The Centre National du Livre Hosts the Fourth Edition of the “Dîner des Primo-Romanciers”
On Thursday, November 20th, the Centre National du Livre (National Book Centre) gathered the next generation of French writers at rue Verneuil, where the institution highlighted 12 writers having recently published a novel for the first time. Selected according to a list of booksellers’ favorite novels, an annual ranking by the magazine Livres Hebdo, 6 men and 6 women were invited to meet over dinner, each accompanied by their chosen sponsor.
This year’s new writers included Lucie-Anne Belgy (Il pleut sur la parade, Gallimard editions), Séverine Cressan (Nourrices, Dalva editions), Gabrielle de Tournemire (Des enfants uniques, Flammarion editions), Mathilda Di Matteo (La Bonne Mère, L’Iconoclaste editions), Louise Rose (Les Projectiles, P.O.L editions), ans Marie Semelin (Les certitudes, JC Lattès editions).
For their male counterparts, we met Arbon (Les Derniers Jours de Harry Yuan, Au Diable Vauvert editions), Camille Corcéjoli (Transatlantique, La Contre Allée editions), Thibault Daelman (L’Entroubli, Le Tripode editions), Christian Duverger (Mémoires de Cortès, Fayard editions), François Gagey (Combustions, Albin Michel editions), Claudius Pan (Les Grands Vivants, La Tribu editions).
This annual dinner is the perfect way for emerging authors to be introduced to the French literary scene and meet fellow first-time authors, established novelists and other key players. Thanks to the sponsorship of Madame Figaro, Livres Hebdo and Librairie 7L, the CNL aims to foster intergenerational solidarity, an essential pillar of the publishing industry.
Alongside the twelve first-time novelists, we met authors Frédéric Forte, Erik Orsenna, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Abel Quentin, and Paul B. Preciado, as well as authors Maria Pourchet, Catherine Cusset, and Vanessa Schneider, who served as mentors, along with Lilia Hassaine and actress and cofounder of a cultural media outlet Constance Arnoult.
Photos: Tomy Do
