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Official Sequel For Angoulême Comics Art Festival Announced for 2027

Plans for the sequel to the Angoulême Comics Art Festival has been announced for 2027, with candidates to run the show asked to apply

Published Tue, 13 Jan 2026 06:57:06 -0600

by Rich Johnston

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Article Summary

Angoulême announces a new international comics festival for 2027 to replace the FIBD event.
Organisers must apply by March, with new jury selecting a five-year operator and stricter event guidelines.
Festival will move to March, promise cash prizes, and offer free entry mainly for creators and industry pros.
The 2026 FIBD event is cancelled; a major fringe festival, "le Grand Off," will take its place in January.

On Friday, the Mayor of Angoulême, Xavier Bonnefont, officially announced the creation of a comic book festival for 2027, to replace the discredited Angoulême Comic Art Festival or FIBD, as "a major international cultural event dedicated to comics within the city limits." He did so alongside the president of the Association for the Development of Comics in Angoulême (ADBDA), David Caméo and Denis Bajram, representative of comic book creator unions, stating "We were close to chaos" but that the new plan will "reaffirm Angoulême's role as the world capital of comics."

Three Days In Angoulême — Angoulême from the bridge crossing the river to the Musée de la Bande Dessinée- Chris Geary

ADBDA, established eight years ago, has now become the governing body of the new event, necessitating a change to its bylaws. It also announced a change to its board of directors, now composed of six representatives from public partners, six representatives from authors, six representatives from publishers, and four qualified individuals. The Angoulême International Comics Festival (FIBD) is no longer part of it; instead, it will include associate members such as the International City of Comics and Images, and Pôle Image Magelis, the local major public economic development organisation and creative industries hub. They will select, through the upcoming formation of a jury, the operator responsible for organising the future festival for a five-year period, rather than the usual ten. Yes, that's a whole lot of organisers. And you'll have to do it all again in 2031. Although there's a possibility of an extension for an additional year, a new call for proposals will be launched two years prior to its expiration. Denis Bajram says that they want to "turn the page" on the previous management and that "we all believe in 2027. It will be here, it will be beautiful."

The search for new organisers will be launched today, and people have until the 12th of March to submit their application. They will have to comply with a set of specifications that will be clearer and more transparent, in particular in the fight against sexist and sexual violence and harassment, as well as guarantee free access for creators and publishers. The successful candidate will also be expected to take the event further internationally and take "into account the broader comics sector, including colourists and translators" while focusing on "promoting and listening to the public, high-quality exhibitions, collaboration with local communities, the requirement to promote comics in all their forms, and a review of awards with budgets." The event will last "four to six days, always including a professional day." Three shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in April, before the winner is announced the same month.

It is also expected that a new date for the show will be in the slightly less frozen wasteland of March rather than the last weekend of January, even though that would be a lot closer to the Brussels Book Fair. There is little else that has been decided about the show, but two requirements will be welcomed. All prizes awarded at this festival will be cash prizes. And free admission will not be the norm; only industry professionals, primarily creators, will get free entry. This may be an end to the hangers-on and blaggers who know the organisers getting in. Or, at least, making them pay for the privilege. Oh yes, and there are legal proceedings with the FIBD and 9ème Art+ expected. That's going to be fun.

The 53rd edition of the Angoulême FIBD comic art festival, which was due to take place at the end of January 2026, was cancelled last year, a first since its creation in 1974, due to the revolt of a large part of the comics community against 9e Art+, which had organised the event since 2007. Instead, the local council will bolster the already planned fringe festival events, now dubbed "Le Grand Off", with 80 publishers and 500 authors expected from the 19th of January to the 1st of February, when Angoulême would have previously run.

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