En Exergue
At En Exergue, our passion for sports literature (fiction and nonfiction)has often been disappointed for lack of material. And more often than not, we have been forced to look to our neighbors in Europe (Germany, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain), where there is no such scarcity of high-quality sports books. This is how our publishing adventure began, with a commitment to giving voice to the many talents in France who have entered the sports literature field at one time or another. We aim to be their publisher of choice, with an eclectic portfolio encompassing all things sports, catered to the interests of general readers, booksellers, and sports aficionados alike. At En Exergue, our mission is simple: to explore the myriad connections between sports and society through the lens of great literature.
Committed to ensuring that each author’s voice resonates in the final publication, we publish a dozen books a year, nurturing emerging authors and celebrating established voices. Our catalog includes literary works from across the genre, including narrative nonfiction and fiction, coffee-table books, and comic books…
An ever-growing list reflecting our commitment to publishing a diverse range of sports books to captivate and inspire readers, to creating, in short, the perfect platform for showcasing sports-themed literature.
The Founder
José Carlin Pérez started a career as a sports journalist after studying publishing in university. He has written for various press outlets, including L’Equipe, since 2004, and has worked as a sports consultant for international governing bodies like FIFA and UEFA.
His passion for sports began as a child when he spent long hours playing football among – giant paper rolls in a printing shop! The smell of ink, the clamor of the machines, and the spirit of solidarity at the workplace of his Spanish grandfather, who had immigrated to France in the 1960s, made an indelible impression on him. And no doubt influenced his subsequent career path. After earning an undergraduate degree at the prestigious journalism school, the École CFJ in Paris, he worked as a journalist before continuing his studies at Sorbonne Paris North University in Villetaneuse, where he obtained a graduate degree in publishing (DESS).
After an initial stint at Denoël, where he took his first steps in publishing, he joined Calmann-Lévy publishing, which boasts a 50-year history of producing high-quality sports literature. There, he chose to focus his publishing efforts on more thought-provoking literary publications, working with authors like François Bégaudeau, Maylis de Kerangal, Joy Sorman, Arno Bertina, Mathieu Larnaudie, Xavier Tresvaux, Xavier de La Porte, as well as the cartoonist, Francois Bouzard and the journalist, Franck Annese. He subsequently worked for Solar, Robert Laffont, and Michel Lafon publishers, before branching out on his own to found En Exergue Publishing.
