On April 21 and 22, the Caudan Arts Centre (CAC) is hosting the second Festival du livre Jeunesse de Maurice (FLJM). This event, created in 2018 by Atelier des Nomades publisher Corinne Fleury, will welcome young readers and their parents to take flight into worlds of unsuspected wonder…
Painting workshops, readings and nursery rhymes, new books, trades… the FLJM returns to Port-Louis this time, taking over the CAC. Scheduled at a time when there are no exams, the festival will take place on a Friday dedicated to schools and on a Saturday open to all… As book trades remain little-known, the organizers are offering schools, colleges and high schools the chance to meet professionals from the entire book chain , from writer to printer, to discover their know-how and dream a little…
“Reading gives wings” is the theme of this second edition, which in addition to the CAC’s contribution will rely on the goodwill of the many participants (authors, illustrators, publishers…) offering numerous activities, all free of charge. It’s also the title of the exhibition featuring some forty original illustrations devoted to the birds so present in masquerade literature. From the outside, Fabienne Jonca, Griotte, Modeste Madoré, Sophie Bazin, Julie Bernard, Judith Gueyfier, Skye Robinson, as well as publisher Zebulo, the association La Réunion des Livres and cultural players from Madagascar and Mayotte. On the Mauritian side, a selection of self-published books will be presented alongside the stands of Vizavi and l’Atelier des Nomades.
In Rose-Hill in 2018, the Plaza was packed for two days, welcoming a resolutely family-oriented public, teeming with activities of all kinds where books were approached from the angle of pleasure and the imaginary, so important in the face of strictly academic considerations… Two thousand people made the trip for these days and booksellers sold Rs 350,000 worth of books, most of them locally published.
Highlights
This time, an appetizer is scheduled for April 15 and 16, at the Centre Culturel d’Expression Française in Curepipe, with Lacaz à mots, a writing workshop for teenagers, led by novelist Shenaz Patel. During the festival, don’t miss the launch of Manifeste pour la Lecture, a solidarity collection (Rs 200) produced by Atelier des Nomades with the voluntary contributions of sixteen authors from Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion, Mayotte, Canada, the West Indies and mainland France. This will be the only book to address all generations…
Ashish Beesoondial presents a theatrical reading of Indian Tales by Amarnath Hosany and Kavinien Karupudayyan. Three nursery rhyme and reading workshops will be on offer for the under-threes, and many more for their elders, focusing on drawing, writing, reading and manga, not forgetting the opportunity to add a touch of color to a large-scale participatory fresco… Visitors will discover the album Myrobolan, l’arbre forêt by Shenaz Patel and Gabrielle Wiehé, as well as Ludo le dodo jardinier by Céline Chowa and Henry Koombes…
