In discussions with the French editors and publishers at Les Utopiales, Richard Paul Russo, Greg Keyes, and I learned over a VERY late dinner that the same issues that challenge science fiction publishing in the States are nagging at the genre in France. The biggest difference is that their 7% slice of the market (ours is 7% also in the U.S.) is 7% of a considerably smaller pie. Science fiction and fantasy writers in France don't make a living. Period.
It was the one question we were all asked: "Do you make a living by writing?" Of course, the answer varied for all of us, but I think we could all more or less say yes--some more definitively than others! (See my brave smile when I say that.)
I would have thought, seeing this conference with its thousands of attendees, that the situation was different in France, but no. And in Italy, evidently (this is all anecdotal, except for my tours of several bookstores in Milan) the situation is even tougher.
So what's selling best in France? Not bookstop fantasies, apparently, but space opera! That at least seems to be a slightly different trend than in the U.S.
I felt such a nice connection to all of these people, publishers, editors, and writers alike. We're rowing the same boat. The great thing is, we all like the boat just fine.
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