French book salon connects francophone readers, authors

Francophones say it can be tough to find enough books in French on P.E.I.An Island-wide French book fair underway in recent days is part of the solution to that.

The salon du livre features exclusively French books, authors and publishers from Quebec and the Maritimes.

"We have libraries but we don't have an actual book store that sells only French.... It's definitely a challenge," said volunteerLori MacAdam. "Of course now we can order things online, but it's to be able to take the book, look through it, feel it ... before you purchase it online, so it's the only chance we have through the salon du livre."

Thirteen authors are taking part this year.They visited students at all of P.E.I.'s six French schools earlier this week.

They're signing books and giving talks in Charlottetown through Saturdayat cole Franois-Buote, in Charlottetown.

"It's life-changing for children who get to meet the authors and then get to read their books," said MacAdam. "We're trying to preserve theculture, the language ... so it's very helpful for us."

The salon du livre is hosted once every two years on P.E.I. The location alternates between Charlottetown and Summerside. Saturday's activitiesin Charlottetown wrap up around 4 p.m.

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