Québec literature well represented at the Brussels book fair

Monday, March 8, 2010

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The book fair is a yearly showcase for the world’s Francophone literature, and Québec makes it a point of honour to participate. Whether their works are published by Québec Édition, Écrivains de l’Outaouais or Éditions de la Bagnole, Québec authors come to Brussels to make their works known and to meet their readers at autograph sessions.

Loupe

Dany Laferrière reading from his novel

On Sunday, March 7, Dany Laferrière, winner of the 2009 Prix Médicis for l’Énigme du retour, read extracts of his work. He then gave an account of the earthquake that ravaged Port-au-Prince on January 12 and spoke of his faith in the ability of Haitians to reconstruct their country.

On Monday, March 8, the Québec - Wallonie/Bruxelles youth literature prize was awarded to the 2009 winner, Québec’s Dominique Demers. This year, the prize was awarded for teenage literature, and Ms. Demers was awarded the prize for her novel l’Élu, la grande quête de Jacob Jobin. In 2009, she was awarded two other prestigious prizes: the Prix des lecteurs 15-18 ans Radio-Canada/Centre FORA and the Prix Raymond-Plante for her exceptional commitment to youth literature.

The Wallonie-Bruxelles winner of the prize was Jean-Marie Defossez for his novel Envol pour le paradis. The prize was given to him at the Salon du livre de Montréal last November.