Prix Rive Gauche 2026 reveals French
The Prix Rive Gauche has announced its 2026 selections for French novels, foreign novels and literary magazines, marking its return after no edition in
The Prix Rive Gauche in Paris has unveiled its selections for the 16th edition of the award, returning after no event was held in 2025. The prize, which honours works linked to the 'Rive Gauche' spirit and Parisian literary imagination, features three main categories: French novels, foreign novels and literary magazines.
French Novel Selection
Ten authors are in contention for the French novel prize. Anne Godard is nominated for Nous aussi published by Actes Sud. Franck Courtès is selected for Le petit cosmonaute from Julliard. Cécile Chabaud’s Si nous n’étions captives appears via L’Archipel. Andrés Becker’s Minuit is submitted by Métropolis. Cyrille Falisse’s Fatal Eros comes from Maurice Nadeau. Daphné Tamage’s Le chant des contraires is published by Stock. Dounia Tengour’s L’écrivain de Tanger is from Éditions du Rocher. Thomas Morales’ Les tendresses de Zanzibar also comes from Éditions du Rocher. Ernestine Garnier’s Le collectionneur du cimetière Montparnasse is published by J’ai Lu. Christophe Langlois’ Je commence toujours par le ciel is from Éditions des Instants.
Foreign Novel Selection
Six foreign novels are selected, all presented in French translation. Lukas Bärfus’ Les miettes, originally in German, is translated by Camille Lusher and published by Zoé Éditions. Fabiano Massini’s Le pacte de Venise is translated by Renaud Temperini and released by Albin Michel. Katie Kitamura’s L’audition, translated from English by Céline Leroy, is published by Stock. Robert Seethaler’s La rue, translated from German by Elisabeth Landes, appears via Sabine Wiespieser. Douglas Stuart’s John fils de John, translated from English by Charles Bonnot, is released by Globe. Lavinia Braniste’s Camping, translated from Romanian by Sylvain Audet-Găinar, is published by Éditions des Syrtes.
Literary Magazine Selection
Eight literary magazines are nominated for the revue littéraire prize. Pierre Perrin’s Possibles is in contention. François Cérésa’s Le Service Littéraire is selected. Lakis Proguidis’ L’atelier du roman is featured. Gérard Mottet’s Poésie Première is included. Louis Vendel and Manor Askenazi jointly present La Lettre Zola. Catherine Berthier’s 813 is nominated. Nancy R. Lange’s Femmes de parole is selected. Maxime Vernier, Olivier Roller and Emmanuel Lemieux jointly present Grande Mémoire.
The literary jury is under the patronage of Patrice Jean. In 2024, the prize awarded Laurent Gaudé for Terrasses ou notre long baiser si longtemps retardé (Actes Sud) in the French novel category and Barbara Kingsolver for On m’appelle Demon Copperhead (Albin Michel, translated by Martine Aubert) in the foreign novel category. Sébastien Reynaud and Pierre Poligone won the literary magazine prize for Zone critique, while Madeline Miller received the fiction cover prize for Galatée suivi du Chant d’Achille et de Circé (Pocket). Simon Detrez won the short story prize for Équinoxe.
