Festival international de la littérature opens Wednesday with six standout events
The 32nd edition runs through October 3, featuring staged readings of classic Quebec novels, poetry, Catalan literature, and contemporary political performance.
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The Festival international de la littérature (FIL) opens Wednesday and runs through October 3, featuring concerts, cabarets, lectures, and readings across its 32nd edition.
Gabrielle Roy's classic social novel Bonheur d'occasion comes to the stage in a reading by actor Marie-Thérèse Fortin, who previously performed La détresse et l'enchantement. The Friday, October 2 performance at Studio Hydro-Québec du Monument-National will be followed by a discussion with Fortin and Dominique Fortier, who designed the spectacle's dramaturgy and spatial staging. A Saturday, October 3 matinee at 4 p.m. also runs.
Laura-Ève Lambert's recent novel Cumul I (La vie coupable), commissioned by Centre Pompidou and built around a work by sculptor Louise Bourgeois, takes the stage Tuesday, September 29 through Thursday, October 1 at 8 p.m., performed by Pascale Drevillon with vocal direction by Denis Marleau. Wednesday's performance will include a post-show discussion.
On Wednesday, September 30, during the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais will perform the text Rien ne tuera ma lumière by Innu poet Maya Cousineau Mollen, set to music by Anishinaabe composer Barbara Assiginaak. Three performances run at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m. at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, held in the gallery where George Segal's Femme assise sur un lit—which inspired the text—is displayed. The performance is dedicated to the memory of Indigenous composer Cris Derksen, who died tragically in May.
Quebec writer Élise Turcotte meets Joan-Lluís Lluís, a major figure in contemporary Catalan literature whose translated works include Le jour de l'ours, Chronique d'un dieu boiteux, and Junil. Saturday, September 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Centre Sanaaq, the conversation and reading circle will be followed by a tasting of Northern Catalan flavours.
On Thursday, September 24 at 8 p.m., Cinquième Salle de la Place des Arts hosts Hubris—Une histoire des années 2010, performed by Catherine Dorion and Christian Lapointe. Based on a text by Simon-Pierre Beaudet, the piece swings between cynicism and jubilation as it traces the 2010s: from the Arab Spring to Trump, from Silicon Valley promises to digital dependence, from millennial ease to climate anxiety. A post-show discussion with the performers and Beaudet follows.
Before you go
When does Festival international de la littérature run?
The festival opens Wednesday, September 23, 2026 and runs through October 3, 2026, featuring its 32nd edition with concerts, cabarets, lectures, and readings.
What is the Gabrielle Roy staged reading and when can I see it?
Actor Marie-Thérèse Fortin performs Bonheur d'occasion at Studio Hydro-Québec du Monument-National on Friday, October 2 followed by a discussion with Fortin and dramaturg Dominique Fortier, with a Saturday, October 3 matinee at 4 p.m. also available.
What Indigenous performance is happening during National Day for Truth and Reconciliation?
On Wednesday, September 30, soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais performs 'Rien ne tuera ma lumière' by Innu poet Maya Cousineau Mollen, set to music by Anishinaabe composer Barbara Assiginaak, at Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal with three performances at 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 6 p.m.
What is Hubris—Une histoire des années 2010 about?
Performed by Catherine Dorion and Christian Lapointe on Thursday, September 24 at 8 p.m. at Cinquième Salle de la Place des Arts, this piece traces the 2010s from the Arab Spring through climate anxiety, swinging between cynicism and jubilation, with a post-show discussion following the performance.
