Stephen Robson, now-sole publisher of Fanfare/Ponent Mon has requested customers not to order books from their official website due to access issues. In May Robson’s publishing partner Amiram Reuveni of Ponent Mon passed away, age 72, and with his passing went access to the backend of the Fanfare/Ponent Mon online store. Robson has requested those with an email receipt and unfulfilled orders from the website since April 26, 2023 should get in touch. In the meantime fans will need to order books via third party retailers.
In an email today Robson said:
“My publishing partner of 20 years, trading partner for a decade prior to that, great friend and near brother, Amiram Reuveni sadly died in May after a two year battle with cancer. He wasn’t meant to according to his medical advice. I did manage to make a public statement on my traditional flier for San Diego Comic Con but I baulked when it came to writing to you, our readers. For that I apologize.”
He then explains the situation:
“Like many people running a small business, Ami (like me) kept much of the information in his head and one of the things that went with him was access to our web site. I can neither alter nor add to the Ponent Mon site. Worse, I cannot see if someone has ordered and paid for a book from there nor access their payments. So…
“DO NOT ORDER A BOOK FROM OUR WEB SITE! I am working on a new site for next year in case the current one remains a closed book to me. Meanwhile you can order the vast majority of our titles from wherever good books are sold, or visit SPX in Bethesda, MD next month if you can and check out the Fanfare table.”
Despite the loss of half of the publishing team, Robson has vowed to press on – with a new Kan Takahama title translated and planned for a late Spring 2024 release, and a new Fanfare Presents title for May 2024 (Pieter de Poortere‘s Dickie: Natural Born Loser). He also plans a number of meetings with literary agents at October’s Frankfurt Book Fair to “start to populate the mid to late 2024 schedule and beyond with your favourite creators’ work”.
Fanfare/Ponent Mon was formed in 2003 as a publishing partnership between Stephen Robson of Fanfare and Amiram Reuveni of Ponent Mon with the express aim to highlight exciting work from the French and Japanese alternative comics scenes to Spanish and English audiences. Ostensibly a two-man band, Fanfare/Ponent Mon are best known for bringing the work of mangaka Jiro Taniguchi to the attention of English-language audiences including Summit of the Gods, A Distant Neighbourhood, The Walking Man, and A Journal of My Father. The publisher has received a heap of Eisner and Ignatz award nominations for its work.
