SUNDAY 22 NOVEMBER 2026 · 10 AM–6 PM
NEXT EVENT
Colomars Book Fair
Meet Nicholas Hugo at the Colomars Book Fair for a day of literary encounters centred on Hôtel Ponchette.
DISCOVER THE BOOK FAIR ↗
Writer
Nicholas Hugo
Intelligent adventure comedies
Humour, suspense, elegance — and the pleasure of discovering more.
Discover the novel
The new novel
Hôtel Ponchette
In French bookshops from 30 October 2026
A house. A fraud. The world’s largest residential ship.
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Poq, dreams of turning his house on Les Ponchettes into a hotel. To finance it, he sells the property as a life annuity. A serious mistake: the buyers are professional fraudsters, and their seller stubbornly refuses to die.
What follows is an adventure as funny as it is unpredictable, set in the heart of Nice and far beyond, populated by larger-than-life characters, exhilarating catastrophes and Niçoise cuisine.
An intelligent adventure comedy somewhere between Louis de Funès and Molière.
Nice
A setting that becomes a character.
The lanes, terraces, conversations and encounters of Old Nice naturally find their way into the novels.
The city is more than a backdrop. It shapes the rhythm, the light and sometimes even the initial spark.
A world within the novel
The Universe
The world’s largest floating city.
On board The Universe, Poq encounters billionaires, icons, eccentrics, criminals… and the ship’s Michelin-starred chef, determined to wrest from him the secret of his celebrated lemon tart.
But one question remains: will Poq make it back to Nice before it is too late?
Back to the novelHôtel Ponchette goes CinemaScope
Poq comes to life.
Three scenes from the world of Hôtel Ponchette — brought to the screen.
The unexpected extra
Poq’s Lemon Tart
The recipe for Poq’s ultimate lemon tart is included in the novel — extending the adventure into the kitchen.
The world of Nicholas Hugo
The pleasure of discovering more.
Nicholas Hugo creates worlds in which anything seems possible at any moment — populated by eccentric characters, intelligent humour and countless cultural discoveries.
“I want to reward my readers for their curiosity, their intelligence and their pleasure in discovery.”
Writer
Nicholas Hugo
Nicholas Hugo writes adventure comedies in which humour, suspense and elegance meet.
Author of more than twenty books, also published under various pseudonyms, he now divides his life between Germany and Old Nice. The Mediterranean and its unforgettable characters feed an imagination in which every journey can become an adventure.
AVAILABLE NOW
Hôtel Ponchette
Nicholas Hugo’s first novel is available now. Enter Poq’s world in the heart of Nice and order your copy online.
BUY THE BOOK ↗Agenda
Events
MONDAY 23 NOVEMBER 2026 · 7 PM
“Images? Gladly! Writing? NEVER!!”
A talk by Nicholas Hugo, in German and French, at the Franco-German Cultural Centre in Nice.
ABOUT THE TALK ↗PAST EVENTS
2–4 OCTOBER 2026
Mouans-Sartoux Book Festival
Nicholas Hugo took part in the Mouans-Sartoux Book Festival with Hôtel Ponchette.
26 SEPTEMBER 2026 · 10 AM–12 PM
Book signing in Nice
Nicholas Hugo met readers at Librairie Jean Jaurès for a signing of Hôtel Ponchette.
5–6 SEPTEMBER 2026
Monaco Book Fair
Nicholas Hugo presented Hôtel Ponchette at the Grimaldi Forum.
Contact
Press, appearances and rights
For press enquiries, readings, appearances and rights, please contact Les Éditions Ovadia.
Les Éditions Ovadiac/o Nicholas Hugo
37–41 Boulevard Dubouchage
06000 Nice, France
+33 (0) 4 93 92 00 12Les Éditions Ovadia website