SIEL: France invited as guest of honor for the 2026 edition

France will be the guest of honor at the 31st edition of the International Publishing and Book Fair (SIEL), which will take place from May 1 to 10, 2026, in Rabat, according to a statement.

For ten days, authors, artists, and audiences will come together around a program presented as an invitation to read, create, and share, the same source specifies.

This edition comes in a context marked by Morocco’s participation as guest of honor at the Paris Book Festival in 2025, as well as Rabat’s designation as UNESCO World Book Capital for the 2026–2027 period, the statement adds.

At the heart of the fair, the France pavilion, coordinated by the French Institute of Morocco, will be designed as an open space for all, offering more than 120 events, including meetings with authors, book signings, conferences, readings, as well as quizzes, workshops, and games for the general public.

Professional meetings will also bring together French and Moroccan publishers, authors, and experts around the major contemporary issues of books and reading, the same source emphasizes.

Several figures from the French literary scene will take part in this edition, notably Annie Ernaux, Nobel Prize in Literature 2022, Morgane Moncomble, and Timothée de Fombelle, alongside around fifteen other authors, the statement indicates.

Tours by the invited authors across Morocco are planned in order to extend these encounters closer to readers and bring literature to life in different regions, the same source continues.

Among the announced highlights are the proclamation of the Choix Goncourt of Morocco, that of the Chambéry First Novel Festival, as well as the announcement of the winner of the comic book competition organized by the French Institute of Morocco, according to the statement.

SIEL aims to foster dialogue between the French and Moroccan literary scenes by encouraging exchanges among authors, publishers, translators, and readers, the same source notes.

Beyond the fair, an “off-site” program will be deployed across Rabat, notably including the “SIEL Lights” screening series, which will present a selection of films in the presence of directors such as Michel Ocelot.

Concerts, performances by Moroccan and French artists, as well as two exhibitions will round out this “off-site” program, the statement concludes.