French Voices at the Boston Book Festival
Book Signing, Festival, Panel
The French Library
53 Marlborough Street, Boston MA 02116
October 17 - September 9, 2026
In partnership with the French Library – Allian française of Boston & Cambridge, join us for a day of engaging conversations, thought-provoking ideas, and book signings with some of today’s most exciting voices in French and Francophone literature.
From Gaëlle Bélem’s vivid storytelling rooted in the history of La Réunion to Mathias Énard’s explorations of war, history, and ideology, Anne Pauly’s tragicomic exploration of family and grief, and a conversation with award-winning translators Sam Taylor and Emma Ramadan on the art of carrying a writer’s voice across languages, the program celebrates the richness and diversity of contemporary Francophone literature.
Each event will be held in English and will feature a 50-minute moderated conversation, followed by a 10-minute audience Q&A and book signing. This is a free event, available on a first-come, first-served basis.
Program
10:00 – 11:00 AM – In conversation with Gaëlle Belem
Gaëlle Bélem is an award-winning novelist from La Réunion and the first woman from the island to be published by Gallimard. Her debut novel, There’s a Monster Behind the Door, was longlisted for the 2025 International Booker Prize. Her second novel, The Rarest Fruit, brings to life the extraordinary true story of Edmond Albius, the enslaved teenager from La Réunion whose discovery revolutionized vanilla cultivation around the world. A captivating story of resilience, discovery, and an overlooked figure in history, the novel was named a New York Times Notable Book of 2025, the only French novel to make the list that year, and a Washington Independent Review of Books Best Book of the Year. Bélem also teaches Latin, history, and geography and serves as an associate judge in a juvenile court on La Réunion.
Book signing following the talk.
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – In conversation with Mathias Énard
Mathias Énard is one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary French literature, acclaimed for his ambitious, erudite novels exploring history, war, politics, and the complex ties between Europe and the Middle East. His works include Zone, Street of Thieves, Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants, and Compass, winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt and shortlisted for the International Booker Prize. His novel The Deserters interweaves the story of a soldier fleeing a nameless war with that of an East German mathematician, Buchenwald survivor, and committed communist, in a powerful meditation on war, ideology, loyalty, and betrayal. Longlisted for the 2026 International Booker Prize, The Deserters, translated by Charlotte Mandell, won the 2026 French-American Foundation Translation Prize.
The author will be interviewed by Benoit Landon, literary journalist and librarian at the French Library. Book signing following the talk.
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM – In conversation with Anne Pauly
Anne Pauly is a Paris-based French writer and winner of the Prix du Livre Inter and Prix Robert Walser. Her debut novel, Before I Forget, was also shortlisted for the Prix Goncourt, Prix Femina, and Prix Wepler. Before turning to fiction, she worked as a journalist and wrote on music, feminism, queer culture, and literature. In Before I Forget, Pauly recounts the aftermath of her father’s death and the complicated task of mourning a man who was at once a self-taught philosopher and romantic, and an alcoholic whose violence marked his family. As Anne sorts through his belongings and prepares his funeral, she tries to reconcile these contradictory versions of the man she has lost. Told with wit and tenderness, the novel is a tragicomic exploration of grief, family, class, and the complicated bonds between parents and children.
The conversation will be moderated by Bruno Perreau, Cynthia L. Reed Professor of French Studies at MIT and a specialist in contemporary French literature and culture, critical theory, and politics. He is the author of thirteen books, including Queer Theory: The French Response and, most recently, Spheres of Injustice: The Ethical Promise of Minority Presence (MIT Press, 2025).
Book signing following the talk.
2:30 PM – 3:30 PM – A Labor of Love: The Art of Literary Translation
What does it take to carry a writer’s voice from one language into another? Award-winning literary translators Sam Taylor and Emma Ramadan come together for a conversation about translation as both an art and a labor of love; the creative choices, challenges, and discoveries involved in bringing literature across languages and cultures, and the essential role translators play in introducing Francophone voices to new readers.
Emma Ramadan is an educator and award-winning literary translator of more than 40 books from French, with a particular focus on experimental literature, overlooked women writers, and voices from the Arab and Francophone worlds. She received the 2021 PEN Translation Prize for Abdellah Taïa’s A Country for Dying and the 2018 Albertine Prize for Anne Garréta’s Not One Day. Her translations include works by Annie Ernaux, Virginie Despentes, and Maud Ventura.
Sam Taylor is an award-winning British novelist and literary translator who has translated more than 70 books from French into English. His authors include David Diop, Joël Dicker, Maylis de Kerangal, Marcel Proust, Tatiana de Rosnay, Riad Sattouf, Leïla Slimani. His honors include the French-American Foundation Translation Prize and the Scott Moncrieff Prize, and his translations have twice been nominated for the International Booker Prize. Before becoming a translator, Taylor was an arts journalist at The Observer in London and is also the author of several novels, most recently The Two Loves of Sophie Strom.
The conversation will be moderated by Stéphanie Ravillon, Associate Teaching Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Brown University, whose work focuses on translation, contemporary French and Francophone culture, and questions of cultural and linguistic identity. She is the author of a forthcoming book on translation and has led a series of literary translation workshops at the French Library.
Book signing following the talk.
This event is co-presented by Villa Albertine Boston, the French Library in Boston and the Boston Book Festival, with support from MIT Literature and French+.
In partnership with
French Library
The French Library in Boston is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide French language instruction and cultural programs. Its library houses the second largest private collection of French books, periodicals, DVDs, and CDs available in the United States. Its school, a member of the Alliance Française network, offers language classes and programs for adults and children.
Boston Book Festival
Celebrating the power of words to stimulate, agitate, unite, delight, and inspire, the Boston Book Festival presents year-round events culminating in an annual festival that promotes a culture of reading and ideas and enhances the vibrancy of Boston.
MIT French+