Nonfiction.fr

What Nonfiction.fr does

Nonfiction.fr is a French non-profit participatory media platform and scientific review operating under the legal name "NON FICTION (association loi 1901)," headquartered in Nantes, France. Founded on October 1, 2007, it publishes daily essays, critical book reviews, in-depth interviews, podcasts, and videos covering humanities and social sciences, organized thematically across Cité, Espace, Temps, Esprit, Lettres, and Arts. Content is produced by a network of contributing researchers, academics, and journalists, with formal academic partnerships at Université d'Angers, Université de Nantes, and Le Mans Université (including the TEMOS laboratory and Dicopolhis project). The editorial coordination is led by Benjamin Caraco and Pierre-Henri Ortiz as coordinators of the rédaction, with section coordinators Damien Augias (politics) and Jean Bastien (economics).

The platform runs on a standard web-based content management and publishing architecture, with content distributed free of charge through the nonfiction.fr website, Facebook, Twitter/X, RSS feeds, and email newsletters. Sub-products include "La Piqûre de rappel" (a health-history podcast distributed on Podcastics), the "Vidéothèque" video library, "Grands entretiens" author interviews, thematic "Dossiers," and the "Podcastothèque" curated partner podcasts. The site holds ISSN 1760-5814, INPI 07-3513622, and CNIL 1246190 registrations, and has published continuously for over 17 years.

Nonfiction.fr is funded entirely by reader donations; the organization states that 250 donations of €40 would cover annual operating expenses, and as a recognized organization of general interest, donations are tax-deductible at 66%. There is no subscription model, no advertising, and no commercial customers — the platform's customers are French-speaking intellectual readers, researchers, students, and educators, served as a free public good rather than a commercial product.

Name

Nonfiction.fr

Legal name

NON FICTION (association loi 1901)

Website

https://nonfiction.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Nonfiction.fr is a French non-profit participatory media platform (association loi 1901) founded in 2007, publishing daily essays, book reviews, interviews, and podcasts on humanities and social sciences for French-speaking researchers, students, and intellectual readers, funded entirely by reader donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online literary and intellectual magazine

NAICS

Periodical Publishers (51312), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Interdisciplinary & Multidisciplinary Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Scientific book reviews
• Intellectual media platform
• Humanities research coverage
• Academic essay journalism
• Participatory book criticism

Headquarters

HQ city

Nantes

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Reader Donations: Nonfiction relies on reader donations as the primary source of funding. The organization states that 250 donations of 40 euros would be sufficient to cover annual operating expenses. Being recognized as an organization of general interest (intérêt général), donations are tax-deductible at 66%.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Nonfiction.fr is a participatory media and scientific review platform that publishes daily coverage of research and ideas across humanities and social sciences. It offers essays, critical book reviews, major interviews (grands entretiens), thematic dossiers, a podcast series (La Piqûre de rappel), and a video library (Vidéothèque), all freely accessible to readers. The platform is produced by a collective of researchers, journalists, and academic contributors and is funded exclusively by reader donations.

Product overview

Nonfiction.fr is a participatory media and scientific review platform operating as a unified website offering multiple content formats including articles, essays, book reviews, major interviews (grands entretiens), thematic dossiers, a podcast series (La Piqûre de rappel), and a video library (Vidéothèque). The platform covers diverse thematic areas including literature, philosophy, history, arts, politics, society, and sciences, with content organized under categories such as Cité, Espace, Temps, Esprit, Lettres, and Arts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• La Piqûre de rappel: Podcast series addressing major questions about the body and health from a historical perspective, linked to the DicopolHis project (Dictionnaire Politique d'Histoire de la Santé).

Products and services

• Nonfiction.fr (website) A participatory media and scientific review website offering daily coverage of research and ideas through essays, book reviews, interviews, podcasts, and videos covering literature, philosophy, history, arts, politics, and society. Targeted at intellectually curious readers, researchers, academics, and students.
• La Piqûre de rappel (podcast) A podcast series exploring historical perspectives on health, medicine, and the body through interviews with historians and archival sound recordings, produced in partnership with the Dicopolhis project (Dictionnaire Politique d'Histoire de la Santé) and TEMOS laboratory.
• Vidéothèque A curated video selection featuring author interviews and book presentations, including content from partners such as Librairie Mollat.
• Essais (Essays) Essays and critical chronicles published on the platform covering arts and literature, including contributions from authors, researchers, and critics.
• Grands entretiens (Major interviews) Major in-depth interviews with authors and researchers discussing their works, covering books, ideas, and intellectual debates across humanities and social sciences.
• Dossiers (Thematic dossiers) Thematic dossiers compiling articles on specific topics for deeper exploration of subjects across humanities and social sciences.
• Podcastothèque A curated selection of partner podcasts featured on the platform, covering topics in history, society, and intellectual life.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Université d'AngerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Université d'Angers, collaborating on research coverage and content related to humanities and social sciences.
• Université de Nantes - UFR HistoirecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with the History department of Université de Nantes for historical content and research coverage.
• Le Mans UniversitécoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Le Mans Université, including collaboration with the TEMOS laboratory and the Dicopolhis project (Dictionnaire Politique d'Histoire de la Santé) for health history content.
• Slate.frminorGTM or Marketing PartnerMedia partnership with Slate.fr, a French online magazine covering news, ideas, and culture.
• APHG (Association des Professeurs d'Histoire-Géographie)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with APHG, the association of history and geography teachers in France, for educational content sharing.
• APSÉ (Association des Professeurs de Sciences et Techniques Economiques)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with APSÉ for coverage of economics and social sciences education topics.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Slate.fr: Major French online magazine covering news, ideas, and culture, with which Nonfiction.fr already has a media partnership. Comparable in covering French intellectual and cultural commentary, though at much larger scale and broader topical range.
• La Croix - Le Monde des Religions: French publication covering religion, philosophy, and ideas through Le Monde des Religions supplement. Comparable in covering humanities and ideas topics for a French intellectual audience, though embedded within a larger news group.
• Sciences Humaines: French media group dedicated to popularizing social sciences and humanities through a magazine and digital platform. Comparable in bridging academic research and a general French readership on the same thematic areas.
• Philosophie Magazine: Major French magazine dedicated to philosophy and ideas with broader commercial reach and professional editorial team. Comparable as a French-language humanities publication, though it is much larger and operates on a paid circulation model.
• Le Monde des Livres: The book review and literary supplement of Le Monde, France's leading newspaper. Comparable as a French-language book review and ideas publication, though it benefits from the parent newspaper's scale and brand.

Direct peers

• En attendant Nadeau: Independent French journal of literary and intellectual criticism publishing reviews and essays. Comparable as a small-team French publication focused on book criticism and ideas for a general intellectual readership.
• La Vie des Idées: French-language intellectual review publishing essays, book reviews, and interviews across humanities and social sciences. Directly comparable as a non-profit/grant-funded French ideas portal with similar content scope and audience.
• AOC (Analyse Opinion Critique): French online media outlet publishing long-form essays and analyses on politics, culture, and ideas. Comparable as a French intellectual/ideas publication with a similar mix of essays, interviews, and thematic dossiers targeting educated readers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nonfiction_fr
• Facebookfacebook.com/nonfiction.fr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nonfiction.fr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nonfiction.fr