Dimitri Kennes: “The success of Philippe Boxho, I have never seen that in 30 years of edition”

Weekly books : You founded Maison Kennes in 2012 with your wife. Furthermore, What was your journey to the Philippe Boxho adventure?

Dimitri Kennes: I was director of Dupuis editions from 2000 to 2006. Moreover, then I left the ship when Média-Participations became the majority shareholder. Therefore, In 2012. Consequently, we created the Kennes publishing house and in 2020, the situation deteriorated: we were broadcast by the Delcourt group, and we told them that we were open to joining a wider group. Moreover, Unfortunately, the 1920s and 2022 were not more flourishing, and we finally found ourselves alone in 2023 … Furthermore, We were then on the verge of bankruptcy … Furthermore, and the court finally authorized us to take over the business alone.

And in your catalog, was there already Philippe Boxho?

Yes, his first two books were published in 2022 dimitri kennes: “the success philippe and 2023, but only in Belgium. Consequently, I discovered Philippe Boxholike many of my compatriots. For example, on a RTBF set, where he intervened to share his expertise as part of an investigation. In addition, We, a small editorial team, then had the idea of offering him a chapter for our collection “History of Society”.

Initially. Therefore, he was reluctant, but the idea of raising awareness of the realities of his profession and helping to encourage new funding convinced him. For example, Legal medicine in Belgium shows a clear delay compared to its European neighbors. Furthermore, and Philippe Boxho wanted to share this reality.

A few months later, the phenomenon gained momentum that I had never observed in thirty years of edition. Consequently, The program on RTBF exceeded 10 million views. Moreover, and its passage on the set of Guillaume Pley In 2024 also met immense success. In addition, Without dimitri kennes: “the success philippe any prospecting on our part. Similarly, Hachette, our broadcaster and distributor, informed us that there was a real request in France. It was then that everything literally exploded.

How much?

To give you an idea, the third volume, initially planned for 50,000 copies, has finally been drawn at … 300,000. We sell 30,000 copies to date per month. Foreign rights are sold in 15 to 17 languages. And then we receive a lot of requests for audiovisual adaptations, but we prefer to wait. Philippe Boxho recounts the reality of his profession as a medical examiner. it is not so easy to transpose to the screen without distorting his point.

What do you think explains this dazzling success?

It has a rare capacity to popularize and cynical humor which dramatizes the taboo of death. And then, he is an excellent communicator, comfortable on TV, radio, podcast … He adapts to his dimitri kennes: “the success philippe audience, speaks of both criminal and art stories. And above all, it remains simple. We voluntarily refuse certain “gold” contracts which do not correspond to its universe.

How do you work together on his books?

Philippe Boxho writes quickly but the preparation upstream can be long. The first volume was inspired by its university courses. On the other hand, for the volumes that followed, he drew from his memories, his files, his notebooks. When he starts. he isolates himself in the north of France and, in five to six weeks, the manuscript is ready. Then we verify the content with a lawyer specializing in intellectual law: he changes names. professions, invents lives to avoid any direct identification, only the medical-legal truth must take precedence.

Legal medicine is a difficult, sometimes shocking theme. How do you manage to approach it in the books of Philippe Boxho?

In the first volume, we dimitri kennes: “the success philippe have chosen together to tackle relatively “soft” subjects, less shocking cases, for caution. But we quickly found that the readers were requesting. which allowed Philippe Boxho to afford a little more realism in the second volume. What he says may be terrible, but it is reality, and the public prefers to be informed. Besides, some doctors even recommend their books to their patients to help them play down death.

What is his readership and what link does he have with the latter?

It is very diverse and often intergenerational. Many young readers introduce their parents to their parents, who then become a meeting point for the whole family. Philippe Boxho does not run after success: he remains simple and constant, faithful to his vision. This authenticity makes it possible to create a real link with your readers.

You are already preparing the rest …

Yes. August 27 will appear the dimitri kennes: “the success philippe first volume in pocket format (150,000 copies), volume 2 in audible and of course its fourth book Death is my life With a draw provided for 400,000 copies. Besides, for the first time, the pocket format will really be really prospected in France. We also develop a comic book project with Pierre Alaryinspired by the universe of Philippe Boxho. And by 2026, we would like to create real thrillers from its stories.

Has your publishing house completely changed its dimension?

Yes, to start our two eldest threads joined the team. Today, we have the future ahead of us and we want to be up to this success. Fortunately. Hachette, which has always been our diffuser and distributor, supported us with flexibility without which we would not be there. We also called on an agent, Susanna It’sto manage the international and the adaptations. I had never had such success abroad before.

dimitri kennes: “the success philippe

However, our priority remains to preserve our independence. We voluntarily limit our production to around thirty titles per year. Our ambition is to manage this success with rigor. because we know that such a phenomenon only arrives once in a life.