The annual Festival du Livre de Nice turns 20 this June, and the organisers have invited some 200 authors to help celebrate this important milestone.
The Nice Book Festival, this year under the presidency of famed French writer Françoise Chandernagor, a member of the Académie Goncourt since 1995, will cover a wide range of topics, from religion and politics, to social change and fiction.
The festival continues to go from strength to strength each year, offering something for just about every age and every interest, bringing writers and readers together for book signings, debates and discussions, public readings and other literary-themed events.
Amongst the many invitees, there will be journalists, authors, historians, philosophers and people from the entertainment world, including regulars such as popular novelist Douglas Kennedy, whose international bestsellers such as The Big Picture or The Pursuit of Happiness are particularly acclaimed and beloved in France, or Nice-born writer Didier Van Cauwelaert, whose book Un Aller simple (One-way) won the Prix Goncourt in 1994.
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Other guests who are sure to be big draws include Marc Levy whose work has been translated into 49 languages and has sold over 31 million copies worldwide, celebrated traveler Sylvain Tesson, philosopher Michel Onfray and former model turned health advocate, Estelle Lefébure.
As usual, there will be public readings of famous literary works, roundtable debates and concerts taking place in various venues around the city, before and during the festival. The now famous literary prize, le Prix Nice Baie des Anges, will be awarded on Friday to Jérôme Garcin for Le voyant, his moving tribute to the blind hero of the French Resistance, Jacques Lusseyran. And with proposals afoot to gradually stop the teaching Latin and ancient Greek in schools, the festival has decided to send a message to the government by holding a dictation and Latin translation contest on the Saturday morning.
Just before the start of the summer and in a world where e-books are being downloaded on tablets, hardcovers and paperbacks do still matter and remain the best companions to enjoying a lazy day on the beach!
The Festival du Livre de Nice takes place from the 5th to the 7th of June on Boulevard Jean-Jaurès, Place Gautier (Cours Saleya) and Place du Palais de Justice.
All images courtesy le Festival du Livre de Nice
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