Despite a delayed flight and rain in Brive, Dominique Bona, president of the 44th Book Fair, hopes for a sunny event. She feels at home, describing herself as a "daughter of the South" finding "fraternity with the landscape" of this land of letters, also thinking of her dear writer friend from Correze, Denis Tillinac.
A defender of the French language since joining the Académie in 2013, Dominique Bona advocates for a living language open to the Francophonie. She has invited Noëlle Châtelet to discuss French language learning, stressing that language is a "national heritage, a treasure" to be passed down and evolved. The mayor has called the Fair an "intangible cultural monument".
Her guests include Jean-Christophe Buisson for his exploration of conflict zones, Olivier Rolin for his perspective on a world in constant motion, Gilles Martin-Chauffier with a love story set against Iran, and Christophe Ono-dit-Biot on the return of Greek myths in contemporary literature. Jean-Paul Enthoven will offer a lighter "counterpoint" with his Dictionnaire amoureux du bonheur.
The Fair will also feature emerging young authors, including Thomas Louis for his dark humor, Louis Michaud, and Marie Petitcuénot, who integrates contemporary art and Marina Abramović into her debut novel. Dominique Bona favors diverse, even discordant, voices to create an "unexpected and slightly subversive" event.
Biography, a genre in which Dominique Bona excels, will be featured without exclusivity, alongside novels, plays, and poetry. A cycle will be dedicated to André Malraux, fifty years after his death, exploring his legacy, his ties to De Gaulle, his involvement in the Spanish Civil War, and the women who shaped his life, including his first wife Clara Malraux.
Facing the book industry crisis, screens, and artificial intelligence, Dominique Bona chooses to focus on what brings people together, highlighting literature's importance in the current context.
