Former “Quotidien” columnist Lilia Hassaine joins France Inter

New literary program on France Inter. According to our information, public radio has decided to entrust Lilia Hassaine, 33, with a one-hour meeting to highlight French-speaking authors. Scheduled for Saturdays, this program, whose title has not yet been decided, will be broadcast on August 31. “Lilia is someone cultured, creative, original. She has an infectious passion for books that she knows how to make accessible to as many people as possible,” greets Adèle Van Reeth, the boss of France Inter, about her new recruit.

Co-broadcast on the Belgian (RTBF), Swiss (RTS) and Canadian (Radio Canada) public broadcasters, the new format will host a writer each week for a forty-minute interview aimed at introducing them to more than just the book they are defending. Lilia Hassaine will also be keen to highlight the work of booksellers in France and in the show’s partner countries.

Every Saturday, they will provide reading recommendations to listeners. “We want to give them space,” promises the host, who also intends to highlight a paperback book in each issue. “It’s something I care about. These are less expensive books that allow us to talk about a classic,” explains the journalist who has worked on “Quotidien,” Yann Barthès’ show on TMC.

His first radio experience

Author of three novels since 2019, the thirty-year-old hopes to be able to bring her experience of the subject to the new program. “As a writer who has been in their shoes by being interviewed on the radio, I am perhaps aware of the questions that authors are not asked enough and of what it is to write a novel,” explains the one for whom this will be her first radio experience as a host.