The professional program

The Quais du Polar professional program

At the heart of the Quais du Polar festival, Polar Connection marks a special milestone on the agenda of crime fiction professionals. A common interest in the genre has brought together all these French and international actors for numerous editions. An event which is above all a platform conducive to exchange, reflection and collaboration.

Located at the Palais de la Bourse, Polar Connection was designed as a complete toolbox intended for book, audiovisual, digital, cultural action professionals, and well beyond. During three intense days, participants will have the opportunity to explore the infinite potential of the thriller genre and the current topics of the creative industries linked to it, through discussions, workshops, and inspiring meetings. The program also promotes BtoB meetings and opportunities to make contacts, particularly around convivial events such as cocktails.

Strong points:

– Panel discussions : Expert speakers discuss together the major issues of their professions, thus offering an in-depth vision of the world of crime fiction.
– Formal and informal meetings : The Palais de la Bourse with its Polar Connection Lounge in first floor becomes the ideal place for BtoB exchanges, promoting interconnection between professionals in the field.
– Toolbox : Polar Connection aims to provide participants with a toolbox helping them to exploit the full potential of crime fiction in their different fields of activity.
– Source of Inspiration : Quais du Polar serves as a reference and source of inspiration through its abundance and diversity of its programming. The independent booksellers running the festival’s Grande Librairie play a role of recommendation and encourage location finding.

The professional program is accessible by accreditation.

The 2025 program

You’ll find the detailed program below, which will be updated regularly as the latest adjustments are made.
This program is subject to change. It is not yet exhaustive and will be completed very soon.

Friday, April 4th

MORNING

9.30am – Opening Polar Connection
Welcome lounge and coffee

10am – 11am Salle Tony Garnier
Round table – Which links between noir writers and territories
The key issues – literary, economic, societal… – of the territorial roots of a novel and its author.
With Marin Ledun, author (France), Maryline Noël, AILF bookseller – Le Comptoir, Santiago (Chili), Montse Porta, AILF bookseller – Jaimes, Barcelona (Spain), Caroline Ripoll, publisher, Albin Michel (France), Satu Rämö, author (Finland)
Moderated by Natacha Levet, lecturer and author
Simultaneous translation French / English

10.15am – 11am Salle Ampère
Meeting / Workshop – Police experts at the service of authors
When a screenplay or novel calls for a point of view based on reality, what resources and collaborations are needed? Case study based on Cold Cases.
With Pierre Pascaud, chief of staff, Service National de la Police Scientifique (SNPS), Eléonore Durand, project manager, Mission Cinéma, Ministry of the Interior
Moderated by Kensley Jules and Pauline Pinçon, screenwriters, Le Septième Scénar’

11.15am – 12am Salle Tony Garnier
Focus – How to take the pulse of thriller readers ?The rise of online communities and media has transformed the relationship with readers. What opportunities and tools does this offer for professionals in the thriller industry?
With Guillaume Teisseire, co-founder of Babelio, Jérôme Vincent, chief editor of BePolar
Moderated by Vincent Raymond, journalist

11.15am – 12am Salle Ampère
Case study – MILAN, Unesco Creative City of Lieterature
Milan and Lyon are members of the Unesco Creative Citues of Literature network.
With Liu’ Palmieri and Laura Teruzzi, Milan, UCCOL Coordination team
Moderation: Frédéric Crouzet, journalist and member of the Quais du polar association
Simultaneous translation French / English

12.15am – 1pm Chapelle de la Trinité
Polar en Séries – Scelf award ceremony
Presentation, in the form of pitches, of the selection and announcement of the 2025 winner
With Kim Beci, Mediatoon, Angélique Debellemanière, Mediatoon, Nathalie Démoulin, Le Rouergue, Cristina Piovani, Liana Levi, Carole Saudejaud, Flammarion, Léa Riche, Gallimard
In the presence of the members of the jury and Valérie Barthez, Deputy General Director of the SCELF
Moderated by Isabelle Fauvel, audiovisual consultant, Silence&Conversation
Simultaneous translation French / English

1pm – 2pm Chapelle de la Trinité
Cocktail lunch

AFTERNOON

2.15pm – 3pm Salle Ampère
Meeting / Workshop – A 4-handed thriller to cross the borders
A review of a collaborative writing experience between Italy and France that brings together two authors around a common plot and explores the links between two cities, two countries.
With Natalie Beunat, publisher, Points (France), Michèle Pedinielli, author (France), Tiziana Elsa Prina, publisher, Le Assassine (Italia), Valerio Varesi, author (Italia)
Moderated by Vincent Raymond, journalist
Simultaneous translation French / English

2.30pm – 3.30pm Salle Tony Garnier
Case study – Surface : from novel to screen
Talk to the protagonists of the series adaptation of Olivier Norek’s novel, to find out about its challenges and creative choices.
With Slimane-Baptiste Berhoun, filmaker, Iris Bucher, president and producer, Quad Drama, Carole Le Berre, program advisor, Fiction unity, France Télévision, Olivier Norek, author (France)
Moderated by Xavier Leherpeur, journalist, film and series critic

3.15pm – 4.15pm Salle Ampère
Round table – English-langage crime fiction : geography, market and author’s circulation
From the area of geographical influence to the structure of the market, from literary exchange flows to helping authors publish in English.
With David Headley, organizer of the Capital Crime festival (London) and literary agent, Susanna Lea, founder, Susanna Lea literary agency (Paris, London, New York), Nicolas Roche, director of the BIEF (Bureau International de l’Edition Française), Constance Trapenard, publisher, Le Masque / JC Lattès
Moderated by Vincent Raymond, journalist
Simultaneous translation French / English

3.45pm – 4.30pm Salle Tony Garnier
Round table – Polar on screen : borders and blending genres
Trends and renewal of the genre through fusion or hybridation?
With Matthieu Donck, filmaker, Lamara Leprêtre-Habib, screenwriter, Aurélie Iniesta, producer, Gaumont Télévision, Véra Peltekian, Vice President of French Original Productions, Max, Warnerbros Discovery
Moderated by Isabelle Fauvel, audiovisual consultant, Silence&Conversation

4.45pm – 5.15pm Salle Tony Garnier
Workshop – International Networking
Meet international Polar Connection participants to find out about their activities, projects and expectations, and exchange views on the genre and polar events.
With the Association International de Libraires Francophones and the international professionals
Moderated by Vincent Raymond, journalist
Simultaneous translation French / English

5.45pm – 6.30pm Salle Maryse Bastié
Meet the winner of the Prix des Bibliothèques de la métropole de Lyon

Saturday, April 5th

All meetings will take place in the Salon Polar Connection – Salle Jacquard at the Palais de la Bourse.

MORNING

9.45am – 10.30am
Welcome breakfast
Spotlight on the “book influencers”
With the support of Editions du Gros Caillou

10.30am – 12.30am
Presentation by 8 French publishers of their latest publications
With Sigolène du Besset, Gros Caillou, Camille Racine, Robert Laffont, Bénédicte Lombardo, Le Seuil, Manon Viard, L’Aube, Marie Leroy, La Martinière, Hélène Gédouin, Hachette – Black Lab, Stéfanie Delestré, Gallimard Série Noire – La Noire, Caroline Ripoll, Albin Michel

12.30am
Cocktail lunch Polar Connection

AFTERNOON

2pm – 3pm
Case study – Cross-fertilizing inspiration in the world of legends
From the Bureau des légendes to the novel Les Mouettes: an ecosystem linking publishing and audiovisual production
With Thomas Cantaloube, author, Alex Berger, co-founder and director of The Originals Group
Moderated by Eric Libiot, journalist, Ecran Total

3.15pm – 4.15pm
Pitchs for Polar / Thriller projects in development – Film & audiovisual
A selection of 5 projects in development for the screen, presented by their authors in response to a call for projects launched in partnership with the screenwriters’ association Le 7e Scénar.

4.30pm – 6pm
Influencers / Authors / Lisez ! meetings
Tailor-made meetings for literary influencers.
With Lisez !

6pm
Aperitif Polar Connection
With the support of Lisez !

Sunday news !

For the first time this year, two new events will be added to the already extensive professional program.

11am
Rendez-vous Polar Connection
With Actes Sud Diffusion and the publishing houses Actes Sud, Le Rouergue et Rivages
Meet their publishers and authors Anne-Sophie Kalbfleisch, Julien Freu, Åsa Ericsdotter & James Ellroy.

12am
Cocktail lunch Polar Connection
At the invitation of Actes Sud Diffusion

2pm – 3.30pm
Professional Master class on the narrative arc
The fundamental principles of this powerful narrative tool will be explained in several stages : the rules for building a narrative arc (or transformational character arc) and the three main types of arcs – positive, negative or neutral.
With Lionel Tran, les Artisans de fiction

The "Extras" !

Two proposals from our partners – Prior registration required – Limited number of places – Visit in French

Thursday, April 3th
5.30pm – 7.30pm Lyon 6e
Meeting with Interpol experts
Interpol experts present the intergovernmental organization, different forms of crime they are working on – including biometric data, human trafficking and exploitation

Saturday, April 6th
3pm – 4.30pm Musée de l’imprimerie, Lyon 2e
Guided tour “The book’s metamorphoses”
To track the book’s evolution from clay tablets to the digital book.

The Polar en Séries - Scelf prize

Discover the selection of the 11th edition of the Polar en séries prize – Scelf !

The Polar en séries prize – Scelf 2025 promotes the literary production of French-speaking crime fiction by highlighting works for their potential for adaptation into an audiovisual series.
Created in collaboration with the SCELF – Civil Society of French Language Publishers – this prize is part of Polar Connection’s professional meetings, thus creating an essential bridge between the world of books and audiovisual.
The Polar en séries prize – Scelf rewards a French-speaking noir novel, thriller, or crime fiction for its intrinsic qualities and its adaptation potential. The selected works illustrate literary creation in the polar genre and offer rich perspectives for a series adaptation.
Polar en séries is based on a call for applications launched from publishers specialized in crime fiction. This year, we received no fewer than 69 works. The 6 selected works are evaluated by a jury of experts, made up of professionals from the world of crime fiction and audiovisual, who agree in deliberation on the winner.

The books running for the 2025 edition :

Poker (Volumes 1 and 2), by Derrien & Simon Van Liemt, Le Lombard, 2009
Bleus, blancs, rouges, by Benjamin Dierstein, Editions Flammarion, 2025
Un pays sans chemin, by Eric Goffin, Editions du Rouergue, 2025
Les âmes fragmentées, by Charlotte Monsarrat, Editions Anne Carrière, 2023
Les bons sentiments, by Karine Sulpice, Liana Levi, 2024
Huitième section, by Marc Trévidic, Gallimard, 2024

As the Polar en Séries prize is an integral part of the Polar Connection program, it will be awarded on Friday 4 April 2025, following a presentation of the finalists’ works by the publishers themselves at the Chapelle de la Trinité.

The jury for the 11th edition of the Polar en séries prize :

Michel ABOUCHAHLA, president of Écran Total
Matthieu DONCK, producer (La Trêve (saison 1 et 2), Des gens bien…)
Aurélie INIESTA, producer, Gaumont télévision (Le Signal…)
Lamara LEPRÊTRE-HABIB, screenwriter (D’argent et de sang, Les Monstres, Dans l’ombre…)
Fanny FROMENTAL, Literary Adaptations Executive, Studiocanal Stories
Carole LE BERRE, program advisor, Unité Fiction, France Télévision
Xavier LEHERPEUR, journalist, film and series critic (France Inter)
Véra PELTEKIAN, vice-president in charge of original French productions, HBO Max, at Warner Media International

Learn more about the 2025 jury

Last year, the winner was Skilled Fast, written by Hachin, which was a graphic chase through a tormented future where technology has become an integral part of human beings.

Find the Polar en Séries 2024 booklet here

The 4-handed polar

Among the highlights of this edition, we include the presentation of the 4-handed polar. A collaborative writing project between two authors, one French and the other from a crime town, their 4-handed thrillers already form a collection with the complicity of Points editions.
This year, the 4-Handed Polar is the result of a collaboration between France and Italy, with French novelist Michèle Pedinielli and Italian author Valerio Varesi alternating their pens in a story set between Lyon and Milan.
Entitled Les Contrebandiers, this polyphonic novel revolves around a mysterious investigation in which cigarette smuggling and human trafficking are intimately linked…
As part of Polar Connection, the authors, editors and translator will meet to discuss their creative process and their perceptions of the borders at the heart of their story.

Le Steve McQueen, by Tim Willocks and Caryl Férey between Manchester and Lyon has been presented at Quais du Polar 2024.

Find the details of the Polar 4 hands 2024, Le Steve McQueen, as well as the archives of projects from previous years on the page The international festival.

This project benefits from the support provided by the French Institute / City and Metropolis of Lyon agreement.