This is a relief for Jean-Edgar Casel and Gérard Collard, co-founders of the bookstore La Griffe Noire. A book fair will take place in Saint-Maur this year. After the announcement of the cancellation of Saint-Maur en Poche due to financial difficulties, the bookstore, supported by the town hall, still decided to organize one, in a reduced version.
"A pocket mini-lounge"
After the shock wave caused by the announcement of the cancellation of this unmissable event that attracted up to 20,000 reading enthusiasts each year, the Black Claw did not want to remain on a failure. The idea of a "mini-pocket lounge" emerges especially after the reactions of regulars on social networks, who express their disappointment. After careful consideration, it is decided: they will make one, salon. Not exactly the same as previous years, but one nonetheless.
And the novelty, Jean-Edgar Casel reveals it to us: "It will be called Lire en Boucle, because other bookstores and places in Saint-Maur lend themselves to the game". At the bookstores Aux Mots Tordus, Manga Home or at the Espace Jeunesse of the Maison des Arts et de la Culture and on Avenue Auguste Maurin, activities for children and adults will be offered throughout the weekend of June 17 and 18. About fifty authors are expected – compared to 300 in 2022.
On the program: thrillers, comics, children's literature... In short, there will be something for everyone. Aux Mots Tordus confirms that "16 children's authors will be there". Manga Home will offer to discover Japanese culture through manga and various artists' workshops. The bookstore also plans to invite "some Japanese singers".
Financial difficulties
Behind the counter overflowing with books, the Black Claw, from which we can barely perceive his face, Jean-Edgar looks gray. When we talk about Saint-Maur en Poche, his throat tightens. He remembers a complicated period: "We did not return to our costs last year, the investment was too big for both us and the town hall". Hard blow for the one who organizes with Gérard Collard, his associate and literary columnist, the pocket book fair Saint-Maur en Poche since 2009, today internationally renowned. "After two years of absence, we did not anticipate the wave," he said. "The costs were much higher than the expenses." And as the only solution, "we preferred to postpone the show... to bounce back better," concludes the bookseller with a shrug. The good news put a smile on his face.
" READ ALSO Saint-Maur in pocket : the international book fair will not take place this year, "a heartbreaker"
In the future, Jean-Edgar Casel hopes for "a show on a more human scale", as in the first editions. True to its values, Lire en Boucle as well as future editions of Saint-Maur en Poche will remain events for reading for all.
Read in the Loop is from June 17 to 18 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, the program is to be discovered soon.