Fête du Livre du Var

The Fête du Livre du Var: Twenty-Eight Years Serving Reading

Since 1998, the Fête du Livre du Var has brought together major names in French and international literature each autumn in the city of Toulon, alongside emerging authors and lesser-known voices that deserve to be discovered. Organized by the Department of Var, this event has become the benchmark literary gathering in the region, a popular yet discerning fair that emphasizes direct interaction between authors and their readers.

A Literary Fair at the Palais Neptune

For several editions, the Fête du Livre du Var has been held at the Palais Neptune in Toulon, a vast, adaptable space perfectly suited for hosting a large literary fair. This venue, located in the heart of the city, can accommodate hundreds of stands, signing areas, stages for major conferences, and reading corners for children, all within a friendly and professional setting.

The event is structured into several thematic areas:

• General Literature: novels, essays, biographies, travelogues
• Youth: picture books, novels for children and teenagers, comics for young readers
• Comics and Graphic Novels: a space dedicated to the 9th art
• Independent and Regional Publishers: a window into local publishing creation

Exceptional Authors for Each Edition

The strength of the Fête du Livre du Var lies in its ability to attract top-tier authors while remaining true to a diverse and accessible program. Each edition is presided over by a literary figure whose work particularly resonates with current cultural events.

For the 28th edition (November 2025), Aurélie Valognes, a bestselling author whose novels reach a considerable popular audience, has agreed to preside over the event. She embodies the love of storytelling, the pleasure of reading, and that rare ability to unite readers around stories that speak to everyone.

Among the guests of this edition were also Anne Berest (author of La Carte postale, winner of the Prix Renaudot des lycéens), Mathias Malzieu (novelist and singer, author of La Mécanique du cœur), and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, one of the most widely read French-language authors in the world.

Literary Awards of the Festival

The Fête du Livre du Var is also a place for authors to be recognized, with two literary awards presented at each edition:

• The Prix des Lecteurs du Var (Var Readers' Award): Awarded by a jury of volunteer readers from the Var region, this prize recognizes a novel from the literary season that has particularly touched the public. It helps to highlight works that may be less publicized, revealing talents to a wider audience.
• The Prix Encre Marine (Marine Ink Award): Dedicated to maritime literature in its broadest sense, it annually rewards a work that celebrates the sea, sailors, journeys, and horizons. Rooted in the maritime tradition of Toulon and the Var, it perpetuates a strong literary and cultural heritage.

Activities for All Audiences

Beyond encounters with adult authors, the Fête du Livre du Var develops an ambitious youth program. Reading and writing workshops are offered to schoolchildren, shows and activities for children animate dedicated spaces, and the program "Les collégiens varois et la Fête du Livre" (Var Middle Schoolers and the Book Fair) allows young readers to meet their favorite authors directly and participate in school juries.

The "Grands Entretiens" (Major Interviews) are the highlights of the public program: long conversations on stage with the most anticipated authors, in a format that allows for discussion not only of their work but also their lives, commitments, and inspirations.

Completely Free Admission

As its name suggests, the Fête du Livre du Var is above all a celebration: a celebration of reading, accessible to all, with no entry fee. Access to the fair is entirely free, in line with the public service mission of the Department of Var, which invests annually in this event to bring the people of Var closer to culture and books.

This free admission is particularly valuable for families, schoolchildren, and readers with limited means, who can thus freely access encounters with national and international authors.

An Anchor in the Literary Memory of the Var

The 28th edition of 2025 paid tribute to Françoise Sagan, whose work and personality remain intimately linked to the French Riviera and the Var, where she lived and wrote some of her most famous pages. This tribute illustrates the festival's commitment to forging links between contemporary literary creation and the memory of great writers who have marked the region.