Cultissime Festival
The international festival of cult works in the heart of Angers' heritage
2026
About Cultissime
Cultissime — edition 2026
The 3rd edition of the Cultissime Festival will be held from September 25 to 27, 2026, in the heritage heart of Angers. An international festival dedicated to cult works of literature and comics, this edition is sponsored by Marc Levy and co-sponsored by Marie-Aude Murail and Marion Montaigne, with about thirty authors announced.
Cultissime 2026 — 3rd Edition
The Cultissime Festival returns from September 25th to 27th, 2026, for its 3rd edition in the city center of Angers. The first two editions attracted 8,000 and 5,000 visitors respectively. The festival program for cult works includes: meetings, round tables, signings, exhibitions, musical readings, workshops, and an awards ceremony.
Patron and Patronesses
The 2026 edition is patronized by Marc Levy (If Only It Were True…, The Library of Forbidden Books) and patronesses Marie-Aude Murail (Oh, Boy!, Sauveur & Fils) and Marion Montaigne (Tu mourras moins bête, Dans la combi de Thomas Pesquet).
Around thirty guest authors
The official list includes 26 names as of mid-August, and the organization will announce more guests leading up to the event. These include Karine Giébel, Agnès Martin-Lugand, Katherine Pancol, Thomas Schlesser (Les Yeux de Mona), Claire Duvivier (La Tour de Garde), Évelyne Brisou-Pellen, Ambre Chalumeau, Julia Thévenot, Marie Aubinais, Mathilde Beaussault, Mélanie Guyard, Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche (Les Guerres de Lucas), Constance Robert-Murail, François-Régis de Guenyveau, Pendragon, and composer Balthazar Pouilloux.
Two American guests
Kathryn Stockett, author of The Help, is coming to present Le Calamity Club (Robert Laffont). Jake Adelstein, a journalist known for Tokyo Vice, is presenting Code bleu (Marchialy), an investigative account of an unsolved case from his native Missouri. Both will participate in meetings on September 25th and 26th. Four other guests will join them: Jérôme Lereculey (Les 5 Terres), Camille Anssel (Le Cercle de ronces), Isaure Grudzinska (L'Échec solaire), and Séverine Vidal (Colette).
Venues
The festival takes place in four city-center locations, all within a few minutes' walk of each other: the Collégiale Saint-Martin (major meetings, musical reading, awards ceremony), the Salons Curnonsky (bookstore, signings, youth area), the Musée des Beaux-Arts (round tables and exhibition based on the magazine "Le 1 des libraires"), and the Tour Saint-Aubin (Benjamin Rabier exhibition).
The Cultissime Awards
Four awards—book, comic book, reissue, and adaptation—are presented on Friday evening at the Collégiale Saint-Martin. Winners are determined by an online vote open to everyone from July 1st to August 30th, 2026, split equally between the general public and a professional panel.
School program
Two school days precede the festival, with authors visiting schools in Angers and the surrounding area. Previous editions reached 750 students.
Highlights Cultissime 2026
- 3rd edition, from Friday, September 25th to Sunday, September 27th, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
- Marc Levy as patron, Marie-Aude Murail and Marion Montaigne as patronesses
- Two American authors invited on September 25th and 26th: Kathryn Stockett (The Help) and Jake Adelstein (Tokyo Vice)
- Musical reading of The Little Prince for the text's 80th anniversary at the Collégiale Saint-Martin
- Benjamin Rabier exhibition at the Tour Saint-Aubin, "Le 1 des libraires" exhibition at the Musée des Beaux-Arts
- Presentation of the four Cultissime awards on Friday evening at the Collégiale Saint-Martin
- Detailed schedule not yet published as of mid-August 2026
Programme Cultissime 2026
Friday, September 25th, Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM each day. As of mid-August 2026, the detailed schedule has not been released: the "Program" page on the official website simply states "Programming to come...". The organizers have, however, published the list of guests by day, the venues, and the exhibitions.
Friday, September 25th, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Guests scheduled for this day:
- Marc Levy — festival patron, author
- Marie-Aude Murail — festival patron, author
- Marion Montaigne — festival patron, illustrator
- Jake Adelstein — journalist and author, presenting Code bleu (Marchialy)
- Marie Aubinais — children's author
- Évelyne Brisou-Pellen — author
- François-Régis de Guenyveau — author
- Laurent Hopman — author, Les Guerres de Lucas
- Renaud Roche — illustrator, Les Guerres de Lucas
- Constance Robert-Murail — author
- Kathryn Stockett — novelist, presenting Le Calamity Club (Robert Laffont)
- Julia Thévenot — author
In the evening: Cultissime awards ceremony at the Collégiale Saint-Martin.
Saturday, September 26th, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Guests scheduled for this day:
- Marc Levy — festival patron, author
- Marie-Aude Murail — festival patron, author
- Marion Montaigne — festival patron, illustrator
- Jake Adelstein — journalist and author
- Camille Anssel — novelist, fantasy, Le Cercle de ronces
- Marie Aubinais — children's author
- Évelyne Brisou-Pellen — author
- Karine Giébel — crime novelist
- Isaure Grudzinska — illustrator and comic book writer, L'Échec solaire
- Mélanie Guyard — author
- Jérôme Lereculey — comic book artist, Les 5 Terres
- Agnès Martin-Lugand — novelist
- Katherine Pancol — novelist
- Pendragon — illustrator
- Constance Robert-Murail — author
- Kathryn Stockett — novelist
- Julia Thévenot — author
- Séverine Vidal — screenwriter, Colette
Sunday, September 27th, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Guests scheduled for this day:
- Marc Levy — festival patron, author
- Mathilde Beaussault — crime novelist
- Claire Duvivier — author, La Tour de Garde
- Isaure Grudzinska — illustrator and comic book writer
- Mélanie Guyard — author
- Jérôme Lereculey — comic book artist
- Agnès Martin-Lugand — novelist
- Katherine Pancol — novelist
- Thomas Schlesser — author, Les Yeux de Mona
Guests announced without a specific day
- Ambre Chalumeau — author, columnist for the show Quotidien
- Balthazar Pouilloux — composer, performing the musical reading of The Little Prince
- Andoryss — co-writer of Les 5 Terres, announced by the press on July 28th, 2026
Three-day program by venue
- Collégiale Saint-Martin, 23 rue Saint-Martin — The Rencontres Cultissime, where guests engage with the public; the musical reading of The Little Prince for the 80th anniversary of Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's text, performed by Balthazar Pouilloux and Cécile Habibi; the awards ceremony on Friday evening.
- Salons Curnonsky, 6 place Maurice Sailland — The festival bookstore, book signings, youth area, and a space for workshops, events, and book-related activities.
- Musée des Beaux-Arts, 14 rue du Musée — Round tables and an exhibition based on the magazine "Le 1 des libraires".
- Tour Saint-Aubin, rue des Lices — An exhibition dedicated to illustrator Benjamin Rabier, featuring facsimiles.
The 2026 Cultissime Awards and Nominees
Four awards are presented on Friday evening at the Collégiale Saint-Martin. Nominees are works published in French between July 1st, 2025, and June 30th, 2026. Online voting, open to everyone via the Académie Cultissime, runs from July 1st to August 30th, 2026: the general public and a professional panel each account for 50% of the vote.
Cultissime Book Prize
- Je voulais vivre — Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre (Grasset)
- La Correspondante — Virginia Evans (Quai Voltaire)
- Les Éléments — John Boyne (JC Lattès)
- L'Oiseau qui boit des larmes, tome 1 : Le Cœur des nagas — Lee Young-do (Le Rayon imaginaire)
- Millepertuis, tome 2 : La Sorcière toute nue — Julia Thévenot (Gallimard Jeunesse)
Cultissime Comic Book Prize
- Cosmos T01 — Ryuhei Tamura (Ki-oon)
- La Fourrière des animaux — Tom King and Peter Gross (Panini Comics)
- Les Guerres de Lucas – Épisode II — Laurent Hopman and Renaud Roche (Deman)
- Soli Deo Gloria — Jean-Christophe Deveney and Édouard Cour (Dupuis)
- Terre ou Lune, tome 1 — Jade Khoo (Morgen)
Cultissime Reissue Prize
- Anne de Green Gables — Lucy Maud Montgomery, illustrated by Adeline Martin (Tibert Éditions)
- L'Idiot — Fyodor Dostoevsky, retranslated by Emma Lavigne (Gallmeister)
- Ma chère Cassandra (lettre à sa sœur) — Jane Austen, translated by Constance Lacroix (Finitude)
- Le Petit Prince — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, illustrated by MinaLima (Gallimard Jeunesse)
- Le Sorcier de Terremer — Ursula K. Le Guin, adapted and illustrated by Fred Fordham (Le Livre de Poche)
Cultissime Adaptation Prize
- A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms — Ira Parker, based on George R.R. Martin
- Hamnet — Chloé Zhao, based on Maggie O'Farrell
- Les Enfants de la Résistance — Christophe Barratier, based on Vincent Dugomier and Benoît Ers
- Projet Dernière Chance — Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, based on Andy Weir
- La Quête d'Ewilan — Fabien Daphy, Ève Ceccarelli-Moing and Justine Mettler, based on Pierre Bottero
Before the festival
Two school days precede the festival: authors visit schools in Angers and the surrounding area. Previous editions reached 750 students.
Separate tickets
The professional day, previews, and writing masterclasses require special tickets, separate from the 1-day and 3-day passes.
Prices Cultissime 2026
1-day ticket: €12 full price · €9 reduced price · €29 family price (2 adults + 2 children, or 1 adult + 3 children).
3-day pass: €29 full price · €19 reduced price.
The early bird rate for the 3-day pass, at €22, was only available from the opening of ticket sales in early June until mid-July 2026.
Reduced rate upon presentation of proof at the entrance: 7-18 year olds, teachers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, job seekers, people with disabilities, and students.
Free for children up to 6 years old.
1-day tickets and 3-day passes provide access to all meetings, signings, exhibitions, and events.
The professional day, previews, and writing masterclasses require special tickets.
Practical information — Cultissime
Dates and Times
Friday, September 25th, Saturday, September 26th, and Sunday, September 27th, 2026, from 10:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Festival Venues
- Collégiale Saint-Martin: 23 rue Saint-Martin, 49000 Angers — major events, awards ceremony
- Salons Curnonsky: 6 place Maurice Sailland, 49100 Angers — bookstore, book signings, children's area
- Musée des Beaux-Arts: 14 rue du Musée, 49100 Angers — panel discussions, exhibition
- Tour Saint-Aubin: rue des Lices, 49100 Angers — exhibition
Getting Around
All four venues are located in the heart of Angers city center and are within walking distance of each other.
Tickets
- 1-Day Ticket: €12 standard, €9 reduced, €29 family (2 adults + 2 children, or 1 adult + 3 children)
- 3-Day Pass: €29 standard, €19 reduced
- Free for children aged 6 and under
Reduced rates are available upon presentation of valid ID for: ages 7-18, teachers, booksellers, librarians, publishers, job seekers, people with disabilities, and students. Professional days, previews, and writing masterclasses require separate tickets.
Contact
Festival Cultissime, 42 rue Rabelais, 49000 Angers. Email: [email protected]. Tickets and information: www.cultissime.org
Cultissime: A Unique Festival Dedicated to Cult Works
Born in 2024 in Angers, the Cultissime Festival is the first international festival entirely dedicated to cult works: novels, comic strips, comics, manga, and their multimedia adaptations. The ambition is to celebrate works that have marked generations of readers and viewers, returning to the fundamental notion of the pleasure of reading.
An Exceptional Heritage Setting
The festival is distinguished by its prestigious venues. The first edition took place at the Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Jean, a jewel of Plantagenet Gothic architecture. The second edition is held in several emblematic sites: the towers, the chapel, and the Apocalypse gallery of the Château d'Angers, the Collégiale Saint-Martin, the Salons Curnonsky, and the Musée des Beaux-Arts. This unique heritage setting enhances the cultural experience.
Prestigious Guests
Cultissime hosts internationally renowned authors. The first edition brought together James Ellroy, Bernard Werber, Douglas Kennedy, Bernard Minier, Jean Van Hamme, and Mark Millar. The patrons of this inaugural edition were Alain Ayroles, Clémentine Beauvais, and Bernard Werber. Each edition features about thirty authors for meetings and signings.
A Rich and Festive Program
In addition to meetings and signings, the festival offers shows, concerts, exhibitions, creative workshops for children and adults, youth activities (storytelling, illustration contests, escape game), outdoor entertainment (scenes recited by a wandering Cyrano, sword fights, slam poetry), and food trucks. The goal is to encourage reading by combining culture and entertainment for all ages.
Where does it take place — Cultissime
Cultissime in brief
History of Cultissime
Edition 2025 Sep 2025Other festivals near Angers
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