Known authors
Although he was not born in Charente-Maritime, Georges Simenon has a special bond with La Rochelle, which appears in more than 30 of his novels, including Le Testament de Donadieu and Le Voyageur de la Toussaint. Simenon appreciated the iodine atmosphere, the crowded streets on market days, the color of the sky ... He owes the discovery of the maritime city to a vacation on the island of Aix and his passion for navigation. Michel Crépeau paid tribute to him in 1989, naming one of the quays of La Rochelle after him. A few steps away, you will find the heart of the city and its arcaded streets which take their place in Simenon's novels. The Café de la Paix was the favorite place of the Belgian writer who found inspiration for his novels.
Born in 1850 in Rochefort, Pierre Loti - whose real name was Julien Viaud - was a travel writer. After passing the competitive examination for the Naval School, he never stopped traveling on all the seas of the world. His novels were inspired by his travels in Tahiti, Turkey, Japan, but also in Brittany, as in the book Pêcheur d'Islande. Thanks to his success, he became a member of the French Academy in 1891 and was given a state funeral in 1923. He is buried in the family home in Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron and his home in Rochefort has been transformed into a museum, now under renovation.
More recently, the talented author Raymond Bozier has published poems, stories, and edited the literary magazine "Cargo". He received the first novel prize in 1997 for his book Lieu-dit and the Poitou-Charentes book prize.
We cannot forget Madeleine Chapsal, honorary citizen of the city of Saintes. Writer and journalist, she has a special bond with the Gallo-Roman city and this family home from which she wrote her best-seller, La Maison de Jade.
The comic strip
In the department, we like to read, especially comics! In fact, an album entitled La Charente-Maritime - une histoire entre terre et mer (Charente-Maritime - a history between land and sea ) was published in 2020. Two cartoonists, Alain Paillou from Saint-Etienne and Christophe Picaud from Rochefort, tell the story of the department, from prehistoric times to the present day, through the character of Santonia. A perfect opportunity to learn more about Eleanor of Aquitaine, the creation of the Rochefort Arsenal...
For several years now, the "Roch'fort en bulles" festival has given pride of place to the ninth art. Although it does not have the aura of its Charente neighbor - the International Festival of Angoulême - it allows 4,000 visitors to meet some forty authors in prestigious sites such as the National Museum of the Navy or the Corderie Royale. It also gives the opportunity to students from the middle and high schools of Rochefort to create a story in two pages.
Bookstores and literary fairs
In Charente-Maritime, we love literature! To satisfy this need to read, you can of course visit one of the many bookshops in the town centers, such as the "Chat qui lit" in Châtelaillon-Plage or the "librairie des thés" in Surgères. Several literary fairs are organized throughout the year to meet authors and discover new books. These include the 2-day "Embarcadères" festival, featuring meetings and readings, the Salon d'Arvert, where visitors can meet independent authors and get up close and personal with regional publishers, and the Salon du livre de l'île de Ré "L'île aux livres". Launched in 2007, this event attracts a large number of enthusiasts every summer, who come to discover a wide range of books and attend conferences.
