The fourth edition of the African Book Fair is under way in Paris, with Diaspora Travels as its theme. Cameroon and Brazil are the guests of honour during the three-day event, which brings together hundreds of authors, publishers and readers.
Founded by French artist Erick Monjour in 2021, the Salon du Livre Africain de Paris has become a key event on the city’s cultural and literary calendar.
The 2025 edition, running from 14 to 16 March, brings together 100 publishers and 300 authors predominantly from Africa, but also from Europe and beyond.
Alongside book signings and talks by authors, the event features around 30 conferences on such diverse topics as books in the digital age, children’s literature and perspectives on history and colonialism.
Cameroon shares centre stage with Brazil as this year’s guest countries of honour, with a focus on exploring the African diaspora and its contribution to contemporary literature.
Several prominent names in African literature will be present – notably Senegal’s Mohamed Mbougar Sarr. Winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt in 2021, he will chair a conference on Senegalese literature from the diaspora.
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‘Stories have to come from all over’
Among the events is a tribute to Haitian artist and writer Frankétienne, who passed away on 20 February in Port-au-Prince.
Born in 1936, Jean-Pierre Basilic Dantor Franck Étienne d’Argent is considered a national treasure in Haiti and hailed as a “father figure” to today’s generation of artists and writers.
Frankétienne’s compatriot Rodney Saint-Éloi, a poet and editor, will be among the guest writers at the fair.
A recipient of the Order of Arts and Letters of the French Republic, Saint-Éloi’s latest book is entitled Les racistes n’ont jamais vu la mer (“Racists have never seen the sea”).
In an interview with France 24 this week, he underlined the importance of providing “diverse points of view”, saying: “Stories have to come from all over, not just big cities.”
He argued that book fairs are ideal spaces for this. Having started his publishing company Mémoire d’encrier (“Inkwell Memory”) 20 years ago, Saint-Éloi also understands the challenges of the market.
Having a publishing house is not just about adding books to the pile, he said, but about providing the opportunity to “rethink the colonial past” and make the publishing world “fairer and more global”.
Quality, not quantity
One of the highlights of the fair is the annual literary prize for French-language writers – Le Grand Prix Afrique – awarded by the Association of French-Language Writers (Adelf).
One of the six 2025 finalists is poet and author Véronique Tadjo, nominated for her book entitled Je remercie la nuit (“I thank the night”).
Born in Paris and raised in Côte d’Ivoire, Tadjo headed up the French department at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and has won numerous literary prizes, including the Grand Prix Littéraire d’Afrique Noire in 2005.
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A second award will be handed out during the book fair, rewarding “beautiful books on Africa” – be they about art, culture, architecture, design, photography, cuisine or fashion.
For Togolese writer Sami Tchak, it is important to have a fair that focuses on African writers and themes, to celebrate what is “rare” in the world, and to “zero in on special talents”, he says.
The author of some 20 books, he will present his latest work Profaner Ananda (“Desecrating Ananda”), written in collaboration with Annie Ferret and dedicated to the Mauritian author Ananda Devi.
“Literature is not about quantity,” he said. “The Paris fair is where we can meet one or two authors who lift everyone else up to a higher level and that makes it all worthwhile.”
The Salon du Livre Africain de Paris is open from 14-16 March at the Halle des Blancs Manteaux.
