Those years already that readers, authors, publishers and artisans of the book have not gathered side by side and books under their arms in book fairs. If, as Robin Doucet of the Rimouski Book Fair (SLR) believes, “the strength of a show is the presence of everyone, together, in one place”, the DNA of these events will it be permanently changed by the pandemic? What will be the book fairs of tomorrow? At the time of their resumption “in real”, a little tour of the solutions envisaged.
“The book fairs of tomorrow, we do not know them yet. This year, we are staying in suspended fairs, in the process of change, ”indicates Olivier Gougeon, the general manager of the Montreal Book Fair (SLM) which will run, in its“ transitory form ”, from November 13 to 28. “There is a major event transformation underway. “
This transitional form, all the shows are living it, will live it this year. Each one differently, depending on the sanitary measures in progress when they are being held. A year of uncertainty, then. And a year of testing, and joyful risk-taking, as Sylvie Marcoux, interim president of the Association québécoise des Salons du livre, points out. Because every success and every mistake is used by other salons. So much so that Robin Doucet said last Tuesday “I can’t wait to tell others after my show what didn’t work for us…”.
Certain trends are already emerging. Hybrid formulas – half virtual, half on site – are solutions. After learning the hard way in 2020, salons now have a sure expertise there. And to reach the school public, the virtual is an unparalleled tool.
At the Rimouski Book Fair, which ended yesterday and had been running since November 5, virtual classes experienced “a 40% increase compared to 2020; we go from 200 to 250 classes that we will meet on screens. In 2022, if we return to normal, as we hope, this entirely virtual offer, we will continue to offer it for schools far from Rimouski, for which it is hard to come and see us. “
The durations also change. Most Salons are shorter. Some, like the one in Montreal, are both shorter and longer. “We have a lighter formula: four days instead of six”, specifies Mr. Gougeon – including one day less for the school public, and for the first time an SLM at the Palais des congrès. “Fewer stands, a different look, but still 500 publishing houses. “
Half empty or half full?
As the programming, online and in the city, stretches from November 13 to 28, we can also see this SLM as longer. Because the off-site proliferates, and not only in Montreal. In all the salons, the multiplication of meeting points makes it possible to offer several options to an audience that the fear of COVID-19 has perhaps made a little agoraphobic.
“Not everyone likes going in a crowd these days,” says M.me Marcoux, also general manager of the Salon du Saguenay – Lac-Saint-Jean, which ended on October 3. “We were scattered throughout the region this year: in libraries, in a performance hall, in bookstores for the authors’ signing sessions. The director had a nice surprise: listening. “The award ceremony in a performance hall changes everything, and we want to keep that. In a convention center, there is always noise, all the senses are called upon, we are not as attentive. “
This off-site will also be the choice of the SLM. “We want the event to overflow, and that those who don’t like the Show can find it elsewhere, in the hundreds of activities that will take place all over the city – at the Saga bookseller, at the Cabaret chez Mado, At Livart. More conversations around books need to be created, in places expected and others that we do not expect at all. If a baker during SLM started talking about his favorite book while wrapping his customer’s baguette, for me that would be a victory. “
Small is beautiful
All the book fairs, like the one in Rimouski, are getting smaller. Entry this weekend was free. At the Rimouski hotel convention center, the SLR has rented half of the room it usually rents. “This year we have 80 authors. We have few stands – only a dozen. “
Because of the sanitary measures. And because the distributors ADP, Prologue and Dimedia, which often represent the editors in the salons, decided in 2021 not to do those of the regions. “They take close to 50% of a normal SLR area,” said Doucet. To compensate for this lack, Rimouski “has chosen to work with the region’s booksellers, as curators: they have created eight thematic islands: poetry, essays, novels, thrillers, etc. They are the ones who prepare the space. For the visitor, there will be exhibitors, and several books and authors, especially regional ones. “
Energy management
These large distributors will be at the Montreal Book Fair. “It is an issue, relaunching book fairs,” admits Benoît Prieur, general manager of the Association of exclusive distributors of French-language books. “The energy that it requires is the main problem. There is a lack of human resources, and it takes a lot to participate, reserve book stocks, move them, etc. For Montreal, everyone agrees to roll up their sleeves, even if it will be difficult, continues Mr. Prieur. Nobody questions book fairs: in the medium term, we know we will need them. It is a great promotional tool for speaking directly to the public. “
“One of the magic of the Book Fair, adds the director of the SLM, is that thousands of people are there at the same time to discover books or meet authors. These face-to-face meetings don’t have the same resonance – they are stronger. We must cherish them, ”concludes Mr. Gougeon.
The Montreal Book Fair will be held from November 13 to 28.