The book that was not allowed to appear

For years, Apache and Le Five have investigated the close relationship between Antwerp City Council Bart the Weaver (N-VA), and PS Liège around Stefan MoroAnd nation invest groupthe real estate company of De Wever's childhood friend Eric by monastery column. The result was not only an extensive journalistic investigation, but also a legal battle that lasted seven years.

Publisher Hotkiet asked Apache to write a book about “friends of real estate,” but he pulled out at the eleventh hour.

First, De Wever's chief of staff went to court, then he pushed Van der Pal further. When the trial, appellate and cassation court judges ruled in favor of the Apaches across the board, it was time to write a book about the file. At the publisher's request Hotkit This seems likely to happen.

Had the publishing director not reconsidered that decision, As De Standaard wrote. Since the book was about Bart de Wever, she feared that publication would frustrate publishers' lobbying efforts toward the government and might complicate their search for support.

So Apache has no choice but to publish the “book that was not allowed to appear” himself.

“A chilling book”

Let's rewind.

A new publisher will start working at Houtekiet on January 2, 2023. This publishing house was founded in 1986 and is founded by the legendary Julian Weaverberg Who was fired from the publishing house in the same year Manto.

Houtekiet refers to the lively main character in the novel of the same name Gerard And the young man. “Just like the main character in Walschap, Houtekiet's publishers like to color outside the lines,” we still read on the publisher's website.

And also: “Uitgeverij Houtekiet is a passionate Flemish publisher who makes books that matter. Books that touch, move and relax. Books that expose, inform and instruct. Books that are worth reading and that are put into practice with heart and soul.”.

Authors love Gert by Estendil, Johan Brickman, Wim Distelmans And Dirk Verhofstadt Publish their books on Houtekiet. The publishing house has been part of the Dutch Publishing House since 2015 VBK Publishing group.

Therefore, we at Apache are confident that the publisher will contact the editors in March 2023. He really wants to publish a book on this topic Land investment portal.

We make agreements and sign the contract in the fall. Investigative journalists Tom Cochise And David liloupwho had helped search for the Le Vif file, got to work.

The idea is explored further. The book goes much broader than just the Antwerp and Land Invest group, but takes a closer look at the broader picture: “Friends of Real Estate”. Just say a group of top politicians and real estate executives together do business gold in Belgium.

The publisher is immediately enthusiastic: “I think your summary is excellent. First the players, then the facts, the counterattack and then the extinguishing, while the same names appear in other issues. That will be an exciting book.” “

The publisher announces the spring presentation Real estate friends So as a “chilling book”, “a thrilling story set in our world and played with our money”.

But then things keep getting worse.

The pressure is at risk

At the beginning of March 2024, the publisher was forced to resign. Not much explanation was given: “After long disagreements about the future of Hotkit and the way we deal with authors, I had to leave the publishing house.”

No one at Hotkit had read the book yet, and yet the publishing director decided to break the contract and pay the termination fee

Shortly after the publisher's dismissal, Apache journalist Tom Kocsis received a letter from VBK Uitgeversgroep's publishing director. Houtekiet will not publish the finished book. This is strange, because at that time the manuscript had not yet been delivered to Hotikit.

No one at Houtekiet has read the book yet. However, the publishing manager decides to terminate the contract and pay the termination fee. She gives a number of great reasons for this.

As chair of the General Publishers' Group (GAU), the interest group for publishers, she fears that the lobbying work she has to do for the book sector will be jeopardized if she publishes the book.

The book is about Bart de Wever, who, as mayor of Antwerp, is an important pawn in discussions about resuming the book fair, for example. Member of his party January Jambon He is the Minister of Culture and is responsible for literature policy.

The current political climate, just before the elections, does not allow her to allay her fears. It indicates that the N-VA and Vlaams Belang parties score highly in opinion polls, and it also indicates the involvement of figures from those parties in the scandals revealed in the book.

Finally, there is also the fear of legal action. In the past, Apache has been subjected to a constant barrage of complaints from Van der Pal and De Wever's former chief of staff. Although we were acquitted of all charges, Hotkit did not want to burn himself with the book.

Apache stood with his back against the wall. Not publishing a book that was already written was out of the question, but Apache is not a publishing house and has little margin to make a risky investment (which always happens when publishing a book). After careful consideration, the Apache board of directors decided to self-publish the book.