The 47e edition of the Montreal Book Fair took place over five days full of meetings, conferences, signings and festivities. In total, 92,000 visitors strolled between the approximately 695 publishing house stands and the various spaces dedicated to fanzines, indigenous literature, youth, events and activities around Books and culture. reading.
In all, 5,500 signing sessions were held with some 2,000 authors and illustrators including Julie Doucet, Kev Lambert, Yara El-Ghadban, Danny Lafferrière, Martine Delvaux, came to meet their audience. All this supervised by a team of 425 volunteers in orange t-shirts.
Youth and the future
Nearly 50% of the Show and its programming were dedicated to young audiences this year. Among the young visitors, 20,000 primary and secondary school students were there during school mornings, from the first days of the Show.
Among the experiences they were able to have there, the “Literary Challenges”, to test their knowledge of the literary world, were a great success. Just like the numerous and fascinating discussions, particularly on adolescence and the transition to adulthood and on the way of perceiving and presenting oneself to the world, “Becoming oneself, asserting oneself queer”, on health problems mental, “When intrusive thoughts take root”, or ways of experiencing the world in the age of eco-anxiety.
At the bookstore Le Port de tête, the philosopher Alain Deneault spoke with his publisher Mark Fortier, from Lux, for an exploration of his new book: Do that! Because the Montreal Book Fair also provided the opportunity for numerous events to take place outside the walls of the convention center, throughout the month of November.
The Salon’s literary prizes
The big novelty of this edition remains the first delivery of the Janette Bertrand literary prizea new prize “to celebrate literary commitment to a more just and egalitarian society”. The winner, Marie-Hélène Larochelleauthor of Toronto never blue (Editions Leméac), stood out among a rich list of five authors (also including Léa Clermont-Dion, Martine Delvaux, Claudia Larochelle and Élise Turcotte). Her novel deals with itinerant women and prostitutes in a city indifferent to their plight, while Canada is currently experiencing an unprecedented housing crisis. “This moment was completely unique, in particular thanks to the presence of Madame Bertrand and Madame Marois, two very important women who broke the glass ceiling. This is also what the show is all about: uniting and growing together,” comments the show’s general director, Olivier Gougeon.
The Fleury Mesplet prizeawarded during the same inauguration evening, was awarded to Jean-François Bouchardfor “his active role within influential publishing houses and his involvement in key organizations”.
Finally, the France-Québec/Francophonie 2024 literary prize rewarded Eric Chacour for his book What I know about you (Philippe Rey).
Korea, guest of honor
As for the guest country of honor this year, the Korean pavilion was always full. On the occasion of the Korea/Canada Year of Cultural Exchanges 2024-2025, all the richness of Korean literature and culture was presented to see, hear and read. Books by the Korean writer He CanNobel Prize winner for literature this year, were obviously in the spotlight. “Rich in sharing and new things, this 47e edition of the Montreal Book Fair has confirmed its new momentum while Quebec literature has never been so radiant, plural and daring! », concludes Olivier Gougeon.
