Les Petites Fugues

Les Petites Fugues: Contemporary Literature Comes to Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Since 2001, Les Petites Fugues have been bringing contemporary literature to life throughout Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. This traveling literary festival, organized by the Agence Livre & Lecture Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, has become the unmissable event of the regional literary scene. For two weeks in November, about fifteen French-language writers travel the region's roads to meet their readers, in a unique approach of local proximity in France.

The History of a Pioneering Festival

Les Petites Fugues were born in 2001 from an initiative by the Regional Council and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs (DRAC) of Franche-Comté. The festival first invited authors linked to Franche-Comté by birth or career, for readings and discussions in high schools, middle schools, and libraries. From the second edition, in 2002, the festival broadened its horizons by inviting authors from French-speaking Switzerland, and it was this crossing of borders that inspired the name "fugues," referencing the eponymous 1979 Swiss film. Supported for sixteen years by the Regional Book Center of Franche-Comté, the festival is now coordinated by the Agence Livre & Lecture BFC.

Two Founding Principles

From the outset, two principles have guided Les Petites Fugues: that the entire regional territory benefits from the festival, and that every reader, wherever they are, can meet a writer. These are the principles that give the festival its traveling nature and its social dimension, far from the usual concentration of cultural events in large cities.

Encounters in Various Venues

Les Petites Fugues organize nearly a hundred encounters in a wide variety of venues: libraries, bookstores, schools, hospitals, medico-social structures, associations, detention centers, and community spaces. This diversity of venues is at the heart of the festival's identity, promoting intergenerational encounters and audiences far from traditional culture.

Les Fuguettes

In addition to the classic encounters, Les Fuguettes offer original and short formats to discover an author and their world in a different way. Sometimes designed collectively with local partners, they encourage a de-siloed and inventive approach to literature.

A Free Festival Open to All

All Les Petites Fugues encounters are free and open to the public. This free access is a strong commitment of the festival, which aims to make contemporary literature accessible to everyone, without financial or geographical barriers. Each year, the complete program is available from October on the festival's official website.