Choix Goncourt Canada

Sponsored by the Académie Goncourt, the organization that awards the prestigious Prix Goncourt (Goncourt Prize) for literature, Le Choix Goncourt is an initiative designed to promote French-language literature on an international scale. 

Le Choix Goncourt brings students to the forefront by giving them the opportunity to vote for an author whose novel is included in 1 of the 3 Prix Goncourt shortlists (15, 8 or 4 titles). The first edition was held in Poland in 1998, and today there are over 35 Choix Goncourt events worldwide.

In Canada, the initiative was launched in October 2023. It enables students from English-speaking universities across the country to discover 4 works of contemporary French-language literature featured in the latest Prix Goncourt selection. Over a period of 6 months and under the guidance of their educator-sponsors, the participating students from each university meet regularly in reading committees to analyze and debate the works studied. Using a common rating sheet and criteria, they elect their local Choix Goncourt. In May, student representatives from each university meet in Ottawa and deliberate at the French Embassy, under the guidance of a sponsoring author, to designate their national Choix Goncourt. Throughout the year, and in parallel with the deliberations, the students take part in a program of meetings and events focused on French-language literature. 

Learn more about this initiative: https://www.academiegoncourt.com/le-choix-du-canada 

Choix Goncourt Canada 2025: Gaël Faye’s Jacaranda

On Thursday, May 1st, 2025, the student representatives of the reading committees of 10 Canadian universities made their way to the Embassy of France. There, as members of the Choix Goncourt Canada selection panel, they awarded the 2025 Choix Goncourt Canada prize to Gaël Faye for his novel Jacaranda. 

In total, the initiative brought together 70 students from the following universities:

• University of Ottawa
• Queen’s University
• University of New Brunswick
• University of British Columbia
• University of Calgary
• University of Alberta
• Toronto Metropolitan University
• McMaster University
• University of Saskatchewan
• University of Toronto

For this second edition, the university reading committees had 6 months to study and debate the 4 novels from the 2024 Prix Goncourt shortlist:

• Sandrine Collette’s Madeleine avant l’aube (JC Lattès)
• Kamel Daoud’s Houris (Gallimard)
• Gaël Faye’s Jacaranda (Grasset)
• Hélène Gaudy’s Archipels (L’Olivier)

This edition’s sponsoring author was French author Ève Guerra, winner of the 2024 Prix Goncourt for a first novel and the Prix Transfuge for best first novel (France) for Rapatriement (Grasset, 2024).

In parallel with the deliberations, the students had the opportunity to chat virtually with Philippe Claudel, President of the Académie Goncourt, about the origins of the Prix Goncourt and about what goes on behind the scenes. They also attended a lecture given by Ève Guerra at the University of Ottawa on Rapatriement and her relationship to writing.