Quais du Polar has become THE key event of the genre in France. Firmly established in the French and European cultural scenery, it is both recognised by the professionals and an ever-increasing audience attending the different events organised by the festival. Since 2005, authors from 51 different nationalities have been invited.

A choice of novels, graphic novels, TV series, films, round-tables, meetings and conferences, suspense quests in the streets of Lyon, exhibitions, games… throughout the three-day 17^th edition of the festival, from 2 to 4 of July, 2021.

The festival is for all audiences: from bulimic crime fiction readers, amateur detectives, crime column fans and thrill-seeking moviegoers to curious passers-by, citizens well-informed in world affairs, party goers who love meeting people, and graphics and comic book enthusiasts… Whatever your age, whatever your gang, day and night, Quais du Polar is the place to be!

The festival is totally free except from film viewings and some events in our partner bars and museums.

The image of detective literature or noire literature has kept developing in the last few years. It is now a definitely modern genre chosen by a lot of people, including literature amateurs and movie-goers.

A contemporary genre

Classified in the past as minor, crime fiction has become one of the favourite genres in France. Nowadays one book out of 5 published in France is a crime fiction novel, that is more than 1200 titles published, 80 specialised series and 20 million copies sold each year. An increasing and unprecedented enthusiasm which has now an impact on cinema television or drama.

A popular literary genre

James Ellroy, Dennis Lehane, David Peace, Michael Connelly… are often referred to as the greatest contemporary authors, not to mention the novels of Dan Brown, Jean-Christophe Grangé, Harlan Coben or Patricia Cornwell… which regularly appear at the top of the best-seller lists – all genres taken together.

An international genre

Far from the clichés of the private detective in his/her raincoat, the roman noir tackles present social issues and gives a thorough insight into the world of authors from different nationalities (The United-States, Europe, Latin America, Scandinavia, Russia, Asia…)

A large audience

Crime fiction does not only attract the usual novel reader, it also arouses the occasional reader’s interest. Its readership is feminine as well as masculine, with no distinction of age, each reader having his or her own favourite ‘sub-genres’ whether it be thriller, historical, spy or mystery fiction…

Lyon witnessed the birth of cinema with the LUMIÈRE brothers, of criminal anthropology with Alexandre LACASSAGNE and forensic science with Edmond LOCARD. Not to mention some great names of crime literature, cinema or illustration with Frédéric DARD, Jacques DERAY, Bertrand TAVERNIER or Jacques TARDI. As Renaissance European capital of printing, book and humanism, Lyon is also a city which lived memorable popular revolts and political utopias.

Over a long period, Lyon has been synonymous with foggy rivers, the mysteries of esotericism and of its two-thousand year history, and of the dark vision conveyed by its leading writers such as Jean REVERZY or Louis CALAFERTE. It is now a metropolitan area on the move and a stronghold for European culture and art de vivre.

Between the Saône and the Rhône rivers, the fictional world of crime fiction is still present, a product of a constantly evolving urban, social and cultural environment. This is why, along with the greatest authors of the genre, we wanted the public to discover or re-discover crime fiction as a whole through a program providing a different perspective on the city.