https://doi.org/10.1177/0957155819844155 French Cultural Studies French Cultural Studies 2019, Vol. 30(2) 105–120 © The Author(s) 2019 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0957155819844155 journals.sagepub.com/home/frc The writing profession in France: Between symbolic and professional recognition Gisèle Sapiro CNRS/EHESS/Université Paris1 – Panthéon-Sorbonne Abstract This article examines current transformations of the writing profession in France. Based on qualitative research (interviews with writers and their representatives, as well as organisers of literary events) and on a national survey conducted in 2016 by the Centre national du livre, it emphasises the tension between symbolic and professional recognition at different moments of a writer’s ‘career’. In a country where literary agents are only now starting to organise, and where creative writing courses are not as well established as elsewhere, publishers still play the key role of ‘gatekeepers’ into the literary field. The relationship with the publisher is thus crucial and is based on elective affinities. Yet, once published, an author still needs to be distinguished and recognised. Apart from the traditional literary prizes, which give symbolic and professional recognition, literary events (festivals, public readings) and residencies offer new career opportunities. These related activities, or ‘activités connexes’ have significantly increased in number: the article focuses especially on analysing how they now fit into and structure the literary careers of authors, as well as how authors themselves perceive them. Keywords literature festivals, literary performance, mediation, publishing, sociology of literature, symbolic recognition, writing profession The creative professions constitute a challenge for the sociology of professions, as they do not fulfil the most typical conditions of training, certification, professional organisation, profes- sional ethics or jurisdiction (Freidson, 1986). The writing profession offers an extreme example of this challenge since no training and no diploma is required in order to become a writer, and this occupation is neither governed by a code of professional ethics, nor protected by any juris- diction (Sapiro, 2007). Moreover, attempts at organising writers as professionals have met with Corresponding author: Gisèle Sapiro, Centre européen de sociologie et de science politique (CNRS/EHESS/Université Paris1-Panthéon- Sorbonne), 54 Boulevard Raspail. 75006 Paris, France. Email: sapiro@ehess.fr 844155FRC 0 0 10.1177/0957155819844155French Cultural StudiesSapiro research-article 2019