Eliot’s epithet seems more appropriate, as it highlighted the fragility of editorial independence and just how important a role indie presses can play in bringing brave, balanced, unbiased voices to publishing landscape.

Grasset is one of France’s best respected publishers, and one of our personal favourites. It is home to our Ève Guerra and a host of big francophone hitters like Virginie Despentes, Gaël Faye and Laurent Binet. For twenty-six years, it has been steered by Olivier Nora, widely respected for his integrity, editorial flair and willingness to publish works from across the ideological spectrum. Earlier this month, Nora was ousted by Vincent Bolloré, the billionaire owner of the Vivendi group, which owns Hachette, Grasset’s parent company. Known for his far-right agenda, and with the presidential elections only a year away, Bolloré’s decision is being seen as a politically motivated decision. 170 Grasset authors have subsequently written an open letter to Le Monde and have left the house, prompting some soul-searching questions about editorial independence and sending the French book world into shock.

Whilst I’m not suggesting it’s either likely or imminent, it is perfectly possible that something similar could happen here, to any of the imprints that sit under Big Six umbrellas. But it can’t happen to indies like us, which is why, for the sake of openness, boldness, intelligence and diversity on our bookshelves, we are so grateful for your support. If you want to find out more about the Grasset story, this article in the link below in English by our friend Olivia Snaije is well worth a read.

Now, I have a confession to make a pretty terrible one for a publisher of fiction from the Mediterranean.

I’ve never been to Greece.

I know! It’s shocking, but since Foundry began, I’ve been actively looking for Greek books to include on our list. European storytelling sort of began there, and what has happened in Greece over the past fifteen years is worthy of any epic, but for some reason Greek books rarely make it to our shores.

As soon as I heard about Makis Malafekas’ Deepfake, I was intrigued. A noir, set in a rapidly gentrifying Athens of digital nomads and 4x4s; a washed-up, writer’s blocked, man about town investigator, a deep fake blackmail conspiracy by a scary far-right group and a lot of sweltering Greek sunshine. What’s not to like? Just over a year later, Deepfake in Jenny Steel’s fantastic translation came out on 16th April and I’m really pleased that Foundry Editions has finally gone to Greece, even if I still haven’t.

If you like a beautifully written, smart noir à la Lawrence Osborne, if you’re mad about Greece, or are just looking for the perfect summer romp, I really urge you to give Deepfake a go. Later this month, there’ll also a chance to hear Makis talking about the book in the flesh. We’re thrilled that he’s been invited to the European Writers Festival, that’s being held at the British Library on the weekend of 16 -17 May, and if you’re in London and would like to come and hear him, this link below gives you all the information you need.

I had a brilliant night of Anglo-Hispanic dialogue in Birmingham a couple of weeks ago. Our friends at Voce Books did a joint book club with the second city’s Spanish reading group Leyendo en Brum to talk about Esther García Llovet’s Sánchez. Members of the two groups mixed it up to talk about the original, the translation and a whole range of topics, like the difficulties of translating slang, swearing, cities as characters, and lush versus paired-back writing. All of that and then curry afterwards, of course. It was a really inspiring evening, exactly the sort of intelligent, entertaining, enriching cultural exchange that I hoped/dreamt Foundry might be able to bring about and it has been food for thought about potential events we could do in the future.

It feels like we have a lot coming up. I’ve mentioned Makis at the European Writers Festival. Paradiso by Michele Masneri and translated by me lands on May 23rd. After Athens, this latest book is a trip to Rome for what has been described as a Fellini film colliding with The White Lotus, where “satire, drama and lush scenery mask a core of darkness” (Bookblast). You can preorder it on the website and Michele is going to be visiting the UK in the second week of June. In collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Edinburgh, he’ll be doing an event in Toppings Edinburgh on 9 June. He’ll be at the Italian Cultural Institute in London on 10 June and at Borderless Books in Stroud on 11 June. Further details for all of these events are in the links.

On May 26th, the Queen Mary Catalan Book Club will be discussing Killing the Nerve with Anna Pazos. If the event she did in March at Veranda Books is anything to go by, this will be a great night. It’s an online event and you can book your place by clicking the button below.

Beyond our books, the arrival of the Zurbarán exhibition at the National Gallery is a real Mediterranean thrill. Many moons ago, I did an MA in Art History and concentrated on seventeenth century Spanish paintings and I was always mad about this most peculiar but most moving of Spanish Golden Age artist. It’s the largest collection of his works every brought here and I can’t wait to go and wonder at them all.

Hoping the sun shines and the skies stay blue, I’ll be back with more in June.

Τα λεμε

Richard Village, Editor