Les Correspondances de Manosque

A unique literary festival in Provence

Created in 1999, Les Correspondances de Manosque was one of the first festivals to offer a model of literary encounters instead of a traditional book fair. Every year, during the last week of September, the Provençal town of Manosque transforms into a vast literary playground where over 16,000 festival-goers come to celebrate writing and the literary season's return for five days.

Three founding pillars

The festival is structured around three main directions:

• Giving a voice to invited authors through original formats: encounters, public readings, dialogues between writers and readers.
• Connecting literature with other art forms: literary concerts, musical readings, performances blending voice, music, and images.
• Designing a vast writing experience with around a hundred writing desks, small desks set up in the streets, squares, and gardens of Manosque where everyone is invited to write a letter to a loved one, a stranger, or themselves.

A rich and demanding program

The programming committee, composed of literature enthusiasts including Sylvie Ballul, Colombe Boncenne, and writer Arnaud Cathrine, selects about fifty authors each year from the latest literary releases. Eight to ten debut novelists are systematically included in the program, alongside established authors. Evenings at the Théâtre Jean Le Bleu feature musical readings, literary concerts, and performances that blend literature and the performing arts.

The writing desks, the festival's signature

The major originality of Les Correspondances lies in its writing desks: about a hundred writing desks set up in the pedestrianized historic center of Manosque. Paper, envelopes, and stamps are provided free of charge thanks to the historic partnership with La Poste. Each year, the number of letters written during the festival roughly corresponds to the number of visitors, with around 17,000 letters sent.

Beyond the September festival

The association Les Mille et Une Nuits de la Correspondance, which organizes the festival, carries out activities throughout the year: reading clubs, author residencies, partnerships with regional cultural institutions, and youth outreach programs through the association Éclat de lire. The Jean Giono Cultural and Literary Center, located on Boulevard Élémir Bourges, serves as the festival's permanent headquarters.