Tashi Farmilo
LJI Reporter

At the Marché Vieux-Hull in Gatineau, where visitors come for honey, local crafts, and the
season’s best fruit and vegetables, two local authors found space to share their stories with the
community.

Didier Périès was there with Guelta: Du Sahel au rugby , a novel that follows Nana, a young
woman who leaves Mauritania for a new life across the Mediterranean. Rugby becomes her
path to belonging in an unfamiliar society while she reconciles with her past. “It’s a novel that
puts forward a female character, an immigrant, and rugby helps her integrate, develop, and
flourish,” Périès said. Sharing books in a market, he added, is about meeting readers where
stories and conversations happen naturally.

Périès, originally from Toulouse, has written multiple works, including Mystères à Natagamau:
Sur la voie du sang , Mystères à Natagamau: Opération Clandestino , and Mystères à
Natagamau: Le secret du borgne . His writing often explores themes of migration, identity, and
the quiet tension of lives in transition, using genres from mystery to sports fiction to reflect the
challenges and hopes of characters finding their place in new environments.

Danielle Soucy, who also helps organize the market, is an artisan, semi-retired community
builder, and the principal manager at Aléo, an initiative supporting local purchases and events
across the Outaouais. She is part of a collective that coordinates five markets in the region,
including the Marché Vieux-Hull, where she works to connect local producers with the
community. Soucy also creates handcrafted dolls, particularly small witches, which she sells as
keepsakes for children and visitors seeking a reminder of the region’s stories.

At the market, Soucy shared her children’s book Chapeauville et la sorcière , a whimsical tale
set in Gatineau Park that she wrote for her daughters and decided to publish last year. The
book, illustrated by Vicky Blais, a young artist from Gatineau, encourages children to step away
from screens and rediscover the joy of stories. “We need to encourage children to read, to learn
to connect with real values, to meet people,” Soucy said, noting that the market’s atmosphere
helps foster those connections.

The Marché Vieux-Hull runs every Thursday from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm until October 2 at Théâtre
de l’Île, Place de la Francophonie, 1 rue Wellington in Gatineau. The market offers produce,
local honey, live music, and small-scale artisans. Local authors will return on July 17, inviting
visitors to discover books written within their own community while enjoying the day’s harvest
and music.

Photo: Local authors Didier Périès and Danielle Soucy brought their stories to the Marché
Vieux-Hull, sharing books with the community, alongside the market’s honey, produce, and local
crafts. (TF) Photo: Tashi Farmilo