The first price lists begin to fall. After that of the Deux Magots, the jury of the Fnac novel prize, made up of 400 booksellers and 400 member readers, unveiled this Thursday, July 13 its thirty favorites for the 2023 literary season. Who will therefore succeed Sarah Jollien-Fardel, winner last year with her first novel Her Favorite?
Among the 30 books selected, we observe that both small and large publishing houses are well represented, with a double presence of Gallimard and Philippe Rey, who defends in particular Ce que je sais de toi, the first novel by Éric Chacour , already on the Deux Magots list. Like him, Julie Héraclès and Victor Dumiot are two first-time novelists, they respectively publish You don’t know anything about me, (Lattès) and Acide, (Books).
Among the confirmed authors, we note the names of Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Léonor de Récondo, Émilie Frèche, Sylvain Prudhomme, Thomas B. Reverdy and among foreigners, Joyce Maynard in particular, who already appeared in the list of the Fnac novel prize in 2021.
The full list:
Watch over her, Jean-Baptiste Andrea-The Iconoclast
And you will pass like crazy winds, Clara Arnaud-Actes Sud
Lightning, Pierric Bailly-P.O.L.
The Silences of the Fathers, Rachid Benzine-Seuil
What I know about you, Éric Chacour -Philippe Rey
The Dragons, Jérôme Colin-Allary Editions
The Great Fire, Léonor de Recondo-Grasset
Trust, Hernán Diaz-L’Olivier (trans. Nicolas Richard)
Last place, Négar Djavadi-Stock
Acid, Victor Dumiot-Bouquins
The Lovers of Lutetia, Émilie Frèche-Albin Michel
Panorama, Lilia Hassaine-Gallimard
You don’t know anything about me, Julie Héraclès-JC Lattes
Humus, Gaspard Koenig-The Observatory Editions
A Dog’s Day, Sander Kollaard-Héloïse D’ormesson (trans. DanielCunin)
To die, the world, Yan Lespoux-Agullo
The Hotel des Oiseaux, Joyce Maynard-Philippe Rey (trans. Florence Lévy-Paoloni)
Of the same blood, Denene Millner – Le Cherche Midi (trans. Valérie Le Plouhinec)
The Dance of the Damned, Kiran Millwood Hargrave-Robert Laffont (trans. SarahTardy)
Our departed hearts, Celeste Ng – Sonatine (trans. Julie Sibony)
The Wedding Portrait, Maggie O’Farrell – Belfond (trans. Sarah Tardy)
Remember not to die without having loved, Marc Alexandre Oho Bambe -Calmann-Lévy
Wandering souls, Cécile Pin-Stock (trans. Carine Chichereau)
The child in the taxi, Sylvain Prudhomme-Les Editions de Minuit
The great help, Thomas B. Reverdy-Flammarion
The Dog of the Stars, Dimitri Rouchon-Borie – The Tripod
The third country, Karina Sainz Borgo-Gallimard (trans. Stéphanie Decante)
The Sea of Tranquility, Emily St. John Mandel-Rivages (trans. Gérard de Chergé)
Opal’s Last Revival
The Forgotten Parts, Charmaine Wilkerson -Buchet-Chastel (trans. Cécile Chartres
The winner will succeed Sarah-Jollien Fardel and will then join a nice list of award-winning authors: Adeline Dieudonné, Gaël Faye, Laurent Binet, Sofi Oksanen, Yannick Haenel… The announcement of the finalists will take place on August 23 and August 31 , the jury will reveal the name of its big winner. The award ceremony for the Fnac novel will take place on September 11.