The Ladies of Femina met on Tuesday September 12 at La Closerie des Lilas, the famous Parisian brasserie. They announced to the professional magazine Livres Hebdo their first selections in the “French novels” and “foreign novels” category.

Who will succeed Claudie Hunzinger (French novel), Rachel Cusk (foreign novel) and Annette Wieviorka (essay), winners of the 2022 Femina Prize?

Verdict on November 6, after the second and third selections.

French novels:

· Jean-Baptiste Andrea, Watch over her – The Iconoclast

· Nathacha Appanah, The Washed Memory – Mercure de France

· Pierrick Bailly, The Lightning – POL

· Dominique Barbéris, A way of loving – Gallimard

· Guy Bolley, To my and only sister – Grasset

· Eric Chacour, What I know about you – Philippe Rey

· Sarah Chiche, The Alchemies – Seuil

· Benoit Coquil, Little things – Shores

· Franck Courtes, Hard at work – Gallimard

· Agnès Desarthe, The castle of the rentiers – L’Olivier

· Lionel Duroy, My steps in their shadows – Mialet-Barrault

· Dominique Fabre, Gare Saint Lazare – Fayard

· Agnès Matthieu-Daudet, Sand Merchants – Flammarion

· Alice Renard, Anger and Envy – Héloïse d’Ormesson

· Snow Sinno, Sad Tiger – POL

· Lyonel Trouillot, Watchers of Calvary – Actes Sud

Foreign novels:

· Nina Allan, Conquest – Tristram

· Hila Blum, How to love your daughter – Robert Laffont

· Emma Cline, The Guest – The Round Table

· Tom Crewe, The New Life – Christian Bourgois

· Hernan Diaz, Trust – L’Olivier

· Louise Erdrich, The Sentance – Albin Michel

· Lucy Fricke, The Diplomat – Le Quartanier

· Paolo Giordano, Tasmania – The Sound of the World

· Mikolaj Grynberg, I would like to ask them for forgiveness, but they are no longer there – Actes Sud

· Aleksandar Hemon, A World of Heaven and Earth – Calmann-Lévy

· Lidia Jorge, Misericordia – Metelier

· Han Kang, Impossible Goodbyes – Grasset

· Joyce Maynard, The Bird Hotel – Philippe Rey

· Patricia Melo, Those Who Killed – Buchet-Chastel

· Maggy O’Farrell, The Wedding Portrait – Belfond

· Cécile Pin, Wandering souls – Stock

· Robert Seethaler, Le Café sans nom – Sabine Wespieser