• The Cheval Blanc bar, a legendary bistro in the Wazemmes district, is launching its literary prize.

  • The jury, chaired by Benoît Delépine, will reward an offbeat first novel on November 7.

The place is a must for the Lille festival.

For those who have already spent their Sundays around the crowded counter, the Cheval Blanc bar, run for more than 20 years by the emblematic Monique in the Wazemmes district, is clearly one of those legendary bars where nothing resembles this. that you have seen before.

A bistro so well known that a ball is dedicated to it every year in a town hall.

And now, the Cheval Blanc has just launched its literary prize.

An idea inevitably born around a drink.

" There are two things.

We want to bring the conviviality and brotherhood of this special place to life.

It is also a nod to the Parisian literary prizes which are often awarded in cafes.

And then, via this literary prize, we also want to bring reading to this popular district in the noble sense of the term.

Wazemmes is both a dynamic and very creative district, but also a district facing major social problems, ”explains Michael Moglia, general delegate of the Cheval Blanc literary prize.

Benoît Delépine as president of the jury

For this first edition, 25 books are in competition and will be decided by a jury composed of ten people and chaired by the Grolandais Benoît Delépine. The idea is to reward a first novel with an offbeat tone “It has to be a book that corresponds to what Wazemmes is and to the bar of the white horse which are offbeat places. That means it has to be a bit crazy, a bit borderline, a bit on the fringes, ”continues the general delegate.

The selection includes celebrities (Akhenaton, Oxmo Puccino, Edouard Baer) but also lesser-known authors who hope to place the red banner of the Cheval Blanc prize on their book.

The winner will be crowned on November 7.

And it will take place in the bar in the middle of the customers with as a trophy a glass of beer engraved with the name of the winner and to be tasted at the counter.

Necessarily.

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  • Literary prize

  • Culture

  • Lille

  • Coffee

  • Horse