The French graphic novel, The Arab of the Future by Riad Sattouf, took off in France before hitting bestseller lists in the U.K. A memoir of the author's experience growing up in three different countries--one in Europe and two in the Middle East--its publisher believes the title is working thanks to universally strong reviews.
Book title: L'arabe du future / The Arab of the Future (Allary Editions, 2014)
First published in: First published in France in 2014, the graphic memoir chronicles the author's childhood, growing up in France, Syria and Libya during the 1980s and 1990s. The book is the first volume in a five-volume series. Two volumes of the series have been published in France, to date, and the third volume will publish in the country in October.
Format: trade paperback
Author: Riad Sattouf is a columnist for the French magazine, L’Obs.
Acquiring Editor: Guillaume Allary
How it’s Done: The book reached #1 on the French bestseller list shortly after its release, and Volume 2 also reached #1 quickly. To date, 650,000 copies of Volumes 1 and 2 have sold in France. The book, which is published in the U.K. by Two Roads and hit the bestseller list of the London Evening Standard, has sold in 17 foreign rights deals. The U.S. edition, published by Metropolitan Books, won an L.A. Times Book Award for best Graphic Novel.
Why You Think It’s Working: Allary explains that there was no big ad campaign or marketing push for the book, and that its success is thanks to “excellent reviews in every country.” He also said that critics' comparisons to Maus and Persepolis have helped to make the book a hit with readers.
