writers – Good News Monaco

Salon du livre de Monaco co-founders Raphaël Abenhaim and Yvette Cellario.

This year’s Monaco International Book Fair at the Grimaldi Forum brings together 140 authors from 12 countries across the globe. The 13th edition – which is free to the public – kicked off Saturday September 7 with opera, and acknowledgements from Yvette Cellario, a Monegasque who co-founded the event with businessman Raphaël Abenhaim.

The pair first launched the online bookshop, Librairie numérique de Monaco, back in 2011. Following its success, they decided to expand their literary activities and went on to create the Salon du livre de Monaco in 2012.

The objective was to promote all facets of literature. Yvette, who worked for twenty years in the Monaco Town Hall events department, published her first novel “Et Moi, Émois” in 2004. This was followed by an autobiography and several other titles.

Raphaël Abenhaim and the Librairie numérique de Monaco team are on hand this weekend to speak with book lovers about what the online bookshop has to offer.

Volunteer Heidi De Love gives the lowdown on the 10% discount promo on all books throughout September. WATCH VIDEO BELOW: ENGLISH

For the first time in Monaco, members of the Rencontres des Auteurs Francophones are taking part in the book weekend. Founded in 2020 by author Sandrine Mehrez Kukurudz, the New York-based platform is the world’s first French-language literary network set up to promote French-language culture. WATCH VIDEO ABOVE IN ENGLISH: SANDRINE AND RON KUKURUDZ.

One of the Rencontres entourage includes LA-based Dana Ziyashiva. WATCH VIDEO IN ENGLISH.

Another first-time participant is Swiss-based writer Laurence Berger, with a fictional thriller linked to Monaco published in both French and English. WATCH VIDEO BELOW IN ENGLISH WITH LAURENCE BERGER AND LAURENCE GENEVET.

Local authors include Laurence Genevet (the former managing director of Epi Communication), Mireille Grazi and Lucien Nasarre.

The Monaco International Book Fair runs from 10am to 6pm Saturday, September 7, and Sunday, September 8.

Writers from the Rencontres des Auteurs Francophones.

Lawyer by day, writer the rest of the time, Laurence Berger.

Heidi De Love volunteering with the fantastic Librairie numérique de Monaco.

Well-known personality Laurence Genevet with her first book.

The 13th edition of the Monaco International Book Fair.

Article first published September 7, 2024. All photos and videos copyright Good News Monaco.

Joyce Carol Oates (centre) at the 2024 Prix Fitzgerald event at Hôtel Belles Rives.
Photo: Grégoire Bernardi/AP Content Services for Hôtel Belles Rives)

The 2024 Prix Fitzgerald literary award was presented to Joyce Carol Oates on June 7 at the Hôtel Belles Rives, the iconic hotel in Juan-les-Pins where F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote Tender is the Night.

Oates was on hand Friday to accept the accolade for her novel, 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister (October 2023; Philippe Rey), “the story of a woman named Georgina Fulmer, who is searching for her missing sister, Marguerite Fulmer. The narrative explores themes of sibling rivalry and the mysteries surrounding Marguerite’s disappearance through a series of clues and emotional revelations.”

In her acceptance speech the American writer thanked the jurors, and Marianne Estène-Chauvin for “the privilege of being a guest at this fabled place, so commemorated by F. Scott Fitzgerald in the very site in which the 1926, nearly a century ago, Fitzgerald spoke of experiencing ‘strange, precious, and all too transitory moments, when everything in one’s life seems to be going well,’ so I think I will end on that note. Transitory moments when everything in life seems to be going well.”

Oates, who was first published in 1963 for a short-story collection By the North Gate and has since written 70 novels, was up against some of the year’s biggest works of literature – Ian McEwan’s Lessons (October 2023, Gallimard); Irene Manuel’s Villas (January 2024; Du Sous-Sol); Christian Kracht’s Eurotrash (January 2024, Denoël); and Caroline O’Donoghue’s The Rachel Incident, published January 2024 Mercure de France). The five titles were French-language editions.

Marianne Estène-Chauvin created the French literary award in 2011 to honour a novel or short story that embodies “the elegance, wit, taste for style, and art of living of the American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald.” At yesterday’s award ceremony, she commented, “Joyce Carol Oates’ ability to weave intricate and compelling narratives is unmatched. Her exploration of the human psyche and relationships, particularly in 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister, exemplifies the elegance and depth that the Fitzgerald Prize seeks to honour.” Estène-Chauvin is also President of the Francis Scott Fitzgerald Academy and owner of the Belles Rives.

Recent winners have included Quentin Tarantino (#1 New York Times bestselling Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), who personally accepted the Prix Fitzgerald in 2023 for his work Cinema Speculation, as well as Jonathan Dee, Jeffrey Eugenides, Jay McInerney, Christopher Bollen and William Boyd.

Members of the jury selected the nominees in March. The French jury was led by journalist Bertrand de Saint Vincent, deputy director of Le Figaro and literary columnist. Members were radio journalist Daphné Roulier-De Caunes; author of the unauthorized biography Le N°5 de Chanel, Marie-Dominique Lelièvre; Figaro film critic Eric Neuhoff; L’Obs editor-in-chief, François Armane; literary critic Fréderic Beigbeder; Le Point deputy editorChristophe Ono; and actress Hélène Fillières.

The ceremony wrapped up with a Writers’ Dinner held in the exclusive Cap d’Antibes setting.

Article first published June 8, 2024. Photos: Gregoire Bernardi/AP Content Services for Hôtel Belles Rives.