On 10 September 2019, SOFIA (Societé Française des Intérêts des Authors de l’écrit) celebrated its 20th anniversary. Founded in 1999 by the Société des Gens de Lettres and the Syndicat National de l’Edition, SOFIA has become a key player in the collective management of the book market. Approved by the French Ministry of Culture to establish the public lending right in France, the society has since 2007 collected and distributed remunerations in equal shares to authors and publishers of books purchased by libraries in France. About 20% of this amount is allocated to support authors’ supplementary pensions. More than 10,000 authors and 500 publishers are now members of SOFIA.
It receives more than €16 million of remuneration for private digital copying. Each year, SOFIA devotes 25% of this remuneration amount to support cultural action events (around 400 projects per year). Since 2012 it has also managed the digital licenses of out-of-commerce French books published in the 20th century.
To celebrate two decades of service to the authors of books, SOFIA organised a day of meetings and exchanges to pay tribute to its many missions. During this day, over 300 people, including authors, publishers, booksellers, librarians and cultural project leaders, met in Paris to celebrate at the Hôtel de Massa, at La Maison de la Poésie and in the evening, at the Musée des Arts Forains.