The novels in the third and final selection of the Prix Goncourt, France's top literary prize, will be announced in Bucharest on October 22.

The event, to be attended by the members of Académie Goncourt, adds to the list of several organized to mark the centenary of the French Institute in Romania.

Seven of the ten members of the Académie Goncourt will take part in the event in Bucharest, namely Philippe Claudel, the president of the Academy since spring this year, Pascal Bruckner, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Camille Laurens, Paule Constant, Pierre Assouline, Philippe Claudel, Didier Decoin. Three of the jurors will participate online: Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Françoise Chandernagor, and Christine Angot.

The semifinalist novels at Prix Goncourt 2024, from which the jury will choose the names of the four finalists, are:

• Madelaine avant l'aube by Sandrine Collette (JC Lattès)

• Houris by Kamel Daoud (Gallimard)

• Jacaranda by Gaël Faye (Grasset)

• Archipels by Hélène Gaudy (L'Olivier)

• La désinvolture est une bien belle chose by Philippe Jaenada (Mialet-Barrault)

• Jour de ressac by Maylis de Kerangal (Verticales)

• Vous êtes l’amour malheureux du Führer by Jean-Noël Orengo (Grasset)

• Le Bastion des larmes by Abdellah Taïa (Julliard)

The Prix Goncourt is the oldest literary prize in France and a landmark in the publishing world. Created by Edmond de Goncourt in 1892 for French-language authors, the prize is awarded annually by the ten-member Académie Goncourt. The first Goncourt Prize was awarded on December 21, 1903.

The value of the prize is only EUR 10, but it comes with prestige and significant sales for the chosen novel. It guarantees the winners translations into other languages. Most winners prefer to frame their checks rather than cash them.

Previous winners include Marcel Proust, André Malraux, Elsa Triolet, Simone de Beauvoir, and Marguerite Duras.

Last year, the Prix Goncourt was awarded to Jean-Baptiste Andrea for the novel Veiller sur elle, published by Editions de L'Iconoclaste. In less than a year, the book sold more than 600,000 hardcover copies.

This year's edition of the Prix Goncourt debuted on September 3, when the 16 novels competing in the 122nd edition were announced. On October 1st, the eight semifinalist titles were announced. The four books entering the finals will be made public in Bucharest on October 22. The winner will be announced in Paris on November 4, at the Drouant restaurant, the place where the ceremony has been held continuously since 1914.

The Académie Goncourt also runs the program Les Choix Goncourt Internationaux. Goncourt Award – Romania's Choice is at its twelfth edition.

(Photo: Jerome Cid | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com