The twelfth annual festival of French and English literature, FESTILITT 2024, took place in Parisot from October 11 to 13.
Ten writers, from England and the four corners of France, shared their passion for writing in front of an attentive audience, delighted by the quality of the discussions.
Participants got to listen to authors talk about their recently published works in during a series of fascinating interviews. The writers shared some of the books that inspired them in an informal breakfast setting and throughout the weekend, the doors of the massive secondhand book fair were wide open. Copious meals and tea breaks served up food for thought and added another dimension to the cultural pleasures on offer.
This year’s musical reading, a bilingual bash, was devoted to songs of praise for the fruit of the vine. The two languages joined together in a harmonious English/French cépage that filled the hall with the sound of music.
The Festilitt format, combining two languages and two literary traditions is unique in France, and it is carving out a special place for itself on the festival calendar. The attendance, which is rising sharply, is proof of this.
Finally, a big thank you to the dozens of volunteers, who worked so hard over three days, to ensure that Festilitt was such a great success.
We’re already making plans for Festilitt 13 where we will once again celebrate the written word and those who write them.
See you next year!
P.S.: Do not hesitate to leave a comment on the site…
This year will stand out for the diversity of the English authors . They were all very engaging. I loved the favourite book session. Organisation superb as usual. The meal on Saturday evening was lovely – great food. Thanks for putting us with Melanie as we had a hoot!
Only suggestion would be to ask how to speed up tea and cakes? Time was short for the intervals and there were long queues. However that’s a minor point. Can’t wait for next year. Many thanks to all and gratitude that you can keep the event free without a booking system to listen to authors,
On Saturday, those of us serving tea were congratulating ourselves on the lack of queues. Did we miss something? Or are you referring to Sunday?
I absolutely loved Festilitt this year – thank you. A great range of authors, and the food at the dinner on Saturday was superb!
Maybe there could be a session , perhaps with drink and nibbles, perhaps Friday evening when the focus could be the artwork. This would possibly address the poor level of artwork sales.