The first Festival international du texte court de Sherbrooke, held in March 2006, was an outstanding success. And, without a doubt, the passion of its founder had something to do with it. Thierno Souleymane Barry, as well as pursuing a doctorate degree in law at the Université de Sherbrooke, has a profound love of words. This, and his strong sense of initiative, led him to establish a unifying event which focuses on the “short format” in several art forms: literature, music, theatre and painting. His goal? To decompartmentalize artistic disciplines and share the pleasure of writing. The festival’s original concept has attracted over 80 authors from the United States, Ontario and Québec. And the festival’s contest has also largely contributed to enhancing the event’s prestige as some of the 137 texts and poems submitted came from as far away as France, Belgium, South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Guinea. The festival aroused considerable interest: more than 2,500 enthusiasts strolled around and took part in literary activities in Sherbrooke’s city centre which was totally revitalized by the event. And this is only the beginning: Thierno plans to establish ties with other cultural gatherings and thus offer the new guard the perfect opportunity to showcase their talent!