Based on a survey on contemporary writers of the Rhône-Alpes area with low recognition, this paper shows that local roots are a resource for their public existence, inasmuch as it gives them access to the places where books are published and sold, to the media, and to the readers. These roots may take the form of texts referring to a definite territory; they especially help integrate them in networks of contacts that involve local agents who make their literary activity known (journalists, booksellers and owners of various shops, writers’ associations, organizers of book fairs).