On 17 March, the Paris Book Fair will be opening for the 36th time at the Porte de Versailles Exhibition Centre. A major event in the world of publishing, this event has been given a new look. One of the highlights of the revamp is the change of name to Livre Paris.

As every year, the first few hours of the show will be reserved for publishing professionals, before the Parc des Expositions at Porte de Versailles opens its doors to the general public. Paris Livre 2016 will then be open to visitors until Sunday 20 March, with the possibility of an evening event (until 10pm) on Thursday 17 March 2016.

To underline both the continuity and the changes that have been made, Livre Paris will be taking place “outside the walls”. On the weekend before the fair (12 and 13 March), a 600-metre-long literary alleyway, between the Pont de la Concorde and the Léopold-Sédar-Songhor footbridge, will encourage visitors to find out more or to extend this educational and entertaining experience. Livre en Seine is free and open to all, and will continue at Porte de Versailles from 17 March!

The highlight of the publishing world changes its name to Livre Paris 2016

The change of name for the now-defunct Salon du Livre de Paris is not insignificant, but reflects a genuine transformation. Of course, the thousands of books on display, the hundreds of authors and the countless publishers will continue to fill the aisles of the Parc des Expos at Porte de Versailles for 4 days, but Livre Paris 2016 has been redesigned as a place of escape and wonder.
The new layout of this Parisian fair is organised around 4 themed squares. The layout does not, however, prevent interaction and bridges being built between these different worlds.

  • Culinary Square
  • Knowledge Square
  • Youth Square
  • Religions, Culture and Society Square

Livre Paris 2016, a livelier fair with two dynamic and eclectic stages

Two stages will now complete this highlight of the publishing world. The literary stage promises to be a great place to meet people, with works of all kinds on display, as well as reflections on the future of books. The second, the comics stage, represents an innovation and is guaranteed to meet the many expectations of readers and/or fans of manga and other works of this fast-changing 9th art.
On these two stages, the latest news from the world of books will be presented by numerous authors and/or publishers, and Livre Paris 2016 even promises an unexpected programme throughout these 4 days of celebrations, particularly during the night-time event on Thursday 17 March. The stages of Livre Paris 2016 promise to achieve this ambitious goal : to make books more alive and in tune with today’s society.

Resisting to open up to others and explore new horizons

While Livre Paris 2016, like all the previous editions, offers an incomparable eclecticism and diversity in terms of both the books presented and the events on offer, the event remains attached to an Ariadne’s thread. In 2016, the theme will be Resistance(s).

Resisting for the sake of culture and the future of books, resisting to pass on and share values, resisting to avoid turning in on ourselves… it’s an ambitious goal, and one that’s in line with this approach, aimed at restoring the written word to its rightful place.

This resistance is not just an empty word or a qualifier for a Livre Paris fair, but a real state of mind. Is it not to resist, and therefore to open up to others, that this fair continues its tour of the literary world? In 2016, South Korea will be in the spotlight, and no fewer than 30 South Korean authors will be representing this wealth of publishing talent, one of the largest on the Asian continent.

Since resistance means accepting differences, Livre Paris 2016 will also be welcoming 22 Congolese authors to celebrate the cities of Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire in the Republic of Congo. Constantine, this year’s guest city, will be keen to showcase the richness of Algeria, and the twenty or so Algerian authors will be determined to celebrate Constantine, Capital of Arab Culture, until April 2016.

By choosing a new name, Livre Paris 2016 intends to adapt to the new expectations of its visitors. Despite these changes and innovations, the event is still the one that publishing professionals and book lovers have been waiting for. In this respect, the Paris Book Fair remains unchanged and is proving to be a perfect example of…Resistance.