[1] Launched in 1993 as the first French language book fair in Canada outside Quebec,[1] the event features a program of author readings, panel discussions and publisher exhibitions over the course of several days in the fall of each year.
[2] Due to the Franco-Ontarian community's relatively limited access to French language media and bookstores, it serves as an essential venue for promotion and networking between the publishing industry and French language school boards, post-secondary institutions, libraries and other community organizations in the province.
[3] The event was founded by writer and educator Christine Dumitriu Van Saanen, who served as its director general until 2006.
The award was renamed the Prix Alain-Thomas in 2020, following the death of influential Franco-Ontarian academic Alain Thomas.
The winners in 2017 were Mishka Lavigne (Ontario) for Cinéma, and Christophe Bernard (Quebec) for La bête creuse.