Geneva Book Fair draws 60,000 visitors over five days
The Geneva Book Fair, which closed its doors on Sunday, attracted 60,000 visitors over five days. According to the organisers, the public “has confirmed its attachment” to this event, which has organised more than 300 events since Wednesday.
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This success “confirms that the fair is much more than a literary event: it is a major cultural rendezvous, a space for dialogue, enlightenment and discovery, in tune with the times while remaining faithful to the spirit that has inspired it since its beginnings”, emphasised its director, Natacha Bayard, quoted in a press release.
The 2025 edition has given carte blanche to a trio of guests of honour: the Franco-Swiss journalist and author Maïtena Biraben, the French writer Jérôme Ferrari, winner of the 2012 Goncourt Prize for his Sermon on the fall of Rome, and the Franco-Belgian writer Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt.
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Their presence “contributed to the richness of the discussions, offering varied perspectives on literature, the world and our times”, according to the organisers.
Understanding the world
In all, more than 600 writers from the French-speaking world travelled from Switzerland, France, Quebec, Belgium and several African countries. Many of the meetings were sold out.
One of the new features of this year’s event was the Window on the World stage, which provided an opportunity for lively exchanges on contemporary conflicts, freedom of expression and geopolitical upheaval. According to the press release, these events confirmed the public’s thirst for understanding in a troubled global context.
The presence of the media reinforced this dynamic of openness, as did that of African authors, reflecting the deep relationship that the fair has with African literature.
Several prizes
Several prizes were awarded during the Fair. On Friday, Côte d’Ivoire-born author Véronique Tadjo won the Prix Kourouma for her novel Je remercie la nuit. This work paints a “poignant portrait” of African youth, its vitality, its struggles, its disappointments and its promises for the future. According to the prize organisers, the jury was particularly impressed by the novel’s pan-African dimension and its roots on the continent.
In the fantasy genre (science fiction, fantasy, fantasy), the Swiss SFFF Prize went to Sara Schneider for her novel Places d’Ames. The Prix Enfantaisie went to Pauline Pinson and Magali Le Huche for their album Poisson-Fesse, and to Hannah Gold for her novel Rio et la baleine perdue.
Translated from German by DeepL/jdp
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