THE FESTIVAL REPLAY
Relive the highlights of the 2025 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival with The Festival Replay. Podcasts, videos, and other recorded content from the latest edition let you experience (anytime, anywhere) the richness of the conversations, ideas, and voices that brought the Festival to life.
Festival 2025 Recordings
Step into the world of the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival through our videos. Talks, readings, and recorded encounters give you privileged access to the voices and ideas that shaped the 2025 edition.
2025 BLUE METROPOLIS GRAND PRIX – SALMAN RUSHDIE IN CONVERSATION WITH ELEANOR WACHTEL
Indian-born, British/American writer Salman Rushdie receives the Blue Metropolis Grand Prix Award for lifetime achievement. The author of Midnight’s Children, Victory City and Knife. Meditation after an attempted murder talks with the literary journalist and radio broadcaster Eleanor Wachtel.
Participants: Salman Rushdie
Animation: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
Interview: Eleanor Wachtel
Thank you to our partners Mr. Cameron Charlebois, Mrs Katherine Dalziel and Concordia University.
PETER WOHLLEBEN RECEIVES THE 2025 PLANET LITERATURE PRIZE
The world-renowned forester and internationally bestselling, award-winning author of nature books Peter Wohlleben (The Hidden Life of Trees, The Secret Wisdom of Nature, The Power of Trees: How Ancient Forests Can Save Us if We Let Them, to name just a few) receives the Blue Metropolis Planet Literature Prize for his body of work. This prize is awarded to a writer who shows the beauty of the living world, demonstrates its fragility and, in so doing, promotes greater ecological awareness, while affirming the power of literature in the face of reality.
Participant: Peter Wohlleben
Host: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
Interview: Paul Kennedy
Thank you to this event’s partners Greystone Books and Éditions MultiMondes
STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES RECEIVES THE 2025 BLUE METROPOLIS FIRST PEOPLES PRIZE – INTERNATIONAL EDITION
The American author Stephen Graham Jones is awarded the Blue Metropolis 2025 First Peoples Prize – International Edition for his body of work, which includes some thirty titles, including The Only Good Indians, My Heart is a Chainsaw, Earthdivers, and I Was a Teenage Slasher, to name just a few. His work, mainly horror novels, has won numerous awards (the Texas Institute of Letters Award for Fiction, the Los Angeles Times Ray Bradbury Prize, the Mark Twain American Voice in Literature Award, the August Derleth British Fantasy Award for Best Horror Novel, the Bram Stoker Awards, the Shirley Jackson Awards, among others). The Blue Metropolis First People Prize – International Edition is awarded to a very significant indigenous writer outside Canada for the high quality of his work.
Participant: Stephen Graham Jones
Host: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
Interview: Nathan R. Elliot
Thank you to our partners Loto-Québec and Ms. Mandeep (Roshi) Chadha.
THE GABRIEL SAFDIE EVENT JERUSALEM OF THE MIND – THE GROUNDWORK FOR THE DAY AFTER
How do we continue living through endless conflict in the Middle East? How do we lay the groundwork for the day after? What role do we have as writers, poets, storytellers and journalists in the arduous and grassroots task of dialogue toward peace building? We must first explore ways toward building empathy among enemies. A discussion on the current Middle East among a scholar, a poet, a writer, and a filmmaker.
Participants: Danae Elon, Yakov Rabkin, Moustafa Bayoumi, Ehab Lotayef
Moderator: Kareem Shaheen
Thank you to Mr. Gabriel Safdie, this event’s sponsor.
THE ELEANOR WACHTEL SERIES – MADELEINE THIEN AND THE BOOK OF RECORDS – AN EXCLUSIVE PREVIEW
The award-winning Canadian writer Madeleine Thien on her major new novel, The Book of Records, in conversation with Eleanor Wachtel. Inspired by the lives and work of the 20th c. political thinker Hannah Arendt, the 17th c. Dutch philosopher, Baruch Spinoza, and the 8th c. Chinese poet Du Fu, Madeleine Thien weaves a multilayered story of migration and impermanence. She explores experiences across continents and centuries with her characteristic ambition and unique poetic voice. Be part of this exclusive preview in Montreal.
Participant: Madeleine Thien
Host: Eleanor Wachtel
Thank you to Mr. Cameron Charlebois, Mrs Katherine Dalziel, as well as Knopf Publishing and Peguin Random House Canada.
HISTORY, DREAMS AND IMAGINATION. SALMAN RUSHDIE AND SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE IN CONVERSATION
History, dreams and imagination are undoubtedly the most fertile materials used by many writers. How do they use them? And how do these materials fit in with life – the writer’s life and the life of the book being written? The writers Salman Rushdie (The Enchantress of Florence, The Golden House, The Knife) and Simon Sebag Montefiore (The Moscow Trilogy, The World. A Family History of Humanity, The Romanov) give us a glimpse into some of their work.
Participants: Salman Rushdie, Simon Sebag Montefiore
Host: Ingrid Bejerman
Thank you to our partners Concordia University, The Azrieli Foundation, The Cole Foundation, The Canadian Jewish News and The Mitzi & Mel Dobrin Family Foundation.
THE ELEANOR WACHTEL SERIES: IN CONVERSATION WITH CLAIRE MESSUD
Claire Messud’s latest novel was named one of the 10 Best Books of the Year by the Washington Post. Claire Messud was born in Greenwich, Connecticut. Her mother was Canadian and her father French Algerian. In fact, his family settled in Algeria around 1850. A hundred years later, they relocated to France and other parts of the world. Claire herself spent part of her childhood in Australia, as well as Canada and the U.S. She’s published many widely-praised novels, including her bestseller, The Emperor’s Children. Her most recent book, This Strange Eventful History, draws on her own family’s story, providing the intimacy of interiority set against social and political upheaval spanning seven decades, from 1940 to 2010. It’s been described as « a tour de force », « brilliant and heart-breaking », and Messud as « one of contemporary literature’s best. »
Participant: Claire Messud
Host: Eleanor Wachtel
Thank you to our partners Mr. Cameron Charlebois and Mrs Katherine Dalziel.
JERUSALEM, THE UNIVERSAL CITY TOLD BY SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE
Jerusalem is the universal city, the capital of two people, the shrine of three faiths, and the battlefield of today’s clash of civilizations. From Herod, Cleopatra, and Nero to Churchill, Rasputin and Truman, Simon Sebag Montefiore, in Jerusalem. The Biography, draws on the latest scholarship, his own family history and a lifetime of study to show that the story of Jerusalem is truly the story of the world.
Participant: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Host: Joseph Rosen
Thank you to our partners The Azrieli Foundation, The Cole Foundation, The Canadian Jewish News and The Mitzi & Mel Dobrin Family Foundation.
Literary Dialogues – Festival 2025
These events were recorded as part of the 2025 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, a unique gathering place where writers, thinkers, and readers from around the world exchange on literature, ideas, and major social issues. They reflect the richness and diversity of voices that bring the Festival to life. Dive into the discussions and be inspired.
UP AND DOWN THE FAST RED ROAD
Three writers from three peoples and three territories converged in Tiohtià:ke/Montréal for the first time in a powerful exchange about literary heritage and the speech of the land. From the Ñamkulawen Mapuche community in the Patagonia, poet Liliana Ancalao is a learner of her maternal language, Mapuzungun; she joined Blackfeet (Pikunis) Native American novelist Stephen Graham Jones and Anishinaabe (Peguis First Nation) scholar Niigaan Sinclair in a meaningful conversation about language and literature across territories and traditions.
Participants: Liliana Ancalao (accompanied by Flavia García), Stephen Graham Jones, Niigaan Sinclair
Host: Ingrid Bejerman
Language(s): Espagnol, English
Thank you to our partners Loto-Québec and Ms. Mandeep (Roshi) Chadha.
FOREST PROTECTION AND INDIGENOUS VISION: CONVERGING? A CONVERSATION BETWEEN PETER WOHLLEBEN AND NIIGAAN SINCLAIR
In Canada, Anishinabe author, journalist and University of Manitoba professor Niigaan Sinclair is deeply involved in issues relating to the Aboriginal way of life and culture. His latest book, Winipêk: Visions of Canada from an Indigenous Centre, won the Governor General’s Award for non-fiction. Author and forest ranger Peter Wohlleben is not only the author of the international bestseller The Secret Life of Trees. In Germany where he leaves, he runs a sustainable forest academy and campaigns for the conservation of forests and trees in Germany and around the world. Can allochthonous and autochthonous visions of the forest and more generally of nature converge? And how? And will the climate crisis still have the last word?
Participants: Niigaan Sinclair, Peter Wohlleben
Moderator: Paul Kennedy
Language(s): English
En collaboration avec le Conseil des arts du Canada pour célébrer les finalistes et les lauréats des Prix littéraires du Gouverneur général.
Thank you to our partners Loto-Québec and Ms. Mandeep (Roshi) Chadha.
HUMANITY IN HISTORY: BLUE METROPOLIS WORDS TO CHANGE PRIZE TO SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE AWARD CEREMONY
The 2025 Blue Metropolis Words to change Prize was awarded to the internationally renowned writer, historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore, for his body of work, which includes, among other titles The World: A Family History of Humanity (named The Times History Book of the Year), Jerusalem: The Biography – a History of the Middle East ( number one non-fiction Sunday Times bestseller, a global bestseller and won The Book of the Year Prize from the Jewish Book Council (US); the Moscow Trilogy of novels: Sashenka, Red Sky at Noon and One Night in Winter (Political Fiction Book of the Year Award). A work at the crossroads of humanity and history.
Participants: Simon Sebag Montefiore
Animation: Marie-Andrée Lamontagne
Interview: Joseph Rosen
Language(s): English
Thank you to our partner The Cole Foundation.
CONVERSATION AVEC L’AUTEUR DE POLARS ITALIEN DAVIDE LONGO
Poser sur la réalité un regard en biais, c’est tout le talent du duo d’enquêteurs Bramard-Arcadipane, créé par le grand auteur italien de polars Davide Longo. Mais ce talent est à la fois un don et un malheur, car il les prive de quelque chose de précieux… À travers les brillantes enquêtes de ces deux êtres tourmentés, Davide Longo découpe quelques tranches significatives de l’histoire italienne. Et c’est passionnant.
Participant : Davide Longo
Animation : Nicoletta Dolce
Langue(s) : Français, Italien
Thank you to our partner, the Italian Cultural Institute of Montreal.
L’ARBRE MONDE AVEC PETER WOHLLEBEN, ÉRYCK DE RUBERCY, ALEXIS JENNI AND JEANNE MILLET
Dans le règne du vivant, l’arbre occupe sans contredit une place de premier choix, autant par sa physiologie et son rôle dans la lutte contre le dérèglement climatique que par sa charge symbolique dans les mythologies et les littératures. Conversation entre quatre grands connaisseurs et amoureux des arbres : l’Allemand Peter Wohlleben (La vie secrète des arbres), les Français Eryck de Rubercy (L’Univers des arbres) et Alexis Jenni (Parmi les arbres. Essai de vie commune), la Québécoise et biologiste végétale Jeanne Millet (Le développement de l’arbre). Un moment exceptionnel où faire se croiser la science et le rêve dans les hautes cimes. Animé par l’ingénieur forestier en milieu urbain Pierre-Emile Rocray.
Participants : Peter Wohlleben, Éryck de Rubercy, Alexis Jenni, Jeanne Millet
Modérateur : Pierre-Émile Rocray
Langue(s) : Français, Anglais
2025 BLUE MET TALKS
The Blue Metropolis Festival brought together Time, The Tree, and The Page for its 27th edition, proposing an exploration of patience, transformation, and the delicate balance between nature, culture, and humanity. The Tree, a silent witness to centuries, embodies both the patience of time and the memory of the world. “Trees are their own language; it is their form that speaks, their entire form that carries their meaning,” writes Alexis Jenni, inviting us to reflect on our relationship with time, literature, and the environment.
Time is the favourite material of literature. A tree takes time to grow. Sometimes it becomes a printed book. What does the Page, in other words literature, bring to Time and the Tree?
In Montreal, on Friday, April 25, 2025, during the opening ceremony, 11 guests explored this theme by sharing their visions of the tree, time, and the page. Relive their participations.
Cristina Rivera Garza
Language : English
Claire Messud
Language : English
Salman Rushdie
Language : English
Niigaan Sinclair
Language : English
Simon Sebag Montefiore
Language : English
Peter Wohlleben
Language : English
Davide Longo
Language : English
Alexis Jenni
Language : French
France Daigle
Language : French
Hélène Dorion
Language : French
Éryck De Rubercy
Language : French
2025 PRE-FESTIVAL INTERVIEWS
BLUE METROPOLIS INTERNATIONAL LITERARY FESTIVAL 2025 – A PREVIEW
Marie-Andrée Lamontagne, General Director of Programming for the Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, presents the highlights of the 2025 edition, taking place in Montreal from April 24 to 27, 2025.
ENTRETIEN AVEC FRANCE DAIGLE, PRIX VIOLET 2025
En prévision de sa participation au Festival Metropolis Bleu 2025, France Daigle revient sur son œuvre et la signification du prix Violet.
Figure majeure de la littérature acadienne, elle a publié plus d’une dizaine d’ouvrages, dont Sans jamais parler du vent, Pas pire et Pour sûr, lauréat du Prix littéraire du Gouverneur Général. Elle a également écrit pour le théâtre et signé une chronique dans L’Acadie nouvelle. Elle vit à Caraquet.
INTERVIEW WITH STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES – BLUE METROPOLIS FIRST PEOPLE PRIZE INTERNATIONAL EDITION
Stephen Graham Jones (United-States; Pikunis nation) is the New York Times bestselling author of some thirty novels and collections. Most recent are The Angel of Indian Lake, I Was a Teenage Slasher, and the ongoing Earthdivers. Up before too long are True Believers and The Buffalo Hunter Hunter. A brief interview online in anticipation of his appearance at the Blue Metropolis Festival to receveive the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Prize – International edition.
INTERVIEW WITH SIMON SEBAG MONTEFIORE, WINNER OF THE 2025 WORD TO CHANGE PRIZE
Ahead of his participation in the 2025 Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, Simon Sebag Montefiore reflects on his work and the significance of receiving the Blue Metropolis First Peoples Word to Change Prize.
A bestselling author and historian, Montefiore’s works, published in forty-eight languages, include Catherine the Great and Potemkin, Stalin: The Court of the Red Tsar, Young Stalin, Jerusalem: The Biography, and The Romanovs: 1613–1918. His books have won major international awards, including the Costa Biography Award and The Times History Book of the Year.
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.
Thank you to Mr. Cameron Charlebois & Mrs Katherine Dalziel
ENTRETIEN AVEC STEPHIE MAZUNYA, LAURÉATE DU PRIX NOUVEL APPORT METROPOLIS BLEU / CONSEIL DES ARTS DE MONTRÉAL 2025
En prévision de sa participation à l’édition 2025 du Festival littéraire international Metropolis Bleu, l’auteure canadienne-burundaise Stephie Mazunya revient sur son livre S’enjailler (Éditions du remue-ménage) et explique ce que représente pour elle l’attribution du Prix Nouvel Apport Metropolis bleu /Conseil des arts de Montréal.
DAVID CHARIANDY – I’VE BEEN MEANING TO TELL YOU
Born in 1969 in Scarborough to immigrant parents from Trinidad, David Chariandy is the author of two acclaimed novels (Soucougnant, Brother and of I’ve Teen Meaning to Tell You: A Letter to my daughter). A brief interview online in anticipation of his appearance at the Blue Metropolis Festival with the poet Darby Minott Bradford.
DISCOVER OUR 2024-2025 PODCAST SERIES
BOLD & CREATIVE
Discover BOLD & CREATIVE, a bold 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.
TELL ME ABOUT HAPPINESS…
The “Tell Me About Happiness…” series explores, through literature and by appealing to a variety of literary sensibilities, a fundamental theme common to all human beings, beyond the colour of their skin, their origins, language, religion or beliefs: the quest for happiness.
Fifteen literary voices. Fifteen highly subjective visions of happiness.
Unexpected conversations and moments of grace, when reality is seen through the eyes of another, different, fortunately different.
The “Tell Me About Happiness” series is, in short, a way of life. And perhaps to live happier, who knows?
PLANET, MY LOVE…
Planet, my love… offered 18-30 year-olds from UQAM, Université de Montréal, Concordia, McGill and college institutions the opportunity to write stories that blend ecology and romance, while exploring climate issues through fiction. The competition showcased young, dedicated literary talent.
Check out the winning texts and those of the guest authors, and let yourself be moved by these stories that blend ecological commitment and fiction.
OUR PODCASTS FOR THE 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.
QUEBEC ROOTS
The world of tomorrow will be fashioned by the children of today. With their talents, creativity and motivated mindset, they will reshape our society for the better.
The Quebec Roots project testifies to the capacity of young anglophone students to surprise and move us, and to get us thinking. With writing and photos, they convey the world around them with a gaze coloured by their age and marked by hope and clear-sightedness.
Check out now the podcasts produced by the students.
MOI… PODCAST STAR !
Our educational program gives students from six Quebec schools the chance to create bilingual podcasts, combining writing, drama, and new technologies. Inspired by authors’ stories, they will expand these narratives with their own ideas. Recordings will be guided by our team and professionally edited to produce high-quality podcasts. Twenty episodes will be released online, giving young creators the opportunity to share their work with a wide audience.
