The 13th edition of the Book on the quays ended on Sunday in Morges (VD) with more than positive results. In three days, more than 35,000 visitors came to meet the 180 invited authors, in summer weather and at times stormy.
The event has returned to pre-covid attendance. By way of comparison, the big literary meeting of the start of the school year had attracted 40,0000 visitors before the pandemic and 18,000 during. “It’s a very nice comeback,” festival director Fanny Meyer told Keystone-ATS on Sunday.
The public appreciated the rich program of more than 170 events, which took the form of debates on ideas, literary meetings, performances, readings, workshops or literary cruises. “Visitors are curious about literature, but also about how the world works,” commented the director.
Icelandic feathers
Among the highlights, Fanny Meyer cited the opening meeting of Pablo Servigne and Dominique Bourg around ecology, the interview with Zep or the literary cruise with Donna Leon. Without forgetting the international programming with the Icelandic feathers, guests of honor, like Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir and Jón Kalman Stefánsson.
“Both have been hugely successful, a real craze. This form of Nordic exoticism seduces, between oral tradition, nature and natural elements”, observed Ms. Meyer. The events around Russia and Ukraine were also a hit, with Vladimir Fedorovski, Iegor Gran and Anne Nivat in particular, she added.
The literary cruises were almost all sold out. On the youth side, the director noted a good attendance of children and families. In addition to the 26 school meetings on Friday which brought together 600 pupils in Morges, around thirty children’s authors also offered workshops and readings during the weekend.
Continuous dedications
The sales figures are looking good. “The authors have signed a lot. Some 50,000 books covering around 1,000 titles have gone like hotcakes,” said Ms. Meyer.
The organizers still note a successful baptism for the literary bar “Chez Lisette” and its decor “like at home”. Between encounters and performances, this new stage has seen André Manoukian, Mathias Malzieu, Aude Seigne, Sarclo, Yann Queffélec and Stéphane Blok parade.
The 14th edition of the Livre sur les quais is scheduled for September 1 to 3, 2023.
This article has been published automatically. Source: ats