The Quebec International Book Fair (SILQ) will not be able to welcome all the authors from here and Europe that it wanted this spring, since the Paris Book Festival is exceptionally taking place on the same weekend and is also a tribute to Quebec literature.
From April 12 to 14, Quebec will be guest of honor in Paris, as announced last November.
“An extraordinary platform,” argued Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe.
However, this beautiful presentation caused a headache for the programmers of the SILQ, which takes place from April 10 to 14, since no fewer than 42 authors from Quebec will make the journey to the City of Lights, the programmer of the Paris Journal confirmed to the Journal Festival , Jean-Baptiste Passé. The names will be announced on February 27th.
The general director of SILQ, Mélanie Pelletier, confirms that this situation, which she describes as “not ideal,” deprives the salon of some Quebec authors, even if “we will have great headliners,” she argues.
“We will have a great program, but it still needs more work,” adds Ms. Pelletier, who confirmed the presence of the dean Janette Bertrand and, as usual, many publishers and authors.
“We’re sold out,” she assures us.
Deadline competition will have a greater impact on the recruitment of foreign authors.
“It's more difficult, we won't hide it. Since they are European, it is easier for them to go to Paris than to Quebec. There will be some, but fewer than normal,” says Mélanie Pelletier.
A first in 25 years
Jean-Baptiste Passé said he expressed the desire to pay tribute to Quebec writers starting in April 2023 by addressing the Quebec delegation in Paris.
“We reached an agreement in the summer,” he reveals.
Several factors favored this choice, explains Mr. Passé, in particular the fact that Quebec has not been in the spotlight of the Paris show for 25 years and the recent successes of our authors in France, including Kevin Lambert and Eric Chacour.
Given the fait accompli
Mélanie Pelletier, for her part, claims to have learned that Paris will roll out the red carpet for Quebec writers “as soon as everything is clarified.”
Postponing the event was not possible because the Quebec City Convention Center had to be reserved ten years in advance. In Paris, the dates for 2024 were set in 2021.
Why did you accept the Paris festival's invitation knowing it would harm SILQ? At the time of writing, we were waiting for a response from the Ministry of Culture.
For her part, Ms. Pelletier says she is working with her colleagues in Paris to minimize the impact of holding the two events at the same time. “The first thing we did was share the data to make sure something like this doesn't happen again because we are both really sad about the situation.”
However, the two shows will take place simultaneously another time, in 2025. “At least Quebec won’t be in the spotlight,” consoles Mélanie Pelletier.
- The Quebec International Book Fair program will be announced on March 12.