Délires de Lire - Youth Book Fair

An 11th edition under the sign of astonishment

For its 11th edition, the Délires de Lire youth book fair invites young and old to think outside the box with the theme « Totally Astonishing ». Unexpected stories, quirky universes, extraordinary characters: youth literature that dares, invents, and astonishes is celebrated from June 5 to 7, 2026, in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt, at the gates of Blois.

Emmanuelle Houdart, patron of the edition

Illustrator Emmanuelle Houdart, born in 1967 in Switzerland, is the guest of honor at the fair. A graduate of the Geneva University of Art and Design and based in Paris, she has been drawing for youth publishing houses (Thierry Magnier, Les Fourmis Rouges, Les Grandes Personnes) for nearly thirty years. Her unique work, at once poetic, abundant, and free, perfectly embodies the spirit of astonishment of this edition. An exhibition « Le Petit monde d'Emmanuelle Houdart » (The Small World of Emmanuelle Houdart) is dedicated to her at the heart of the fair (Espace F).

Twenty invited authors and illustrators

The fair brings together twenty youth authors and illustrators present for signings: Federico Appel, Anne-Gaëlle Balpe, Pierre Bertrand, Paloma Caballero, Olivier Chéné, Virginie Costa, Sibylle Delacroix, Natali Fortier, Antoine Guilloppé, Vanessa Hié, Emmanuelle Houdart, Maria Jalibert, Sandra Le Guen, Grégoire Mabire, Frédéric Marais, Hervé Pinel, Maurèen Poignonec, Marie Quentrec, Delphine Roux, Christine Schneider, and Eléna Selena.

Seven publishing houses and bookstores present

The fair welcomes publishing houses HongFei Cultures, abc MELODY, un poil bleu, Elan Vert, Allez-zou, and Touches d'encre, as well as bookstores Espace Culturel Leclerc and Libr'Enfant, and the Saint-Gervais library.

Five free shows, workshops, and escape game

On the program: five free shows including « Le roi des menteurs » (The King of Liars) narrated by Pierre Bertrand, « La famille Lavande » (The Lavender Family) by Sandra Le Guen and Maurèen Poignonec, « Le Grand Méchant Renard » (The Big Bad Fox) by Cie Jeux de Vilains, « Little Man » a reading-performance by Antoine Guilloppé and Rémi Dacheux, and a surprise wandering performance by Cie La Valise Ondulatoire. Fourteen creative workshops are led by the present illustrators (Saturday and Sunday, morning and afternoon), accompanied by a monumental drawing created by Grégoire Mabire, an escape game « Tous contre Cornebidouille » (All Against Cornebidouille) for ages 6-11, a literary escapade at Cap'Ados, free readings by Lire et Faire Lire, and games animated by the toy library.

Four exhibitions to discover

From April 21 to June 7, 2026, four exhibitions are to be discovered in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt, Mont-près-Chambord, and Blois: the Franco-Italian exhibition Virginie Costa & Federico Appel (Cap'Ados and libraries of Mont-près-Chambord and Abbé-Grégoire in Blois), « Le Petit monde d'Emmanuelle Houdart » (The Small World of Emmanuelle Houdart) (at the fair and at Maison de la BD in Blois from May 18 to June 3), « Pourvu que l'on danse ! » (Provided We Dance!) by Natali Fortier (at the fair and at Espace Culturel de Blois), and the exhibition of students' plastic arts projects « Détourner pour Étonner » (Divert to Astonish) at the kindergarten.

A strong educational project

Since the fair's inception, students and teachers from Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt and the agglomeration have been involved in a plastic arts project related to the edition's theme. Seven meeting workshops are also offered to children on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, in Blois and rural libraries (Veuzain-sur-Loire, Médiathèque Maurice Genevoix, Bibliothèque Abbé Grégoire, Saint-Aignan, Souesmes, Beauce la Romaine, Centre de loisirs de Saint-Gervais), in partnership with the Direction des Lectures Publiques of the Departmental Council and the Agglopolys library network. A half-day for professionals with Emmanuelle Houdart takes place on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, at ETIC École d'art et de design - Campus de la CCI in Blois, followed by a guided tour and the opening of her exhibition at Maison de la BD at 6:30 PM.

Friday, June 5, 2026 — 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM

Opening of the fair. Stands of publishers, booksellers and partners, accessible exhibitions, first exchanges with the present authors.

Saturday, June 6, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM

Shows (free, Espace Jean-Claude Deret) :

• 10:00 AM and 2:30 PM — « Le Grand Méchant Renard » (The Big Bad Fox), puppets by Cie Jeux de Vilains (ages 4 and up)
• 11:00 AM — « Le roi des menteurs » (The King of Liars), storytelling show by Pierre Bertrand (ages 6 to 12, duration 1h)
• 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM — « Déambulation surprise et (d)étonnante » (Surprise and Astonishing Wandering) by Cie La Valise Ondulatoire (at the fair)
• 4:00 PM — « La famille Lavande » (The Lavender Family), drawn and scripted reading by Sandra Le Guen and Maurèen Poignonec (ages 4 and up, duration 40 min)
• 6:45 PM — « Little Man », drawn and musical reading-performance by Antoine Guilloppé and Rémi Dacheux (ages 5 and up, duration 45 min)

Author Workshops (morning, registration 15 min before in front of the room) :

• 10:30 AM to 11:30 AM — Frédéric Marais, « Crayons / Ciseaux » (Pencils / Scissors) (ages 6 to 12, room 2)
• 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM — Virginie Costa, « Illustrations et collages » (Illustrations and collages) (ages 5 and up, room 3)
• 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM — Hervé Pinel, « Portraits déchirés » (Torn Portraits) (ages 6 to 10, room 1)

Author Workshops (afternoon) :

• 2:00 PM to 3:30 PM — Maria Jalibert, « Le déjeuner des chiens » (The Dogs' Lunch) (ages 8 and up, room 2)
• 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM — Federico Appel, « En croisière avec Mr Mistral » (Cruising with Mr. Mistral) (ages 5 to 8, room 3)
• 3:45 PM to 5:00 PM — Marie Quentrec, « Mon potager magique » (My Magic Vegetable Garden) (ages 5 to 7, room 3)
• 4:00 PM to 5:15 PM — Sibylle Delacroix, « Un étrange voyage » (A Strange Journey) (ages 6 to 12, room 2)

Signings (Saturday) : Olivier Chéné, Natali Fortier, Antoine Guilloppé, Maria Jalibert, Sandra Le Guen, Marie Quentrec, Maurèen Poignonec (stand A — Leclerc) ; Federico Appel, Virginie Costa (stand L — abc Melody) ; Vanessa Hié (stand N — Elan Vert, Saturday only) ; Frédéric Marais, Delphine Roux (stand M — HongFei Cultures) ; Anne-Gaëlle Balpe, Pierre Bertrand, Sibylle Delacroix, Emmanuelle Houdart, Grégoire Mabire, Hervé Pinel, Christine Schneider, Éléna Selena (stand H — Libr'Enfant) ; « Lucien » (stand O — Touches d'encre).

Continuous Activities :

• 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:30 PM to 4:00 PM — Escape game « Tous contre Cornebidouille » (All Against Cornebidouille) (entrance rue des Écoles, ages 6 to 11)
• All day — Literary escapade « Laisse mijoter tes idées » (Let Your Ideas Simmer) at Cap'Ados (ages 2 to 12)
• 10:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM, 4:30 PM, 5:00 PM — Free readings by Lire et Faire Lire ; 11:00 AM, 12:00 PM, 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:00 PM — Free readings by the Municipal Library
• All day — Truffaut creative workshops (Espace C) ; board games from the Ludothèque (Leisure Center room 4) ; The Astonishing Quiz
• Saturday morning — Monumental drawing, performance by Grégoire Mabire (Espace Salon)
• 11:30 AM — Award ceremony for the « Délires de Raconter » Prize (books in selection: Une poule sur un mur by Maria Jalibert, Pas la salopette bleue by Susie Morgenstern and Marie Quentrec, Les formidables journées de Piloursine by Emmanuelle Houdart, Papa Poulpe by Sandra Le Guen and Maurèen Poignonec)

Sunday, June 7, 2026 — 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM

Shows (free, Espace Jean-Claude Deret) :

• 11:00 AM — « La famille Lavande » (The Lavender Family) by Sandra Le Guen and Maurèen Poignonec (ages 4 and up, duration 40 min)
• 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM and 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM — « Déambulation surprise et (d)étonnante » (Surprise and Astonishing Wandering) by Cie La Valise Ondulatoire (at the fair)
• 2:30 PM — « Le roi des menteurs » (The King of Liars), storytelling show by Pierre Bertrand (ages 6 to 12, duration 1h)

Author Workshops (morning, registration) :

• 10:15 AM to 11:30 AM — Federico Appel, « Voyage en Tandem » (Tandem Journey) (ages 5 to 8, room 3)
• 10:30 AM to 12:00 PM — Maria Jalibert, « Le déjeuner des chiens » (The Dogs' Lunch) (ages 8 and up, room 2)
• 10:30 AM to 11:45 AM — Hervé Pinel, « Portraits déchirés » (Torn Portraits) (ages 6 to 10, room 1)
• 11:45 AM to 1:00 PM — Marie Quentrec, « Mon potager magique » (My Magic Vegetable Garden) (ages 5 to 7, room 3)

Author Workshops (afternoon) :

• 2:00 PM to 3:15 PM — Sibylle Delacroix, « Un étrange voyage » (A Strange Journey) (ages 6 to 12, room 2)
• 2:30 PM to 3:45 PM — Virginie Costa, « Marque-page d'animaux » (Animal Bookmark) (ages 5 and up, room 3)
• 2:30 PM to 3:15 PM and 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM — Association France Asie Cultures, Japanese calligraphy (ages 8 and up, room 1)
• 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM — Frédéric Marais, « Crayons / Ciseaux » (Pencils / Scissors) (ages 6 to 12, room 2)
• 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM — Les Éditions un poil bleu, « Étonnamment dansant » (Astonishingly Dancing) (ages 6 to 10, room 3)

Signings (Sunday) : same authors as Saturday, except Paloma Caballero (stand B — un poil bleu) who signs only on Sunday, and Vanessa Hié and Éléna Selena absent on Sunday.

Continuous Activities : Cornebidouille escape game (10:30 AM-12:00 PM and 2:30 PM-4:00 PM), literary escapade at Cap'Ados, free readings, Truffaut workshops, board games, monumental drawing coloring from 2:00 PM (ages 4 and up).

Leading up to the fair

• Wednesday, May 20, 2026 — Half-day for professionals with Emmanuelle Houdart at ETIC École d'art et de design in Blois, followed by a guided tour and the opening of her exhibition at Maison de la BD at 6:30 PM
• Wednesday, June 3, 2026 — Seven meeting workshops in Blois and rural libraries with Emmanuelle Houdart (Centre de loisirs Saint-Gervais), Virginie Costa (Veuzain-sur-Loire), Maria Jalibert (Médiathèque Maurice Genevoix Blois), Frédéric Marais (Bibliothèque Abbé Grégoire Blois), Antoine Guilloppé (Saint-Aignan), Eléna Selena (Souesmes), Sibylle Delacroix (Beauce la Romaine)
• Saturday, May 30, 2026 at 10:30 AM — Show « Le Livre aux Surprises » (The Book of Surprises) by Cie Les Pêchus at Bibliothèque de Vineuil (ages 1 to 7, duration 35-40 min)

• Emmanuelle Houdart, illustrator and patron of the 2026 edition (Thierry Magnier, Les Fourmis Rouges, Les Grandes Personnes)
• Twenty youth authors and illustrators present for signings on Saturday and Sunday
• Five free shows including « Le roi des menteurs » (The King of Liars) by Pierre Bertrand and « Little Man » by Antoine Guilloppé
• Fourteen creative workshops led by the present illustrators
• Escape game « Tous contre Cornebidouille » (All Against Cornebidouille) for ages 6-11
• Four exhibitions in Saint-Gervais-la-Forêt, Blois, and Mont-près-Chambord from April 21 to June 7
• Collective monumental drawing by Grégoire Mabire
• Award ceremony for the « Délires de Raconter » Prize on Saturday at 11:30 AM
• On-site catering « à l'auberge des livres » (at the book inn) by the APE