The teachers’ strike could not have come at a worse time for the artisans of children’s literature. The visit to the Montreal Book Fair of 18,000 students from school groups is compromised by the work stoppage of primary and secondary teachers this week.
Authors and publishers stand in solidarity with teachers’ battle to obtain better working conditions. During the teachers’ strike, the literary community is crossing its fingers that parents will benefit from free access to the Book Fair decreed for children under 16 and an accompanying adult. Each adult can accompany a group of five children or less free of charge, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.
High school students aged 16 or over will also be able to enter for free upon presentation of their student card — and without necessarily being accompanied by an adult, indicates Olivier Gougeon, general director of the Montreal Book Fair.
“What saddens me is that children from disadvantaged backgrounds will probably not be able to come to the Salon without being part of a school group. But paradoxically, we hope that young people who would not have come will take advantage of the strike days to visit us for free,” he adds.
In the literary world, we consider the Montreal Book Fair to be an essential showcase for children’s literature. “It’s a school trip that is significant for young people. They make encounters and discoveries that open the doors to literature for them,” says Olivier Gougeon.
The presence of school groups is “essential” for book fairs, including that of Montreal, insists Karine Vachon, general director of the National Association of Book Publishers (ANEL). She is delighted that the Montreal Show is granting free admission to young people and their accompanying adults.
Recent years have seen obstacles arise around the event: there was the pandemic, then access for students to last year’s show was made difficult by the barriers surrounding the Palais des congrès due to of COP15, this international meeting on biodiversity. School buses could not stop in this quadrangle.
A Quebec star system
Editors joined by The duty We still hope that young people will be there, if only on Saturday and Sunday, which are always very busy at the Book Fair. Almost all of the events planned before the announcement of the teachers’ strike were kept on schedule.
“Young people mainly consume foreign films and music, but they read Quebec books. It’s unique in the world. We have a micro star system of Quebec children’s literature,” says Marc-André Audet, of Éditions les malins.
Pioneers such as Bryan Perro and India Desjardins have opened the way for a new generation of Quebec readers — and authors — who contribute to a rich literature, underlines the publisher.
Events such as book fairs are crucial in this ecosystem, because the ban on advertising aimed at children also limits the promotion of children’s literature, recalls Marc-André Audet.
The book industry needs all the help possible, including fairs like the one in Montreal, in the difficult economic context, argues Sophane Beaudin-Quintin, commercial director of Éditions Michel Quintin. “Demand remains there, but we feel a slight slowdown, probably due to the increase in the cost of living and interest rates,” he says.
Youth theaters, which rely largely on school groups, must also adapt to the teachers’ strike, recalls Marie Fradette, author, literary director and theater critic (notably at Duty). She wants parents to take advantage of the strike to take their children to the Book Fair, the library or the theater. “Otherwise, we know what will happen: children will spend their day in front of a screen. »