On September 20–21, 2025, the village of Saint-Trojan-les-Bains on the Île d’Oléron hosted the second edition of the Festival Marcelle Tinayre – Femmes en Livres, a vibrant celebration of literature, history, and women’s voices.
Founded by Stéphanie Roumégous, an art historian, guide, and actress passionate about rediscovering forgotten female figures, the festival honors the life and legacy of Marcelle Tinayre (1870–1948) — a prolific novelist, feminist, and co-founder of the Prix Femina, whose works captured the landscapes and social worlds of her time.
This year’s edition expanded across four venues in Saint-Trojan-les-Bains and offered a rich, immersive cultural experience. Visitors could explore a major exhibition at La Salle des Cimaises, featuring rare photographs, manuscripts, and personal items of Marcelle Tinayre, including the only known audio recording of her voice, on loan from the INA archives. The literary fair, Salon du Livre, gathered authors from across France and abroad whose works engage with women’s stories, heritage, and identity.
Throughout the weekend, scholars such as Alain Quella-Villéger and France Grenaudier-Klijn led conferences exploring Tinayre’s literary contributions, her feminism, and her vision of womanhood in early 20th-century France. Music also played a central role in the program: a concert held in the village church paid homage to Tinayre’s love of music, with organ and vocal performances of Mozart, Verdi, and Schubert echoing her lyrical prose.
Adding a contemporary touch, poet Nathalie Man created a street art installation by pasting one of her feminist poems near the Saint-Trojan market, transforming the village into a dialogue between past and present. Meanwhile, theatrical guided tours titled “Sur les traces de Marcelle Tinayre”, led by Roumégous herself, invited visitors to walk through the author’s footsteps and discover the landscapes that inspired her novels.
Through this combination of exhibition, performance, music, and scholarship, the festival once again succeeded in bringing women’s literary heritage into the public space, ensuring that figures like Marcelle Tinayre reclaim their place in cultural memory.
The next edition, scheduled for September 19–20, 2026, will explore Marcelle Tinayre’s travels, with a special focus on her journey to Turkey, continuing the dialogue between women, literature, and the world.
