Death of Pierre Lespérance: The death of a pioneer of Quebec publishing

Pierre Lesperance, one of the pioneers of Quebec publishing, died Monday at the age of 84.

Mr. Lesperance suffered from a very serious blood disease. He received medical assistance when he died on Monday afternoon at the Saint-Jérôme regional hospital.

His wife of 38 years, Danielle, and his son, Francis, accompanied him to the end.

Beginnings and Successes

In 1967, when he was not even 30 years old, he was president of Editions de l’Homme and other companies owned by his late father. It unites them under the Sogides brand, which over the years has become the spearhead of a large company in the book industry that shines in Canada, France, Belgium and Switzerland.

From 1964 to 1969, book sales increased by 60%.

Quebecers receive titles such as “A simple soldier” by Marcel Dubay, “Le guide de l’auto” by Jacques Duval or “A season in the life of Emmanuel” by Marie-Claire Blais.

For 50 years, Mr. Lesperance was the head of this company.

Nayagan editions have also paid tribute to him, Tuesday morning.

The publishing house wrote on Twitter: “De l’Homme is the largest French-language publishing house in North America, making a significant contribution to spreading the taste for reading in Quebec.

Make the book accessible to all Quebecers

In 1999, France named him Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters.

A year ago, he received the Fleury-Mesplet Prize at the Montreal Book Fair, which recognizes someone who has contributed to the progress, innovation and influence of books and publishing in Quebec.

In an interview given to the bimonthly “Les libraires” in 2008, Pierre Lespérance declared: “Who would have developed a passion for reading in Quebec without Éditions de l’Homme? If we had not extended our distribution to the entire region, the book would have been a luxury product, accessible only to the elite. Thank you.” , people in Gaspé managed to buy a book from Éditions de l’Homme in a tobacco shop.

Pierre Lespérance bought his first bookstore in 1961, the Ducharme bookstore in Old Montreal. He later opened other branches and bought Corneo bookstores. Later, its bookstores will be grouped under the Renaud-Bray banner.

In 2005, Pierre Lesperance sold Soquites to Quebecor.

After the transaction, he was named head of Quebecor Media’s book division, which includes a dozen publishing houses. Eight years later, he retired.