Prix Goncourt 2026 longlist announced
The 2026 Prix Goncourt longlist has 16 novels, highlighting war and family. It includes two debuts and shows Madrigall group's continued dominance.
The first longlist for the 2026 Prix Goncourt was revealed this Wednesday. It contains 16 novels, with themes of family lineage and war taking center stage.
Several texts explore the subject of filiation. Boris Bergmann's Minotaure (Albin Michel) is presented as an autofiction about a relationship with a father. Louise Chennevière's Faire la peau (P.O.L) is a harsh story of maternal transmission. Emma Marsantes's N’efface pas mes cercles (Verdier) recounts the narrator's mother's suicide in 1980. Anne Godard's Nous aussi (Actes Sud) also deals with family history but from a singular perspective that defies classification.
Other intimate narratives include Clémentine Mélois's Choses que je croyais perdues (l’Arbalète/Gallimard), which tells of a separation through remaining objects. Yannick Haenel recalls his years as a young teacher with a metaphysical, near-fantastical tone in La solitude des professeurs est infinie (Gallimard).
Inquiries and Essays
The list also features investigative and historical works. Sylvain Prudhomme's De l’autre côté du lac (Minuit) blends noir and fantastical elements. Philippe Jaenada offers a truculent, nostalgic investigation with L’inconnue du quai de Javel (Flammarion), which is reportedly off to a strong start in bookshops.
Patrice Trigano's Bataille en procès (Maurice Nadeau) revisits Georges Bataille's testimony at the 1956 trial of publisher Jean-Jacques Pauvert. Sonia Devillers examines the spoliation of musical instruments from French Jews during the Second World War in Le Fabuleux piano (Robert Laffont).
War as a Central Theme
War is a central theme in many of the selected novels. Jean-Yves Jouannais's Une Forêt (Albin Michel) focuses on a German officer who is an ornithologist in his spare time during WWII. Olivier Rolin's La Guerre éternelle (Gallimard) presents a vast martial parable from Troy to Gaza.
Thélyson Orélien's debut C’était ça ou mourir (Grasset) deals with the exile of a Haitian following gang wars. Olivier Gourdeau's Joseph dans la nuit (L’Iconoclaste) recounts his detention as a hostage in Iran. Ananda Devi explores the history of Mauritius in Chronique d’un royaume perdu (Grasset), a saga of a plantation over four generations.
Lilia Hassaine reappropriates literary history by revisiting Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre from the perspective of Rochester's recluse in JE (Gallimard).
Publishing Group Representation
The report provides comparative figures for the presence of major publishing groups on the longlist over recent years.
| Group | 2026 Titles | 2025 Titles | 2024 Titles | 2023 Titles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madrigall | 7 | Dominant | Dominant | Not Specified |
| Hachette | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 |
| Albin Michel | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Editis | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| Actes Sud | 1 | Not Specified | Not Specified | Not Specified |
| Média Participations | 0 | Present | Present | Present |
The Madrigall group dominates the 2026 selection with seven titles, confirming a strong presence seen in 2025 and 2024. Hachette is limited to two novels, both from Grasset. Albin Michel has two titles. Editis returns to a single title after placing three in 2025. Média Participations, present every year since 2023, is absent from the 2026 list.
Three independent publishers feature, making this the most open list for independents since 2023. The list includes two debut novels, a stable number compared to the first lists of 2025 and 2023.
