Moustiers on page 2025
Saturday, September 20
For this8th edition of “Moustiers à la Page!”, your literary event in Moustiers-Ste-Marie, an opening night will kick off the festival on Saturday, September 20, at 6:30 p.m. in the Salle Jean-Marie Plume (small square next to the Tourist Office; entrance via the stairs). Free admission; no reservations required.
Four authors are looking forward to welcoming you to an evening of warm hospitality, where each of them is keen to share with you their passion for literature, the secrets behind their latest novels, and their experiences as publishers.
Françoise Bourdon
Françoise BOURDON will give a preview of her latest novel, Fleur de charbon, published by Presses de la Cité.
Pascale Expilly
Pascale EXPILLY will reveal the secrets behind her latest novel, Terribles vanités, due to be published on 12 September 2025, a story of everyday madness, obsession and art.
René Frégni
René FREGNI will discuss two of his books: Dernier arrêt avant l’automne (2019), a story set not so far away… and Minuit dans la ville des songes (2022), a novel that tells the story of a life of wandering and reading, as harsh as it is sensual, as dark as it is radiant.
Gilles Vincent
Gilles VINCENT will talk about his career as a publisher at the publishing house Perles Rares
‘When a novelist, who has been captivated by books since childhood, talks with his daughter – who, like him, is in love with and curious about words – the idea of building a publishing house gradually emerges from their conversation. A house to showcase rare, precious and coveted texts, like little jewels. And so, Éditions Perles Rares was born.’
Sunday 21 september
On Sunday 21 September, the “Moustiers à la Page!” book fair will be taking place on the Place de l’Eglise from 10am to 5pm, right in the heart of the village at the Etoile Bienveillante. No fewer than fifteen authors will be there to sign copies, sketch a few drawings for comic book fans, and spend some quality time chatting with you!
Anne-Lise Besnier
A quirky woman in her thirties and a sales rep for “gentle madness,” Anne-Lise Besnier loves dark humor, palm trees, and snow, as well as playing Scrabble and hopscotch. Her first two novels, *The Old Lady Who Brought the House Down* and *The Old Folks Who Took Off*, have already revealed her delightfully offbeat world.
Françoise Bourdon
Born in the Ardennes, a professor of law and economics, she decided, after seventeen years of teaching, to devote herself entirely to her passion for writing. In her early novels, Françoise Bourdon drew inspiration from her native region; she then continued her work in Provence, her adopted home, crafting stories that blend sweeping family sagas, portraits of women and depictions of trades. A major and indispensable author for Presses de la Cité, all her novels have been met with great critical and public acclaim.
Bruno Carpentier
He was born in Saint-Vaast, Belgium, in 1963. Based in Marseille, he spent several years directing the “Crimes de Pays” series, which he founded in 2012, while continuing to write crime novels and discover new talent. Today, he devotes himself full-time to his literary work.
Gilles Dienst
Among other things, Gilles has worked—in no particular order and with varying degrees of enjoyment—as a publisher and gallery owner in the field of illustration and comics, an HR consultant at Enedis, a curator for various exhibitions, and a budding young writer. He has written for various exhibition catalogs. Several of his short stories have won awards.
Pascale Expilly
Pascale lives and works in Les Chambaran, in the Isère department. A graduate of the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, she is a visual artist and illustrator who now devotes her time to writing.
© OT MoustiersRené Frégni
René Frégni was born on July 8, 1947, in Marseille; he is a French writer. He did poorly in school and spent his entire youth hanging out with a gang of rascals on the streets of Marseille. He deserted the army at age 19 and spent five years doing odd jobs abroad under a false identity before returning to France. He led a turbulent life before devoting himself to writing. He worked in various jobs, including as a psychiatric nurse, and for many years led writing workshops at the Baumettes Prison in Marseille.
During his time in military prison, he discovered, one after another, the great writers who would accompany him throughout his life: Giono, Céline, Camus, and Flaubert. It was also there that he wrote his first poem: from then on, he would never part with his notebook or his pen. His entire body of work navigates between the darkness of humanity, the light of the sea, and the beauty of women.
Olivier Gay
He is a French writer of mystery, fantasy, and science fiction novels for both adults and young adults. Formerly a marketing strategy consultant in Paris, he now makes his living as a writer in the South. After living in Nantes and then spending a year in the United States, he returned to Paris and hit the nightlife scene with the Vodka Club. It was this period of his life that inspired the character of Fritz in his novel High Heels Bring Girls Closer to the Sky published in 2012 and awarded first prize at the Beaune Festival. His first fantasy novel, The Butcher (2012) was nominated for the Prix Révélations Futuriales. His young adult series, Black Is My Color (2014–2016) was enthusiastically received by critics and won the 2014 Sélection Histoires de romans Award as well as the Prix Chimères, awarded by middle and high school students. At the start of the 2024 school year, Olivier Gay and Brice Bingono ventured into historical fantasy with the one-shot The Magi of Bonaparte.
Véronique Hiélard
A psychologist and mother of three, Véronique Hiélard sketches out stories of life, brings them to life with her writing, and infuses them with emotion. She weaves in social themes, sometimes inspired by her profession. Weaving together the fates of characters who bridge the past and the present, and crafting tales of secrets and intrigue—this is her world.
Patrick Nieto
Originally from Bordeaux, Patrick Nieto, 55, serves as a police captain in the Paris region. His 30 years in the field of criminal investigation have given him a deep understanding of current practices in his profession, as well as of the men and women who work in law enforcement.
A lover of Asian literature and crime novels, he didn’t start writing until later in life. It wasn’t until 2014 that he decided to take the plunge. Today, his professional experience fuels his writing and shines through in his books, in which his sole ambition is to entertain his readers.
Bénédicte Rousset
A certified teacher of modern literature, Bénédicte Rousset teaches at a middle school in the Vaucluse department. As the daughter and granddaughter of elementary school teachers, she considers writing to be a family tradition. It was in her father’s small printing shop that she first discovered novels.
Serge Scotto
He was born in Marseille in 1963. A versatile author, both a writer and an illustrator, he is noted for the wide range of his activities. A journalist, cartoonist and novelist, he has also embarked on a career as a comic-book scriptwriter. Alongside his collaborator Éric Stoffel, he has created aviation-themed stories for Idées +, historical tales for Plein vent (Ligne Maginot, Juste parmi les nations), and a series of children’s comics for Dargaud (Les Mondes d’Arven). Above all, since 2015, Serge Scotto has been in charge of adapting the complete works of Marcel Pagnol for Grand Angle.
Pierre Taranzano
Pierre was born in 1971 in Marseille. After studying applied arts, he became involved in various art collectives and tried his hand at painting. He then worked as a set designer and storyboard artist for animation studios, while developing the project The Gates of Shamballah (a 4-volume series, published by Clair de Lune).
He also illustrated a three-volume adaptation of Bernard Werber’s novel: The Thanatonauts (Glénat), with a story by Eric Corbeyran, before tackling an adaptation of theThe Iliad from Homer and then from theEpic *Gilgamesh*, also published by Glénat, in collaboration with Luc Ferry, Clotilde Bruneau, and Didier Poli. He is currently working on a personal, surrealist project titled *L’Ailleurs*, to be published by Inanna.
Gilles Vincent
For the past twenty years, Gilles Vincent has devoted most of his time to writing. He leads writing workshops in schools and hospitals.
*Dans la douleur du siècle*, his contemporary and historical novel, will be adapted by the ARTE network.
