Read & Shine: the free, socially engaged literary festival making its return to La Gaîté Lyrique

This Saturday, September 19, 2026, the fourth edition of the literary festival Read & Shine returns to the heart of the Gaîté Lyrique. Organized by the collective Overbookées, the event feminist and anti-racist aims to be accessible to all, with free activities, centered on the theme "Memories for the days to come", this year. On the program, panels, writing workshops and storytelling sessions for children, and conversation workshops to discuss and learn about literature!

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Several collectives, independent publishers, and the partner bookstore Internationale will be on site for the festival, which will wrap up with a musical finale: a DJ set by the artist Cheetah around 10 p.m. To make the most of this long afternoon, remember to sign up for some activities, as the writing workshops and roundtables are on reservation!

The festival lineup

• Round-table discussion from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM — Maternity and Transmission

Opening the festival, this round-table delves into motherhood and the ties that bind across generations. Through personal journeys, the guests share how they experience motherhood, balancing vulnerability with strength, obstacles with legacies. Featuring Nadège Erika, Maïram Guissé, Tahnee. Moderated by Jennifer Padjemi.

• Conversation from 2:30 to 3:15 PM — Filling in the silences

The history of overseas women is filled with gaps. Diasporista proposes to address them with a single act of writing. Using a map and a set of cards, three simple steps: pick a female figure whose story is partial or incomplete; read what is known about her; write what is missing—a word, a hypothesis, a memory, an emotion, a question.

• Roundtable from 3:30 to 4:30 pm — A journey with the unseen

Ancestors, specters of the Black Revolution and tireless figures of struggle, they resisted oppression on both sides of the globe. How can we reclaim their forms of resistance to fuel our struggles today? What should we do with their legacy? How do the unseen stand with us? Featuring Eve Blouin, Isis Labeau-Caberia, Grégory Pierrot. Moderated by Deli.

• Family chat from 4:00 PM to 4:45 PM — Filani, Twins of the Seas

Talking about slavery and resistance with children through reading excerpts from the tale Filani, les jumeaux des mers, followed by a session for discussion with children and parents.

• Roundtable, 5–6 p.m. – 2027: Countering Dystopia

As the far right closes in on power, shaping a society under a totalitarian regime and a toxic ideology, what tools can help us imagine and write a counter-history? How can we—from the margins of knowledge, literature, and on the ground—craft alternate futures on the eve of 2027? With Michael Roch, Maboula Soumahoro, LK Imany. Moderated by Laura Nsafou.

• Conversation from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. - Care practices and inherited ancestral knowledge

On the occasion of the release of the third issue of FACE B, a magazine celebrating cultural heritage with a focus on care and health, the founders of the publication will address racism and health.