Marie Gicquel, edited by Yanis Darras with AFP 11:42 a.m., November 25, 2022

It is a literary prize almost unknown to the general public that was awarded this week.

And yet, the "30 million friends" prize, considered the Goncourt of animal novels, blends perfectly into the ecological news of recent weeks.

For the occasion, it is Sibylle Grimbert, who is crowned, thanks to her book "The last of his".

There is the classic Goncourt, the highly prized human literary prize, and there is the "30 million friends" prize, considered the Goncourt of animals.

Less known than his cousin, this prize was awarded this week to Sibylle Grimbert for her book

The Last of His.

For her third novel, the author has chosen to illustrate an unlikely relationship between a man... and a penguin. 

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Focus on fauna and flora

A relationship that wants to be complicit off Iceland in the middle of the 19th century, against a backdrop of the first extinctions of species due to human activity.

"I was inspired a lot by the relationship with my cat" to recreate that between the hero and the penguin, she confides to the microphone of Europe 1. If the story may seem confusing at first sight, Sibylle Grimbert ensures: readers want to see fauna and flora take a larger share of the novels offered on the market.

“We discover a lot of things about animal behavior, about animal feelings. And so there is a lot of curiosity about this mysterious relationship between humans and animals, very deep and very rich”, explains the author. 

"It's fascinating!"

"But, if the story of writing a relationship between a man and an animal came about, it was because if I was sensitive to the background noise on the sixth extinction on animals", she concludes.

With this "30 million friends" prize, Sibylle Grimbert wins €1,000 to be donated to an animal protection association.

She also wins the privilege of having moved the jury, including Michel Houellebecq.

"He's a real animal character. The question is intriguing: how do you communicate with someone who is not of your species, without language?" Writer Michel Houellebecq told AFP during the interview. award ceremony at Drouant in Paris in the presence of the winner.

"It's the first time I feel the character. It's more than a tour de force. It's fascinating!",