Prix Goncourt Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Prix Goncourt

Presented by	Académie Goncourt
Date	November, annual
Country	France
First awarded	1903

The Prix Goncourt (pronounced Pree Gon-koor) is a super important award for books written in French. It's given out every year by a group called the Académie Goncourt in France. They give it to the author who wrote "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year." Think of it like a big championship trophy for writers!

Besides the main Prix Goncourt for novels, there are four other special awards. These are for the best first novel, short story, poetry, and biography. The Prix Goncourt is known as the most famous and respected of the "big six" French literary awards. It's a huge honor for any writer to win!

What is the Prix Goncourt?
How are the Winners Chosen?
Past Winners of the Main Prize
Other Goncourt Awards
Images for kids
See also

What is the Prix Goncourt?

The Prix Goncourt is one of the oldest and most famous literary prizes in France. It was first given out in 1903. The award helps new and established writers get noticed. Winning the Goncourt Prize can make a book a bestseller and bring a lot of fame to the author.

How are the Winners Chosen?

The Académie Goncourt is made up of ten writers. They meet regularly to discuss books and choose the winners. The main prize is given out every November. It's a very exciting time in the French book world!

Past Winners of the Main Prize

Many famous authors have won the Prix Goncourt over the years. Here are some of the winners from different periods:

Early Winners (1903-1920s)

1903: John Antoine Nau for Force ennemie
1904: Léon Frapié for La Maternelle
1911: Alphonse de Châteaubriant for Monsieur des Lourdines (The Keynote)
1916: Henri Barbusse for Le Feu (Under Fire)
1919: Marcel Proust for A l'ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs (Within a Budding Grove)
1921: René Maran for Batouala (Batouala)

Mid-Century Winners (1930s-1950s)

1933: André Malraux for La Condition humaine (Man's Fate)
1944: Elsa Triolet for Le premier accroc coûte 200 Francs (A Fine of Two Hundred Francs)
1949: Robert Merle for Week-end à Zuydcoote (Week-end at Zuydcoote)
1954: Simone de Beauvoir for Les Mandarins (The Mandarins)
1956: Romain Gary for Les racines du ciel (The Roots of Heaven)

Later Winners (1960s-1990s)

1970: Michel Tournier for Le Roi des Aulnes (The Erl-King or The Ogre)
1975: Émile Ajar (Romain Gary) for La vie devant soi (Momo or The Life Before Us)
1984: Marguerite Duras for L'Amant (The Lover)
1987: Tahar Ben Jelloun for La Nuit sacrée (The Sacred Night)
1993: Amin Maalouf for Le Rocher de Tanios (The Rock of Tanios)
1995: Andreï Makine for Le Testament français (Dreams of My Russian Summers)

Recent Winners (2000s-Present)

2006: Jonathan Littell for Les Bienveillantes (The Kindly Ones)
2009: Marie NDiaye for Trois femmes puissantes (Three Strong Women)
2010: Michel Houellebecq for La Carte et le territoire (The Map and the Territory)
2013: Pierre Lemaitre for Au revoir là-haut (The Great Swindle)
2016: Leïla Slimani for Chanson douce (Lullaby)
2020: Hervé Le Tellier for L'Anomalie [fr] (The Anomaly)

Other Goncourt Awards

The Académie Goncourt also gives out four other important awards. These awards celebrate different types of writing. In 2009, they changed the names of these awards slightly. They dropped the word "bourses" (which means "scholarship") and now use "Prix" (prize) or just "Goncourt" in the title.

Prix Goncourt de la Biographie (Biography Prize)

This award is for the best biography, which is a book about someone's life. It's given out with the city of Nancy.

2015: Jean-Christophe Attias for Moïse fragile
2016: Philippe Forest for Aragon
2019: Frédéric Pajak for Manifeste incertain, volume 7: Emily Dickinson, Marina Tsvetaïeva, l'immense poésie

Prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle (Short Story Prize)

This prize is for the best collection of short stories. It started in 1974 and has been given out with the city of Strasbourg since 2001.

2015: Patrice Franceschi for Première personne du singulier
2016: Marie-Hélène Lafon for Histoires
2019: Caroline Lamarche for Nous sommes à la lisière

Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman (First Novel Prize)

This award celebrates the best first novel by a new author. It's given out with the city of Paris.

2015: Kamel Daoud for The Meursault Investigation
2016: Joseph Andras for De nos frères blessés [fr]. (The author chose not to accept the prize.)
2019: Marie Gauthier for Court vêtue

Prix Goncourt de la Poésie (Poetry Prize)

This prize is for poetry. It honors a poet's entire career, not just one book. It was created thanks to a gift from Adrien Bertrand, who won the main Prix Goncourt in 1914.

2015: William Cliff
2016: Le Printemps des Poètes
2019: Yvon Le Men

Prix Goncourt des Lycéens (High School Students' Goncourt Prize)

This is a special version of the Prix Goncourt where high school students (lycéens in French) choose the winner. It's a great way for young people to get involved in reading and discussing literature.

Images for kids

Edmond de Goncourt was one of the brothers who created the Prix Goncourt.

Prix Goncourt facts for kids

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