Salon du Livre & Francophone Book Festival
Fête du Livre is a major annual literary festival produced by the association Les Écritures Croisées and hosted at the Cité du Livre in Aix-en-Provence. Dedicated to world literature, the festival creates a meeting point for writing, reading, and other arts including photography, painting, music, and theater. Each edition is artistically curated and often centers on a single eminent living writer or a defined geographic theme. Past editions have highlighted literature from Portugal, Latin America, Canada, and South Africa, and have honored leading authors such as Philip Roth (1999), Antonio Tabucchi (2000), Toni Morrison (2001), V.S. Naipaul (2002), Günter Grass (2005), Kenzaburô Ōe (2006), Wole Soyinka (2007), and Salman Rushdie (2008). The Amphithéâtre de la Verrière is the primary stage for major talks, readings, and roundtables, with mid-October—historically around October 18—serving as a focal period for flagship events.