THE 2026 FESTIVAL REPLAY
The 28th edition of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival took place on April 23 to 26, 2026, and revolved around the theme “Words for Understanding One Another.”
From all four corners of the globe, authors, writers, thinkers, philosophers, translators and journalists from different cultures, contexts and perspectives gathered in Montreal to reflect on this theme.
Relive some of the most powerful moments of the Festival with our 2026 Festival Replay. Videos, podcasts and other recorded content from the 2026 edition give you access anytime, anywhere, to the rich and thought-provoking exchanges, ideas and voices that brought this year’s Festival to life.
Festival 2026 Recordings
BRANDON TAYLOR IN CONVERSATION WITH ELEANOR WACHTEL
Alabama-born writer Brandon Taylor’s debut novel, Real Life, was shortlisted for the UK’s Booker Prize, the US National Book Critics Circle Award and was a NY Times Book Review Editors’ Choice. Taylor’s work is frankly autobiographical but it’s not memoir. Taylor himself later left his scientific studies to get a Master’s degree from the prestigious Iowa Writers Workshop. His latest novel, Minor Black Figures, is a vivid portrait of friendship, creativity and desire set in the New York art world. In his writing, there is a depth of experience and awareness, alongside the sheer beauty of his prose. Taylor is also an engaging literary critic and wide-ranging enthusiast, especially of Mavis Gallant (and recently, Emile Zola).
This event is part of the Blue Metropolis Eleanor Wachtel Series.
Participant: Brandon Taylor
Interview: Eleanor Wachtel
Thanks to our partners: M. Cameron Charlebois et Mme Katherine Dalziel
JAMAICA KINCAID IN CONVERSATION WITH ELEANOR WACHTEL
The extraordinary voice of Jamaica Kincaid – from Antigua to Vermont. Jamaica Kincaid’s early fiction first appeared in The New Yorker more than 40 years ago –powerful, moving stories, set on the Caribbean island of Antigua, about an intense relationship between a young girl and her mother. In 1995, she wrote the novel The Autobiography of My Mother and while it continues some of her earlier themes, it goes further and is an uncompromising portrait of a woman determined to take hold of her life and resist the comforts of a more conventional existence. And like all of her writing, there is a political dimension, an awareness of how power is distributed in this world. Her latest book, Putting Myself Together: Writing 1974— collects almost 50 years of her nonfiction, including her original thinking about the meaning of the garden.
This event is part of the Blue Metropolis Eleanor Wachtel Series.
Participant: Jamaica Kincaid
Interview: Eleanor Wachtel
Thanks to our partners: M. Cameron Charlebois et Mme Katherine Dalziel
THE POWER OF LITERATURE: BLUE METROPOLIS WORDS TO CHANGE PRIZE TO AZAR NAFISI AND MONTREAL PREMIERE OF THE MOVIE READING LOLITA IN TEHRAN
The Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize is awarded to the internationally renowned writer Azar Nafisi, for her body of work, which includes, among other titles, Reading Lolita in Tehran, and Read Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Danger Times.
Participant: Azar Nafisi
Host: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
Interviewer: Nima Machouf
Thanks to our partners: The Cole Foundation, K-Films Amérique
THE VIOLET PRIZE AWARDED TO SHANI MOOTOO / REMISE DU PRIX VIOLET À SHANI MOOTOO
Join us in celebrating the 2026 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Prize, awarded to the renowned writer, filmmaker, and visual artist Shani Mootoo. Over the course of her impressive three-decade career, Shani has fearlessly created fiction and poetry that explore themes of queer desire, as well as the intersections of sexuality, class, and race. Known for her clarity, empathy, and lyrical mastery, Shani will share insights into her groundbreaking work, including her latest novel, Starry Starry Night.
Participant: Shani Mootoo
Host: Christopher DiRaddo
Interview: Eva Crocker
AYELET TSABARI’S LOVE SONG FOR THE BROKEN-HEARTED
With Songs for the Broken-Hearted, Canadian-Israeli author Ayelet Tsabari has written, in her own words, “a love song to her Yemeni community in Israel.” In this moving novel, a young woman rediscovers her Yemeni roots, particularly through the songs of the women which give rhythm to their new life in Israel. This novel received recently the Canadian Jewish Literary Award for Fiction, and according to the jury, it “offers a window into a segment of Israeli society that often has been ignored in literature.” Come and hear Ayelet Tsabari discuss the genesis of her novel.
Participant: Ayelet Tsabari
Host: Joseph Rosen
UKRAINIAN VOICES : A CONVERSATION BETWEEN LYUBA YAKIMCHUK AND MARIA REVA
From Kyiv, poet Lyuba Yakimchuk (Apricots of Donbas) and Ukrainian-Canadian novelist Maria Reva (Endling) discuss the role of literature in their lives and in the course of world events.
Host: Iryna Baturevych
Participants: Lyuba Yakimchuk, Maria Reva
Thanks to our partners: The Cole Foundation, Caisse populaire Desjardins Ukrainienne de Montréal, Studio littéraire ukrainien à Montréal, Fédération nationale ukrainienne du Québec
WHO GETS TO SPEAK: A CONVERSATION WITH DJAMILA RIBEIRO / LUGAR DE FALA: UMA CONVERSA COM DJAMILA RIBEIRO
Marking her Canadian debut, Djamila Ribeiro brings a sharp and necessary lens to one of the defining questions of our time: who is authorized to speak, and under what conditions? Drawing on her influential concept of lugar de fala — a socially grounded position from which speech is produced and recognized — Ribeiro reframes public discourse as a terrain structured by inequality, history, and power. In conversation with Ingrid Bejerman, this bilingual event offers a rigorous and compelling exchange on legitimacy, listening, and the ethical stakes of occupying a voice.
Participants: Djamila Ribeiro
Host: Ingrid Bejerman
Thanks to our partners: Ginny Stikeman, Instituto Guimarães Rosa
LEONARDO PADURA, PREMIO METROPOLIS AZUL 2026
El reconocido escritor cubano Leonardo Padura es distinguido con el Premio Azul de Metropolis Bleu por el conjunto de una obra de alcance internacional, que comprende novelas policiales, ficción histórica, ensayos y periodismo. Entrevista en español, con mediación puntual en inglés o francés.
Internationally renowned Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, revered for his crime novels, historical fiction, essays, and journalistic writing, receives the Blue Metropolis Premio Azul for his body of work. Interview in Spanish, with occasional mediation in English or French.
Participant: Leonardo Padura
Host: Ingrid Bejerman
Merci à nos partenaires : Ginny Stikeman, Acción Cultural Española
LE BÉDÉISTE DE RÉPUTATION INTERNATIONALE GUY DELISLE REÇOIT LE PRIX METROPOLIS BLEU AVENIR ET SOCIÉTÉ
À travers son œuvre, plusieurs fois primée et traduite en plusieurs langues, le bédéiste et romancier graphique Guy Delisle sillonne les routes du monde. Il reçoit le prix Metropolis bleu Avenir et société remis à des créateurs qui participent à l’élaboration d’un avenir meilleur pour nos sociétés en raison de la réflexion suscitée par leur œuvre, jointe à ses qualités esthétiques, ainsi que de son rayonnement auprès de divers publics.
En première partie de l’événement, remise du prix Nouvel Apport Metropolis bleu/Conseil des arts de Montréal, à la poète montréalaise d’origine argentine Laura Bari, qui publie Le corps est une maison sans grands-parents (Le Noroît).
Participants : Guy Delisle, Laura Bari
Animation : Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, Ismaël Houdassine
L’IMAGINATION AUTISTIQUE – RENCONTRE AVEC DANIEL TAMMET
L’auteur franco-anglais Daniel Tammet (Je suis né un jour bleu, Embrasser le ciel immense) est l’un des plus savants autistes parmi les plus connus. Avec Des pierres, ils ont fait des étoiles, ouvrage lumineux et inspirant, il entre dans la tête de ces esprits singuliers qu’on qualifie aujourd’hui de «neuroatypiques». Inspecteur de police en Angleterre, ingénieure nigériane, mathématicien français, garçon à la conquête d’Hollywood et bien d’autres portraits à rebours des clichés forment la matière de ce livre plein de poésie et d’empathie.
Participant : Daniel Tammet
Animation : Katia Grubisic
APPARTENANCE : QUI FAIT VRAIMENT PARTIE DU QUÉBEC ? / BELONGING: WHO REALLY BELONGS IN QUEBEC?
Dans le droit fil du thème de la présente édition du Festival, « Des mots pour se comprendre », deux discussions passionnantes et passionnées sur l’identité du Québec et sur qui peut s’en réclamer. Discussions consécutives et sans interruption en français et en anglais.
Participants: Discussion 1: Kim Thúy, Toula Drimonis; Discussion 2: Guy Rex Rodgers, Francine Pelletier
Moderator: Anne Lagacé Dowson
Merci à notre partenaire : Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF)
REMISE DU PRIX NOUVEL APPORT METROPOLIS BLEU / CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTRÉAL À LAURA BARI
En première partie de la remise du prix Avenir et Société 2026, au bédéiste franco-québécois, Guy Delisle, a eu lieu la remise du prix Nouvel Apport Metropolis bleu/Conseil des arts de Montréal, à la poète montréalaise d’origine argentine Laura Bari, pour son livre Le corps est une maison sans grands-parents (Le Noroît).
Participants : Laura Bari
Animation : Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
2026 BLUE MET TALKS
LEONARDO PADURA
Langue : Anglais / Espagnol
WYL MENMUIR
Langue : Anglais
DJAMILA RIBEIRO
Langue : Anglais
AZAR NAFISI
Langue : Anglais
AYELET TSABARI
Langue : Anglais
SHANI MOOTOO
Langue : Anglais
LYUBA YAKIMCHUK
Langue : Anglais
OLIVIER CIECHELSKI
Langue : Français
DANIEL TAMMET
Langue : Français
ANTOINETTE RYCHNER
Langue : Français
GUY DELISLE
Langue : Français
2026 PRE-FESTIVAL INTERVIEWS
BLUE METROPOLS INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL 2026 – A PREVIEW
Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, Director of Programming for the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, presents the highlights of the 2026 edition, which took place in Montreal from April 23 to 26, 2026.
THE VIOLET PRIZE AWARDED TO SHANI MOOTOO
Join us in celebrating the 2026 Blue Metropolis Violet Literary Prize, awarded to the renowned writer, filmmaker, and visual artist Shani Mootoo. Over the course of her impressive three-decade career, Shani has fearlessly created fiction and poetry that explore themes of queer desire, as well as the intersections of sexuality, class, and race. Known for her clarity, empathy, and lyrical mastery, Shani will share insights into her groundbreaking work, including her latest novel, Starry Starry Night.
INTRODUCING THE ELEANOR WACHTEL SERIES AT BLUE METROPOLIS
The Eleanor Wachtel Series at Blue Metropolis is a series of in-depth interviews hosted by renowned Canadian journalist Eleanor Wachtel, where she engages with acclaimed authors during the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival. Through thoughtful and insightful conversations, Wachtel delves into the literary and personal journeys of these writers, discussing their works, inspirations, and the challenges of literary creation. This series provides an intimate and reflective look into the world of literature, highlighting the unique voices that shape the international literary landscape.
INTERVIEW WITH WYL MENMUIR– BLUE METROPOLIS PLANET LITERATURE PRIZE
Wyl Menmuir (United Kingdom) is a British multi-award winning author and journalist based in Cornwall. His non fiction book, The Draw of the Sea, won the Roger Deakin Award from the Society of Authors and a Holyer an Gof Award. His following non fiction book, The Heart of The Woods, won the Award for Excellence from the Outdoor Photographers and Writers Guil.
Menmuir participates in a brief online interview in anticipation of his appearance at the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival to receive the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize.
INTERVIEW WITH AZAR NAFISI – BLUE METROPOLIS WORDS TO CHANGE PRIZE
Ahead of her participation in the 2026 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, Azar Nafisi reflects on her work and the significance of receiving the Blue Metropolis Words to Change Prize.
Azar Nafisi (USA/Iran) is the author of the bestseller memoir, Reading Lolita in Tehran, which has been translated into more than thirty languages and received numerous awards. She is also the author of Things I’ve Been Silent About, The Republic of Imagination: America in Three Books, That Other World: Nabokov and the Puzzle of Exile, and most recently Reading Dangerously: The Subversive Power of Literature in Troubled Times.
THE ELEANOR WACHTEL SERIES: IN CONVERSATION WITH MIRIAM TOEWS
Online starting April 19th and freely available throughout the festival and following
One of the best-known and best-loved Canadian writers, Miriam Toews was born and raised in a Mennonite community, the younger of two daughters, in Steinbach, Manitoba. When she was 18, she left to work as a journalist and then as a highly successful novelist and memoirist, winning literary prizes for such books as A Complicated Kindness, All my Puny Sorrows, and her memoir,Swing Low: A Life. Her seventh novel, Women Talking (2018) was a #1 national bestseller. Despite its challenging subject matter, it revealed Toews’s trademark humour, compassion and fearless honesty. Its movie adaptation by Sarah Polley was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and her 2014 novel, All My Puny Sorrows was also adapted for the screen by Michael McGowan. Miriam Toews’s latest book, a memoir –of sorts, A Truce That Is Not Peace was declared “a triumph” …”extraordinary…beautiful, devastating” (The Guardian).
INTERVIEW WITH LEONARDO PADURA – WINNER OF BLUE METROPOLIS PREMIO AZUL
El reconocido escritor cubano Leonardo Padura es distinguido con el Premio Azul de Metropolis Bleu por el conjunto de una obra de alcance internacional, que comprende novelas policiales, ficción histórica, ensayos y periodismo.
Internationally renowned Cuban writer Leonardo Padura, revered for his crime novels, historical fiction, essays, and journalistic writing, receives the Blue Metropolis Premio Azul for his body of work.
L’écrivain cubain Leonardo Padura, de renommée internationale, reconnu pour ses romans policiers, sa fiction historique, ses essais et son travail journalistique, reçoit le Prix Azul de Metropolis Bleu pour l’ensemble de son œuvre.
INTERVIEW WITH GUY DELISLE – WINNER OF THE BLUE METROPOLIS FUTURE AND SOCIETY PRIZE
As part of his participation in the 2026 Blue Metropolis Festival, Guy Delisle, in this French-language interview, reflects on his work and the important of the Future and Society Prize for him.
Guy Delisle is a Franco-Quebecois author whose graphic novels have been translated into multiple languages. Some of his works include Jerusalem: Chronicles from the Holy City, Burma Chronicles, A User’s Guide to Neglectful Parenting, and, most recently, Muybridge.
(In French)
DISCOVER OUR 2025-2026 PODCAST SERIES
BOLD & CREATIVE
Discover BOLD & CREATIVE, an exciting and innovative initiative by Blue Metropolis, celebrating the creativity of Quebec’s anglophone authors and artists. This project, blending literature and society, features a dynamic program including podcasts, workshops, contests, thematic evenings, and professional showcases. Designed to inspire, empower, and highlight local voices, it connects them to international perspectives within a unique multilingual framework.
PLANET, MY LOVE
Back for its second year in a row, Planet, My Love 2026 was an English-language writing and video production contest aiming to provide a platform to those who care deeply about environmental issues and wish to share their thoughts, ideas, and creations with the world. Texts of all genres and videos that reflect on the complexity and preciousness of the human relationship to the natural world were submitted by creators from all ages groups and backgrounds.
Listen to the recordings of the 2025 winners, available in English and French, and stay tuned for the release of the podcast recording of our 2026 winner, to be released in spring 2026.
PODCASTS FOR CHILDREN AND YOUTH
THE YOUNG STEELWORKERS CLUB
Steel is all around us: in buildings, bridges, tools, vehicles… It shapes our daily lives and our world. Yet, behind these objects lie fascinating stories that blend science, creativity, and innovation.
The Young Steelworkers Club opens the door to this captivating universe, exploring the countless ways steel shapes our lives and sparks creativity.
IN MY GARAGE, I FOUND…
A car, bicycles, Dad’s workbench, a wheelbarrow, a rake, my little sister’s stroller, my brother’s old ski equipment… A garage, is it just a storage space? Not at all, it’s a treasure chest! Inside, you’ll find all sorts of things: countless items that make our daily lives easier and more enjoyable, and often, the memories that come with them.
In My Garage, I Found… is an invitation to dive into the imagination while promoting French-language skills and exploring professions related to the objects found in a garage—from gardening to mechanics to woodworking.
SIMPLY FABULOUS!
Children’s literature knows no borders, not even regional ones! All over Quebec, authors are living, writing and illustrating books for young people to devour. Their imaginations feed on the beauty of the landscapes around them, places often echoed in their novels and picture books.
Blue Metropolis’ Simply Fabulous is a project that highlights the most beautiful parts of Quebec, the richness children’s literature, and the imagination of youth.
DES MOTS QUI FLOW
Des mots qui flow is a vibrant bilingual project where poetry practices and creative writing come together to offer young people a unique artistic experience. Designed for French- and English-speaking students, it will create a space where words flow freely, languages mix, and ideas come to life.
Led jointly by a slam poet and a video poet, the workshops will immerse participants in the world of collective creation. Together, they will explore themes that are important to them, exchange ideas in their second language, and transform their words into vibrant performances. Each session will become a moment of sharing, discovery, and personal expression.
