Salut! Tomorrow has a distinctly Gallic flavour: Parisians are set to enjoy an evening of readings from New Zealand literature at l’Atelier-Studio de la Comédie Française (pictured).

It's rumoured that the content includes poems by Laureates Jenny Bornholdt, Bill Manhire and John Pule, plus Hone Tuwhare. Also on le menu is fiction by Janet Frame and Patricia Grace, and Laureate Elizabeth Knox.

There's more to come: in November 2006, our northern hemisphere amis will have the Belles Etrangères, a literary season throughout France devoted to New Zealand writers.

In December, the entente cordiale continues closer to home. According to the French ambassador to NZ,

The French-speaking community in New Zealand is also eagerly awaiting the arrival of Ms France David, laureate of a prestigious Stendhal literary scholarship, to perform her one-woman-show, Katherine Mansfield Remix, based on the journals of the prolific New Zealand writer, at Bats Theatre in Wellington on 3 December 2005 (this will be performed entirely in French).

Incidentally, there are more literary links between New Zealand and France than we thought. Check this page for details of French books inspired by New Zealand.