The 12 members of the Académie Goncourt have selected 15 titles, some expected such as "La Vie clandestine" by Monica Sabolo or "The heart does not yield" by Grégoire Bouillier.
Other choices are more surprising, such as "Beyrouth-sur-Seine" by Sabyl Ghoussoub, a young Franco-Lebanese author, or "Le Mage du Kremlin" by Giuliano da Empoli, published in April.
Virginie Despentes is the star of this literary season, driven by very favorable reviews, and sales which have reached some 65,000 copies.
Winner of the Renaudot Prize in 2010, for "Baby Apocalypse", she was a Goncourt juror for four years, before resigning in January 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 Goncourt, the most prestigious of French literary prizes, is to be awarded on November 3.
The first selection:
- Muriel Barbery, "An hour of fervor" (Actes Sud)
- Grégoire Bouillier, "The heart does not yield" (Flammarion)
- Nathan Devers, "Artificial Links" (Albin Michel)
- Giuliano da Empoli, "The Magus of the Kremlin" (Gallimard)
- Carole Fives, "Something to tell you" (Gallimard)
- Sabyl Ghoussoub, "Beirut-sur-Seine" (Stock)
- Brigitte Giraud, "Live fast" (Flammarion)
- Sarah Jollien-Fardel, "Her favorite" (Sabine Wespieser)
- Cloé Korman, "The almost sisters" (Seuil)
- Makenzy Orcel, "A human sum" (Rivages)
- Yves Ravey, "Taormina" (Midnight)
- Pascale Robert-Diard, "The Little Liar" (The Iconoclast)
- Emmanuel Ruben, "The Mediterranean" (Stock)
- Monica Sabolo, "The Clandestine Life" (Gallimard)
- Anne Serre, "Our dear old lady author" (Mercure de France)
© 2022 AFP