For fifty years, Éditions Zoé has championed writing that explores human fragility and the quiet territories of everyday life through intimate narratives. Often rooted in Switzerland yet open to other stories and memories, these works return time and again to childhood, family ties, migration and cultural inheritance. If there is a defining editorial line, it lies in the precision of the writing and its sensory power, rarely demonstrative: a literature of nuance, silence and restraint, where emotion flows without slipping into pathos. Zoé offers space to unique voices questioning how we inhabit the world, not through spectacle, but through lasting intensity.

Over the course of one weekend, several writers from the Geneva-based publishing house will bring their texts to life within the intimate, domestic setting of Villa Bernasconi. From cellar to attic, every room will be inhabited by voices that illuminate the impulses and processes of literary creation. Two distinct itineraries, each composed of three twenty-minute readings and performances, have been carefully conceived by Caroline Couteau, editorial director of Éditions Zoé, who knows Villa Bernasconi well, having managed the venue herself in the 1990s.

Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 August
15:00 - Route 1

• Elisa Shua Dusapin reads Sauf la frontière (published 27 August 2026)
• Michèle Gurtner reads La Bonne (1985) by Alice Rivaz
• Jérémie Gindre reads Une bonne chose de faite (2026)

17:00 - Route 2

• Anne-Sophie Subilia reads Glissando (published 27 August 2026)
• Aude Seigne reads from Chroniques de l’occident nomade (2012) and Le Nord à contre-jour (2026)
• Sarah Elena Müller presents a musical reading-performance of L’enfant hors champ (2025) with Raphaëlle Lacord (translation) and Benoit Moreau (sound)

Bookshop, drinks and cakes available on site

Writing workshops – Saturday 29 August
14:00 (adults) with Max Lobe
Drawing inspiration from traditional African literature and the realities of immigration in Switzerland, Max Lobe explores themes such as homophobia, religion, violence and the lives of undocumented people. His works, all published by Éditions Zoé, include 39 Rue de Berne (2013), Confidences (2016, Prix Amadou Kourouma 2017), and La Promesse de sa Phall’excellence (2021).

16:00 (teenagers) with Sandy Monney
Head of cultural outreach at Éditions Zoé for the past ten years, and involved in book production for fifteen, Sandy Monney enjoys using different artistic mediums to spark reflection, awaken curiosity and create hands-on literary experiences.

Register by email – thais.juillerat[at]batie.ch
Further information – +4122 908 69 45

Hosted in collaboration with the Villa Bernasconi Art Center and with support from the City of Lancy