Book Around the Corner

I’ve been writing up my days at Quais du Polar for a few years now. Here are my billets from the 2017 edition (Days 1, Day 2, Day 3) For newcomers, what’s Quais du Polar? It’s a crime fiction festival organized in Lyon, France. During three days, the city celebrates crime fiction through conferences, signatures, exhibitions and games.

There’s a huge bookshop set up in the Chamber of Commerce. Only independent bookstores are allowed to have a stand and sell books there. They also host writers for book signings.

Interviews, conferences and meetings are scheduled all over the weekends in the Chamber of Commerce, in a nearby church, in the City Hall or at the 19^th century Italian theatre. All gorgeous places.

A crime fiction game is organized in the city center: the participants have an investigation to do by walking around the city, looking for clues and solving enigmas. More information on the Quais du Polar web site.

This year, the festival will take place from April 6^th to April 8^th and I encourage you to come.

“Why should I come?”, you may wonder.

If you’re a crime fiction lover, it’s a great opportunity to meet writers. In 2017, they were more than 120 from 23 different nationalities! The atmosphere is relaxed, writers seem to have fun and to be happy to interact with readers. The French read a lot of crime fiction, they have a good public here. See here the list of writers for 2018.  (I suspect it’s still under construction and that more will join in.)

It’s also a chance to attend to conferences where writers interact with each other. For example, in 2017, I attended a meeting where Jo Nesbø, Arnaldur Indridason, Oliver Norek, Sara Gran, Deon Meyer and Craig Johnson discussed their recurring characters. How lucky we were to have them all on the same stage! They were as much impressed to be in each other’s company as we were to listen to them.

“But I don’t speak French!”, you may say.

Not a problem. All the conferences are translated into English. They hand you headsets at the entrance and a translator will translate everything live. The marvels of our modern ages.

“It’s expensive to go to such a festival”, you could rightfully object.

True. You have to fund transportation, lodgings and food.

I will just say that there are lots of low cost flights to Lyon Saint-Exupéry Airport and lots of train arrive to La Part-Dieu station. You have a tram from the airport to the city center and then you’re good. All the major events of the festival are at walking distance. The conferences are free, there aren’t any entrance fees and you can attend as many as you want. For 30€, you can also become a member of Quais du Polar. You will receive a free book, a poster of the festival and you’ll have a card that will allow you to cut the lines to enter the conferences. Very useful.

Budget concerns are why I publish this billet this early: it’s easier to get cheap tickets.

“What’s in it for you if I come?”, you may ask

Nothing but the pleasure of your company. It’s a wonderful event I’d like to share with fellow book bloggers. This year, I thought I’d ask if anybody’s interested to come. We could meet up for diner, see each other in real life and spend a nice evening together around books.

And, last but not least: Lyon is in a festive mood for three days. It doesn’t attract as many visitors as the Fête des Lumières but 80 000 visitors are already a good score. Lyon is a beautiful city, the place where the cinema was invented, the city where Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was born and where Frédéric Dard lived from 1929 to 1949. The city is worth seeing in itself.

Let me know if you’re interested, in the comments below, via Twitter at @Bookaround or by email at bookaroundthecornerATgmailDOTcom.

I’m just gathering intentions at the moment, to see if it’s a good idea or not. I hope some of you are tempted. 🙂