Lire à Limoges
The grand book fair of Limoges
2026
About Lire à Limoges
Lire à Limoges — edition 2026
The 42nd edition of Lire à Limoges will be held from June 5 to 7, 2026 and is changing its setting: the fair is leaving the ice rink to move into Le Manège, a former 19th-century military building located on rue du Pont Saint-Martial, a stone's throw from the Hôtel de Ville and the Bfm. Chaired by writer Philippe Besson and themed « (reality will wait) », this edition brings together more than 200 invited authors around a multidisciplinary program: general literature, thrillers, comics, youth literature, manga, poetry, fantasy, and regional literature.
An ambitious 42nd edition, across three sites in the heart of Limoges
After three years at the Olympic ice rink, Lire à Limoges 2026 is taking up residence in a new location: Le Manège, rue du Pont Saint-Martial. Built in the 19th century to house army horses, this building with its monumental wooden framework now serves as a municipal garage and is usually closed to the public. It is specially fitted out to host the book signing stands of some 200 invited authors. The move aims to revitalize the city center and offer an architectural setting commensurate with the fair's ambition.
Two other institutional sites complete the setup: the Bfm centre-ville (Bibliothèque francophone multimédia) hosts major interviews, masterclasses, and in-depth meetings, while the Hôtel de Ville serves as the setting for youth literary award ceremonies.
Philippe Besson, honorary president
Writer Philippe Besson presides over this 42nd edition. Translated into more than fifteen languages and author of some twenty novels with nearly 1.7 million books sold, he is one of the major voices in contemporary French literature. An exclusive interview with the president is published on the official website of the fair.
« (reality will wait) »: the 2026 theme
The title of this edition, placed in parentheses, is intended as a literary interlude in the face of anxiety-inducing current events. The fair claims to be an invitation to travel, dreams, and laughter, carried by unique authors from all horizons.
More than 200 authors, all literatures
The guest directory brings together authors from across the entire literary spectrum: general literature, thrillers, comics, manga, youth, science fiction, fantasy, romance, poetry, theater, travelogue, fiction, and non-fiction. Stands are numbered at Le Manège (from 5 to 19) with a map available in PDF on the official website.
Literary prizes
The fair awards several prizes covering all genres:
- Prix Cazettes (comic strip) — awarded in 2026 to Paola Guzzo for Nous sommes la voix de celles qui n'en ont…
- Prix Grand Feu — intended for authors from Nouvelle-Aquitaine
- Prix Biscuit and Prix Étincelles — for young readers
- Prix des écoles du Val de l'Aurence
Readers are again invited to vote in 2026, with three comic strips selected for the public vote.
School action: philosophy in the spotlight
The 2026 collaborative school project this year puts philosophy in the spotlight. Singer-songwriter David Sire accompanies participating classes throughout the year in workshops organized at the Bfm centre-ville, leading up to the final presentation at the fair.
Writing competition « Évasions ferroviaires »
In partnership with SNCF, a writing competition invites participants to compose a micro-short story in one hour, without external help or artificial intelligence.
A literary influencer and new formats
The 2026 edition also features a literary influencer among its guests, a sign of the fair's openness to new online recommendation practices.
Highlights Lire à Limoges 2026
- New emblematic venue — Le Manège, a former military building with a monumental wooden framework, usually closed to the public
- Philippe Besson honorary president of the 42nd edition
- Theme « (reality will wait) » — a literary interlude
- More than 200 invited authors, all literatures combined
- Three complementary sites: Le Manège (book signings), Bfm centre-ville (major interviews), Hôtel de Ville (youth award ceremonies)
- Free admission to the entire fair
- Prix Cazettes 2026 awarded to Paola Guzzo
- Writing competition « Évasions ferroviaires » in partnership with SNCF
Programme Lire à Limoges 2026
Vendredi 5 juin 2026
Le vendredi matin est consacré aux scolaires. L'ouverture au grand public débute en fin d'après-midi.
- 16h00 — Petite histoire de Lecture(s) — Maribel Nadal-José et Émilie Ruiz, commissaires d'exposition : « Quels liens entre peinture et littérature ? » · Bfm – Petit auditorium · animation Cathia Engelbach
- 16h00 — À table ! — Aurélie Thérond, autour de son ouvrage Le Trognon, le vieux croûton, le fond de bouteille et le blanc d'œuf sont dans une marmite (La Martinière) · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu
- 16h00 – 19h00 — Émission Radio Ici Limousin en direct depuis Le Manège, avec séance photo gratuite
- 17h00 — Genres dessinés — Walter Guissard, Louise Laborie · Bfm – Petit auditorium · animation Cathia Engelbach
- 17h00 — Grand entretien avec Marylène Patou-Mathis, autour de Nous étions si proches (Allary) : la relation entre humains et animaux · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu
Samedi 6 juin 2026 — 10h00 à 19h00
- 10h30 — Remise du Prix Cazettes (bande dessinée) · Bfm – Petite Scène · animation Sonia Déchamps
- 10h30 — La mécanique des fascias — Danièle Ranoux, Les Fascias (Trédaniel) · Bfm – Clancier
- 10h30 — Mystères et profondeurs — Sandrine Destombes, Nicolas Druart · Bfm – Petit auditorium
- 10h30 — Des histoires passées sous silence — Antonin Crenn, Caroline Huppert · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Alexandre Blomme
- 10h30 — Initiation à la BD (atelier 6-11 ans) · Manège
- 11h30 — Grand entretien avec Sophie Jomain, Journal d'une wedding planner (Charleston) · Bfm – Clancier · animation Karine Papillaud
- 11h30 — Au fil du pinceau — Natacha Sicaud, José-Luis Munuera, Joseph Falzon · Bfm – Petit auditorium
- 11h30 — Déracinements — Karam Hassan, Laurent Bénégui · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Caroline de Benedetti
- 11h30 — Les héroïnes de la mythologie (atelier 8-12 ans) — Isabelle Pandazopoulos · Manège
- 13h00 – 14h00 — Club de lecture animé par Lucie (@lecturesauhasard) · Bfm – Petit Auditorium · gratuit sur inscription
- 14h00 — Ce passé qui ressurgit — Guillaume Clicquot, Nathalie Saint-Cricq · Hôtel de Ville – Salle Louis-Longequeue
- 14h00 — Femmes ! — Marie Kirschen, Paola Guzzo, Mejdaline Mhiri · Bfm – Clancier · animation Cathia Engelbach
- 14h00 — Nos animaux nous réparent — Mémona Hintermann · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Karine Papillaud
- 14h00 — L'art du manga ! (atelier dès 8 ans) — Juni Ba · Manège
- 14h00 — Concours Échappées ferroviaires (micro-nouvelle, dès 15 ans, 1h, 40 lignes max, sans IA) · Bfm – Salle Roblès
- 14h30 — Club ado val d'Aurence · Bfm – Petit auditorium · animation Sonia Déchamps
- 14h30 — Remise du Prix Grand Feu (auteurs de Nouvelle-Aquitaine) · Bfm – Petite scène · animation Caroline de Benedetti
- 15h00 — Enfants arrachés, destins brisés — Pauline Clavière, Catherine Gucher · Bfm – Clancier · animation Pascal Fournier
- 15h00 — Deux trajectoires, une même passion — Stéphanie et Raphaëlle Giordano · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Philippe Delaroche
- 15h00 — Grand entretien avec Philippe Besson, président du salon, autour de Une pension en Italie (Julliard) · Hôtel de Ville – Salle Louis-Longequeue · animation Karine Papillaud · traduit en LSF
- 15h00 — Au dodo (atelier 3-10 ans) — Charlotte Roederer · Manège
- 15h45 — Rencontre lecteurs avec Le Populaire du Centre — Romain Puértolas · Bfm – Petite scène
- 16h00 — Atelier d'écriture avec Karine Reysset, sur le thème des souvenirs de vacances · Bfm – Salle Roblès
- 16h00 — Grand entretien avec Sorj Chalandon, Le Livre de Kells (Grasset) · Bfm – Clancier · animation Caroline de Benedetti
- 16h00 — Troubles et addictions — Camille Charvet, Les Assoiffés (Grasset) · Bfm – Petit auditorium
- 16h00 — L'Équipe fête ses 80 ans — Gérard Ernault, 10 faubourg Montmartre · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu
- 16h00 — Polars en série — Alexis Laipsker, Ian Manook, David Hury · Hôtel de Ville – Salle Louis-Longequeue · animation Pascal Fournier
- 16h00 — Balade fantastique (atelier dès 10 ans, 1h30) — Louise Laborie · Manège
- 17h00 — Regards sur le monde — Emmanuelle Hascoët, François Luciani · Bfm – Petit auditorium · animation Karine Papillaud
- 17h00 — Grand entretien avec Jean Rouaud, La Maison imaginaire (Gallimard) · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Philippe Delaroche
Dimanche 7 juin 2026 — 10h00 à 17h00
- 10h30 — Des lieux où être heureux — Gavin's Clemente-Ruiz, Lorraine Fouchet · Bfm – Clancier · animation Pascal Fournier
- 10h30 — Grand entretien avec Patrice Duhamel, Le Crépuscule des dieux (L'Observatoire) — les maladies des présidents français · Hôtel de Ville – Salle Louis-Longequeue
- 10h30 — Peaux à peaux — Mélanie Page, Peaux à peaux (Albin Michel) · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu
- 10h30 — Les jolies choses (atelier 3-6 ans) — Céline Person · Manège
- 10h30 — Atelier BD (dès 8 ans) — David Combet · Musée des Beaux-Arts
- 10h30 — Déambulation littéraire — Lilou Bénégui, Marcel Farge · Musée des Beaux-Arts
- 11h30 — Grand entretien avec Victor Dixen, Les Mystères d'Eversand (Robert Laffont) · Bfm – Clancier · animation Philippe Delaroche
- 11h30 — De part et d'autre de l'appareil judiciaire — Valentine Vendôme, Agnès Vannouvong · Hôtel de Ville – Salle Louis-Longequeue · animation Caroline de Benedetti
- 11h30 — Seuils critiques — Juliette Oury, Coralie Janne, Cécile Guidot, Daphné Tamage · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Alexandre Blomme
- 11h30 — Crée ton pirate… et son destin ! (atelier dès 11 ans) — Natacha Didry · Manège
- 14h00 — Carte blanche — Philippe Besson et Philippe Savet, Mille millilitres de Ganymède (Le Nouvel Attila), avec le dessinateur David Combet · Bfm – Clancier · animation Alexandre Blomme
- 14h00 — Décortiquer la lettre — Julie Estève, Marie Baudet, Mabrouck Rachedi, Pia Petersen · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Cathia Engelbach
- 14h00 — Dans les coulisses du Royaume-Uni — Antoine Michelland, Catherine Delors, dessinateur David Combet · Bfm – Clancier
- 14h00 — Crée ton personnage (atelier dès 8 ans) — Dimitri Tsekenis · Manège
- 14h30 — Dessiner en plein air ! (dès 8 ans) — avec un guide-conférencier et l'illustrateur Troubs · extérieur
- 15h00 — Derrière l'écran — Stéphane Carlier, Esther Hervy · Hôtel de Ville – Salon bleu · animation Pascal Fournier
- 15h00 — Des mots d'amour (atelier d'écriture dès 13 ans, 1h) — Maureen Desmailles · Hôtel de Ville
- 16h00 — Des animaux mignons (atelier dès 6 ans) — Laure Phelipon · Manège
Prices Lire à Limoges 2026
Book purchases are paid at a centralized checkout managed by partner booksellers at the exit (except at publisher stands). Stickers affixed to the books confirm payment.
Lire à Limoges — 2027 edition
The 2026 edition was held from 5 June to 7 June 2026. The dates for the 2027 edition have not been announced yet. This page will be updated as soon as the official programme is published.
Practical information — Lire à Limoges
Practical Information
2026 Fair Venues
For its 2026 edition, Lire à Limoges is leaving the ice rink and moving into three complementary sites in the heart of Limoges:
- Le Manège — rue du Pont Saint-Martial. A former 19th-century military riding school with a monumental wooden frame, usually closed to the public: it hosts the signing booths for some 200 invited authors.
- La Bfm centre-ville (Bibliothèque francophone multimédia) — for major interviews, literary meetings, and masterclasses.
- L'Hôtel de Ville — for the youth award ceremonies.
Hours
- Friday: 2 PM – 7 PM (Friday morning is reserved for school groups)
- Saturday: 10 AM – 7 PM
- Sunday: 10 AM – 5 PM
Prices
Free admission for the entire fair — signings, workshops, meetings, conferences, and award ceremonies. Book purchases are paid at a centralized checkout managed by partner booksellers at the exit (except at publisher stands).
Access
By train: Limoges-Bénédictins SNCF station, about a 15-minute walk from Le Manège.
By car: Limoges is served by the A20 motorway. Nearby city centre car parks (Tribunal, Halles, République — 2 hours free on Friday and Saturday in some car parks, 1 hour free with a fair coupon in others), park-and-ride facilities with electric shuttles.
By public transport: TCL network (free on weekends) and city centre electric shuttles.
Taxis: taxis87.com or 05 55 38 38 38.
On-site
Four partner bookstores manage the checkout and bookstore area: Anecdotes, Pages et Plume, Rev'en Pages, and Bulles 2 Papier. Youth area with free workshops, food trucks, and a relaxation area.
Contact
Direction de la Culture et des Arts, Ville de Limoges — [email protected] · 05 55 45 61 60.
Lire à Limoges: over forty years of literary passion
Founded in 1984 on the initiative of elected official Ellen Constans, the Lire à Limoges book fair has established itself over the decades as one of the unmissable events in the French literary scene. Ranked among the ten largest book festivals in France, it brings together more than 200 authors from all literary horizons every June for a weekend of meetings, signings, and sharing with a passionate public.
All literatures in the spotlight
The strength of Lire à Limoges lies in its ability to embrace the entire literary spectrum. General literature, crime fiction, comics, children's literature, and regional literature coexist in a rich and accessible program. Visitors can wander between signing stands, attend major interviews with prominent writers, participate in creative workshops, or discover emerging talents highlighted by the fair's president.
A free and open fair for everyone
True to its popular vocation, Lire à Limoges is entirely free. This accessibility makes the fair unique and helps attract nearly 18,000 visitors each year. Friday is dedicated to schoolchildren, with meetings between authors and students in the city's classrooms, while the weekend is open to the general public.
Prestigious literary awards
The fair awards several prizes that recognize the diversity of literary creation: the Prix Grand Feu, for authors from Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the Prix Cazettes for comics, the Prix Biscuit and the Prix Étincelles for young readers, as well as the Prix des écoles du Val de l'Aurence. These distinctions demonstrate the fair's commitment to reading and transmission.
Strong territorial roots
Organized by the City of Limoges, the fair benefits from solid institutional support and a network of partner bookstores — Anecdotes, Pages et Plume, Rev'en Pages, and Bulles 2 Papier — which actively participate in animating the weekend. Food trucks located near the site complete the friendly offering of this event, which has become a highlight of Limoges' cultural life.
Where does it take place — Lire à Limoges
Lire à Limoges in brief
History of Lire à Limoges
Edition 2025 Jun 2025Other festivals near Limoges
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