The dates of the 22nd edition
The 22nd edition of the Quais du Polar festival will take place from Friday 3 to Sunday 5 April 2026!
See you in Lyon at the Palais de la Bourse, the Hôtel de Ville, the Chapelle de la Trinité and many other partner cultural venues. The list of guest authors will be announced in December 2025. The full programme (conferences, meetings, book signings) will be revealed in March 2026!
The theme for 2026
For its next edition, Quais du Polar will explore the links between science and crime fiction around the theme STORY SEEKERS: SCIENCE AND FICTION.
Hard sciences, technology, artificial intelligence, medicine, history, humanities… these are all fields that feed fiction and thought. Crime writers, often guided by facts, investigations and rigorous research, share with scientists a taste for exploration, doubt and truth. Researchers will be invited to exchange views with writers who question reality in their own way. In this age of obscurantism, fake news and untruths, crime fiction reminds us of the importance of evidence, reasoning and critical thinking.
By bringing together stories and knowledge, literary research and scientific investigations, Quais du Polar reaffirms the power of stories to shed light on the world of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Find all the information about our previous editions and all the authors who have already attended the festival.
Propose an author as a publishing house
– CALL FOR APPLICATIONS –
Authors that publishing houses wish to propose for the 2026 edition of the Quais du Polar festival must have a new work published between April 2025 and April 2026.. To submit an entry, a copy of their work (or a synopsis if it has not yet been published) must be sent by mid-November 2025 at the latest.If your proposal is accepted, we will contact you before December 2025.
Only applications sent by publishers will be considered.
BY POST
Association Quais du Polar
Application
11 rue Pierre Bourdan
69003 – Lyon – France
BY EMAIL
assistant@quaisdupolar.com
Become a literary juror for the Readers' Prize
– CALL TO JURY –
Choose the French-language crime novel of the year and help select the 22nd winner of the Quais du Polar Readers’ Award.
Quais du Polar, the international crime fiction and film festival, is calling for applications to form the new official jury for the Quais du Polar Readers’ Prize. This jury will be responsible for selecting ‘the’ French-language crime novel of the year 2025 from a shortlist of six novels.
Send us a letter explaining the reasons for your application and describing your literary tastes. Please remember to include your personal details (first name, surname, age), your occupation and your place of residence. This information is essential for us to establish a panel for our jury before the deadline (as evidenced by the postmark or email date).
Applications open: Wednesday, 1 October 2025
Application deadline: Sunday, 30 November 2025 at midnight
Selection of jurors: mid-December 2025
Deliberation meal: Saturday, 14 March 2026
BY POST
Association Quais du Polar
Application
11 rue Pierre Bourdan
69003 – Lyon – France
BY EMAIL
prixdeslecteurs@quaisdupolar.com
Propose a project in line with the programming
– CALL FOR PROJECTS: ÉCHOS POLAR –
Each year, we invite you to participate in the festival according to your ideas and current programm, in whatever form best suits the promotion of your activities and projects. Our motto:
Call for projects opens: Wednesday, 1 October 2025 (participation via an online form available on that date)
Submission deadline: Wednesday, 10 December 2025
Shortlist of selected projects: mid-December 2025
Deadline for return of communication materials: Wednesday, 21 January 2026
CONTACT
echospolar@quaisdupolar.com