Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens was born in Provence to Zelman Otchakovsky from Bessarabia, a painter, and Odette Labaume, a professor of languages. After studying law, he began his publishing career as an intern for Christian Bourgois before moving to Flammarion and later Hachette, where he created P.O.L, his own collection. Éditions P.O.L later became independent and published the works of several celebrated authors, and Paul Otchakovsky-Laurens became an equally influ- ential and beloved figure of the French publishing world. In his documentary Editeur, released just last month in France, he recountshow becoming a publisher "saved his life", enabling him to express himself through the voices of others. He explained in an interview with Le Monde, "It's the solution I found to keep myself from going mad, to stay ni control of what I was doing". Éditions P.O.L is distinguished by Otchakovsky-Laurens' dedication to progressive literature and his mission to support works that are innovative but resonant, eternal but not fixed in time. In an interview with John O'Brien for The Review of Contemporary Fiction, he reflected on his decision to start P.O.L, "I don't think Ientered intopublishing with the desire to run a business, with all the constraints that entails. I simply wanted to be free to publish the books that pleased me, disturbed me, moved me.