Bookfest goes bilingual for the first time

A Windsor, Ont. festival of books officially kicked off in two languages Oct. 1.

For five years Bookfest has had a close partnership with the Francophone community, more so this year than ever.

This year Bookfest has a new bilingual name to honour the francophone programming and is extending the event for two extra days to bring Francophone authors to students.

“In the past year, Bookfest has officially changed its name to BookFest/Festival du Livre and in that sense we are partners in the project,” said Gisèle Dionne, the executive director of ACFO Windsor-Essex-Chatham-Kent. 

The launch event also introduced attendees to the new chair of Bookfest, Colleen Mitchell.

“Bookfest is a five day festival, and its mission is to bring Canadian authors and introduce them to our community, and for the community to interact with [authors] and be inspired, “ said Mitchell.

A variety of different activities take place over the five-day festival, such as panels, workshops and author readings. According to Mitchell, the organizers try to look for other opportunities to connect and partner with others as much as possible, just like the Windsor International Film Festival.

Students and the general public will meet authors Paul-François Sylvestre and Bryan Perro as well as illustrator Marc Keelan-Bishop.

Dionne said that French books for schools can be purchased from Scholastic or Biblioasis can request them for you.

The festival runs Oct. 17 to 23.

For more schedule information, locations and ticket prices visit Bookfestwindsor.com.