We have five terrific French-speaking authors at this year’s Bookworm Literary Festival, and three French-language events. It all begins tomorrow at 1 pm, when Agnes Desarthe speaks with reporter Becky Davis about women in literature. Check out what else is in store:

Friday, March 11

Literary Portraits of Women :: Portraits littéraires de femmes 1pm

Agnès Desarthe, moderated by Becky Davis | The Bookworm | BW11B | 60 RMB — Purchase Online

Agnès Desarthe, a prolific French author and translator, will discuss the female characters who appear through her novels. Desarthe won the Livre Inter Prize in 1996 for her novel Un secret sans importance, the Marcel Pagnol and Virgin/version Femina prizes for Le remplaçant, and the Renaudot Prize for High-schoolers for The Foundling (available in English at The Bookworm). Her latest book, Ce Coeur changeant, received the 2015 Le Monde Literary Prize.This event will be in French with English interpretation.

Agnès Desarthe, auteur et traductrice française prolifique, discutera des personnages féminins dans ses romans. Desarthe remporta le Prix Livre Inter en 1996 pour son roman “Un secret sans importance”, les Prix Marcel Pagnol et Virgin/version Femina pour “Le remplaçant”, le Prix Renaudot des Lycéens pour “Dans la nuit brune” (disponible au Bookworm) et enfin pour son dernier livre, “Le cœur changeant”, le Prix Le Monde Littéraire en 2015.

Thursday, March 17

Francophone Literature and Society :: La littérature francophone et la société 1pm

Frédéric Ciriez, Nico Helminger, Lambert Schlechter, moderated by Julien Girault | The Bookworm | BW17B | 60 RMB — Purchase Online

Three prominent authors talk about the trends and developments in French-language literature, including how it addresses – or doesn’t – the contemporary issues confronting the modern world. Frédéric Ciriez is a French novelist, essayist, and advocate of the Sape movement, which was born in the war-torn streets of Brazzaville and Kinshasa and emphasizes fashion, elegance, and the values of peace and nonviolence; Nico Helminger is a Luxembourgian novelist, playwright, and poet who has won the country’s most important culture award, the Prix Batty Weber; and Lambert Schlechter is the author of 25-some books, who studied philosophy and literature in Paris and Nancy before teaching philosophy, French language, and literature at the Lycée Classique in Echternach. This event will be in French with English interpretation.

Trois auteurs éminents parlent des tendances et du développement de la littérature francophone. Ils montrent notamment dans quelle mesure et de quelle façon cette littérature traite ou non des problèmes de la société actuelle. Frédéric Ciriez est romancier, essayiste et membre actif du mouvement SAPE. Mouvement, qui né dans les ruelles violentes de Brazzaville et de Kinshasa, met en relation la mode et l’élégance avec les valeurs de paix et de pacifisme; Nico Helminger, romancier, dramaturge et poète luxembourgeois, est lauréat du prix culturel le plus important de son pays: Le Prix Batty Weber; et Lambert Schlechter, auteur d’une vingtaine de livres, après des études de littérature et de philosophie à Paris et à Nice, enseigne aujourd’hui la langue la littérature française au Lycée Classique d’Echternach au Luxembourg.

Wednesday, March 23

Hero’s Prairie :: Plaine des héros 7:30pm

Yves Laplace | iQiyi | IQ23 | 50 RMB — Purchase Online

Renowned Swiss author Yves Laplace will discuss his latest novel, Hero’s Prairie, which was inspired by George Oltramare, a Swiss actor, writer, and politician who was sentenced to death in France in 1950 due to his role in the fascist movement. Laplace won the Alice Rivaz Prize in 2015 and the Swiss Literary Prize in 2016 for this book. This event will be in French with English interpretation. 

This event will be held at iQiyi, an official festival venue located next to The Bookworm.

Auteur suisse, Yves Laplace présentera son nouveau roman, intitulé Plaine de héros, qui s’inspire de George Oltramore, acteur, écrivain et politicien suisse, qui à cause de son implication dans le mouvement fasciste, fut condamné à mort en France dans les années ’50. Laplace fut pour ce livre distingué en 2015 par le  Prix Alice Rivaz et en 2016 par le Prix Littéraire Suisse.

Agnes Desarthe, Frederic Ciriez, Nico Helminger, Lambert Schlechter, and Yves Laplace are authors participating at the 2016 Bookworm Literary Festival. To read about other participating authors, please see our Meet an Author series.