(Paris) The Prix Goncourt, the most prestigious of French literary prizes, excluded from its first selection the novel by Virginie Despentes, Dear assholethe biggest success of the literary season, announced the jury on Tuesday.
Posted at 9:37
The 12 members of the Académie Goncourt have selected 15 titles, some expected as The clandestine life by Monica Sabolo or The heart does not give in by Gregoire Bouillier.
Other choices are more surprising, such as Beirut-sur-Seine by Sabyl Ghoussoub, a young Franco-Lebanese author, or The Kremlin Mage by Giuliano da Empoli, published in April.
The Goncourt is to be awarded on November 3.
The French novelist Virginie Despentes is the star of this literary season, driven by very favorable reviews, and sales which reached some 65,000 copies.
Winner of the Renaudot prize in 2010, for apocalypse babyshe was a Goncourt juror for four years, before resigning in early 2020 to devote herself to writing.
Its publisher, Grasset, places no title in this first selection, while its rival Gallimard has three, and Flammarion and Stock two each.
The first selection
- Muriel Barbery, An hour of fervor (South Acts)
- Gregory Bouillier, The heart does not give in (Flammarion)
- Nathan Devers, The artificial links (Albin Michael)
- Giuliano daEmpoli, The Kremlin Mage (Gallimard)
- Carol Fives, something to tell you (Gallimard)
- Sabyl Ghoussoub, Beirut-sur-Seine (Stock)
- Brigitte Giraud, live fast (Flammarion)
- Sarah Jollien-Fardel, His favorite (Sabine Wespieser)
- Cloe Korman, Almost sisters (Threshold)
- Makenzy Orcel, A human sum (Shores)
- Yves Ravey, Taormina (Midnight)
- Pascale Robert Diard, The little liar (The Iconoclast)
- Emanuel Ruben, The Mediterranean (Stock)
- Monica Sabolo, The clandestine life (Gallimard)
- Anne Serre, Our dear old lady author (Mercury from France)