(Paris) The Goncourt prize for the first novel was awarded Tuesday to Étienne Kern for The flights (Gallimard editions), inspired by the story of a man who tried to fly from the Eiffel Tower.
Posted at 10:00 a.m.
This professor of letters has signed a sensitive account of the fate of Franz Reichelt, an Austrian immigrant who in 1912 killed himself, in front of the cameras, by jumping from the first floor of the tower with a parachute of his manufacture.
Hailed by critics, this novel from the 2021 literary season entered the selection of the Renaudot and Femina prizes, before being discarded.
The Goncourt short story award went to Belgian Antoine Wauters for The museum of contradictions (Editions du Sous-Sol), collection of 12 speeches by rebels.
This author goes on to win French literary prizes, after the Marguerite Duras prize in October then the Wepler prize in November for his novel Mahmoud or the rising waters (Verdier editions).
The Goncourt prize for biography Edmonde Charles-Roux crowned journalist Jean-Pierre Langellier for Leopold Sedar Senghor (Perrin editions).
Finally, the Goncourt Robert Sabatier poetry prize was awarded to Jean-Michel Maulpoix for all of his work.
This one, abundant, is that of an amateur of free verse and university specialist of Henri Michaux or René Char.