The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher

Edmond de Goncourt Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot d ...

(1822–1896), who wanted to create a new way to encourage literature in France and disagreed with the contemporary policies of the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

Formation and organization

Wishing to honor his deceased brother

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name *Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–195 ...

(1830–1870), Goncourt bequeathed his estate to establish an organization to promote literature in France. He named his friend, the writer

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ''bo ...

, along with

Léon Hennique Léon Hennique (4 November 1850 – 25 December 1935) was a French naturalistic novelist and playwright. Life Léon Hennique was born in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, the son of the naval infantry officer Agathon Hennique. He studied painting, but ...

, to oversee and administer his estate. The society was to consist of ten members, of whom eight were nominated in the will. Each of the members was to receive an annuity of 6,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

, and a yearly prize of 5,000 francs was to be awarded to the author of some work of fiction. After some litigation, the academy was constituted in 1903. Since then, each December, a ten-member board of the Académie has awarded the ''

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

'' for the best work of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

of the year. Membership is reserved to writers who have produced works in the French language, but it is not limited to citizens of France. In 1996, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

novelist and scriptwriter

Jorge Semprún Jorge Semprún Maura (; 10 December 1923 – 7 June 2011) was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clande ...

was elected as the first foreigner to become a member of the academy. In addition to the Prix Goncourt, which comes with a symbolic cheque of 10 euros, the Académie Goncourt awards honors for first novel and achievements in short story, poetry and biography genres. The ten members of the academy are usually called ''les Dix'' (the Ten). They meet the first Tuesday of each month, except in summer. Since 1914, they have convened in an oval room, the ''salon Goncourt'', on the second floor of the Restaurant Drouant, place Gaillon, in the

heart of Paris ''Heart of Paris'' (French: ''Coeur de Paris'') is a 1932 French film directed by Jean Benoît-Lévy and Marie Epstein and starring Simone Mareuil, Blanche Beaume and Jimmy Gaillard.Crisp p.391 Cast * Simone Mareuil as Jeannette Durand * Blan ...

. The

cutlery Cutlery (also referred to as silverware, flatware, or tableware), includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in Western culture. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler. The city of Sheffie ...

which they use while dining there constitutes the main physical continuity of the academy. Each new member receives the fork and knife of the member whom he (or she) is replacing, and the member's name is engraved on the knife and the fork.

Current members

As of 2020, the members of the Académie Goncourt are: *

Didier Decoin Didier Decoin (born 13 March 1945) is a French screenwriter and writer awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1977. Biography He is the son of filmmaker Henri Decoin. He began his career as a newspaper journalist at ''France Soir'', ''Le Figaro'' and ...

, elected 1995; President *

Françoise Chandernagor Françoise Chandernagor (born 15 June 1945, Palaiseau) is a French writer. The daughter of André Chandernagor, she is a former student of the École nationale d'administration, and she became a member of the Council of State in 1969. Biography ...

, elected 1995; Vice President *

Tahar Ben Jelloun Tahar Ben Jelloun ( ar, الطاهر بن جلون; born in Fes, Morocco, 1 December 1944) is a Moroccan writer. All of his work is written in French although his first language is Darija. He became known for his 1985 novel ''L’Enfant de Sab ...

, elected 2008 *

Patrick Rambaud Patrick Rambaud (born 21 April 1946) is a French writer. Life Born in Paris, France, with Michel-Antoine Burnier, he wrote forty pastiches, (satirical novels). They wrote ''Le Journalisme sans peine'' (Editions Plon, 1997). In 1970, he help foun ...

, elected 2008 *

Philippe Claudel Philippe Claudel (born 2 February 1962) is a French writer and film director. Claudel was born in Dombasle-sur-Meurthe, Meurthe-et-Moselle. In addition to his writing, Claudel is a Professor of Literature at the University of Nancy. He directe ...

, elected 2012; Secretary General *

Pierre Assouline Pierre Assouline (born 17 April 1953) is a French writer and journalist. He was born in Casablanca, Morocco to a Jewish family. He has published several novels and biographies, and also contributes articles for the print media and broadcasts for ...

, elected 2012 *

Paule Constant Paule Constant (born 25 January 1944 in Gan, Pyrénées-Atlantiques) is a French novelist. She graduated from Paris-Sorbonne University, with a Ph.D. Awards * 1998 Prix Goncourt for '' Confidence pour confidence''. * 1989 Grand prize for the no ...

, elected 2013 *

Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt (born 28 March 1960) is a Franco–Belgian playwright, short story writer and novelist, as well as a film director. His plays have been staged in over fifty countries all over the world. Life Early years Eric-Emmanuel S ...

, elected 2016 *

Pascal Bruckner Pascal Bruckner (; born 15 December 1948, in Paris) is a French writer, one of the "New Philosophers" who came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of his work has been devoted to critiques of French society and culture. Biography Bruckner ...

, elected 2020 *

Camille Laurens Laurence Ruel (born 6 November 1957), known by her pen name Camille Laurens, is a French writer and winner of the 2000 Prix Femina for ''Dans ces bras-là''. Laurens is a member of the Académie Goncourt. Career A graduate of humanities, Camil ...

, elected 2020

Academicians by seat

1st Seat

* 1900–1942 :

Léon Daudet Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Move to the right Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist Alphonse Daudet, his moth ...

* 1942–1944 : Jean de La Varende * 1944–1954 :

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

* 1954–1970 :

Jean Giono Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. First period Jean Giono was born to a family of modest means, his father a cobbler of Piedmontese descent a ...

* 1971–1977 :

Bernard Clavel Bernard Charles Henri Clavel (29 May 1923 – 5 October 2010) was a French writer. Clavel was born in Lons-le-Saunier. From a humble background, he was largely self-educated. He began working as a pastry cook apprentice when he was 14 years ol ...

* 1977–2004 : André Stil * 2004–2019 :

Bernard Pivot Bernard Pivot (; born 5 May 1935) is a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. Biography Pivot was born in Lyon, the son of two grocers. During Worl ...

* 2020–present :

2nd Seat

* 1900–1907 :

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel ''À rebou ...

* 1907–1910 :

Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works '' Poil de carotte'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among ...

* 1910–1917 :

Judith Gautier Judith Gautier (25 August 1845, Paris – 26 December 1917) was a French poet, translator and historical novelist, the daughter of Théophile Gautier and Ernesta Grisi, sister of the noted singer and ballet dancer Carlotta Grisi. She was mar ...

* 1918–1924 : Henry Céard * 1924–1939 : Pol Neveux * 1939–1948 : Sacha Guitry * 1949–1983 :

Armand Salacrou Armand Camille Salacrou (9 August 1899 – 23 November 1989) was a French dramatist. Biography He was born in Rouen, but spent most of his childhood at Le Havre, and moved to Paris in 1917. His first works show the influence of the Surrealis ...

* 1983–2016 :

Edmonde Charles-Roux Edmonde Charles-Roux (17 April 1920 – 20 January 2016) was a French writer. Early life Charles-Roux was born in 1920 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, the daughter of Francois Charles-Roux, the former French ambassador to Czechoslovakia, a member of t ...

* 2016–present :

3rd Seat

* 1900–1917 :

Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...

* 1917–1947 :

Jean Ajalbert Jean may refer to: People * Jean (female given name) * Jean (male given name) * Jean (surname) Fictional characters * Jean Grey, a Marvel Comics character * Jean Valjean, fictional character in novel ''Les Misérables'' and its adaptations * Jea ...

* 1947–1973 : Alexandre Arnoux * 1973–1995 :

Jean Cayrol Jean Cayrol (; 6 June 1911 – 10 February 2005) was a French poet, publisher, and member of the Académie Goncourt born in Bordeaux. He is perhaps best known for writing the narration in Alain Resnais's 1955 documentary film, ''Night and Fog''. H ...

* 1995–present :

4th Seat

* 1900–1940 : J.-H. Rosny aîné * 1940–1942 : Pierre Champion * 1943–1971 :

André Billy André Billy (13 December 1882 – 11 April 1971) was a French writer. He was born in Saint-Quentin, Aisne. After completing secondary studies at the Collège de la Providence in Amiens, he studied under the Jesuits at Saint-Dizier. He began ...

* 1971–2012 : Robert Sabatier * 2013–present :

5th Seat

* 1900–1948 : J.-H. Rosny jeune * 1948–1967 : Gérard Bauër * 1967–1968 :

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He wa ...

* 1969–1983 :

Armand Lanoux Armand Lanoux (24 October 1913 - 23 March 1983) was a French writer. Biography Lanoux was born in Paris. Early in life he had several jobs: he was a teacher, designer of candy boxes, bank employee, painter and journalist. He became an editor f ...

* 1983–2008 :

Daniel Boulanger Daniel Boulanger (24 January 1922 – 27 October 2014) was a French novelist, playwright, poet and screenwriter. He has also played secondary roles in films and was a member of the Académie Goncourt from 1983 until his death. He was born in Compi� ...

* 2008–present :

6th Seat

* 1900–1935 :

* 1936–1950 :

Léo Larguier Léo is a proper noun in French language, French, meaning lion". Its etymological root lies in the Latin word Leo (disambiguation), Leo. Léo is used as a diminutive or variant of the names Léon (given name), Léon, Léonard, Léonardon, Leonard ...

* 1951–1977 :

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau wa ...

* 1977–2008 :

François Nourissier François Nourissier (Paris, 18 May 1927–Paris, 15 February 2011) was a French journalist and writer. Nourissier was the secretary-general of Éditions Denoël (1952–1955), editor of the review ''La Parisienne'' (1955–1958), and an adviser ...

* 2006–present :

7th Seat

* 1900–1918 :

Paul Margueritte Paul Margueritte (20 February 1860 – 29 December 1918) was a French amateur mime who wrote several pantomimes, most notably ''Pierrot assassin de sa femme'' (Théâtre de Valvins, 1881) and, in collaboration with Fernand Beissier, ''Colombine ...

* 1919–1923 :

Émile Bergerat Émile Bergerat (29 April 1845 – 13 October 1923) was a French poet, playwright and essayist. He used the pseudonyms l'Homme masqué (the masked man), Caliban and Ariel (the latter two drawn from '' The Tempest'' by William Shakespeare). ...

* 1924–1937 :

Raoul Ponchon Raoul Ponchon (born 30 December 1848 in La Roche-sur-Yon, France, died 3 December 1937 in Paris, France) was a French poet. A friend of Arthur Rimbaud, he was one of only "seven known recipients" of the first edition of ''A Season in Hell ...

* 1938–1948 :

René Benjamin René Benjamin (1885 in Paris, France - 1948 in Tours, France) was a French writer. In 1915 he received the Prix Goncourt for his novel ''Gaspard''. In 1938, he became the first Goncourt laureate to be appointed a member of the Académie Goncourt ...

* 1949–1971 :

Philippe Hériat Philippe Hériat (15 September 1898 in Paris – 10 October 1971) was a multi-talented French novelist, playwright and actor. Biography Born Raymond Gérard Payelle, he studied with film director René Clair and in 1920 made his debut in silent ...

* 1972–2011 :

Michel Tournier Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the ''Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' i ...

* 2011–2015 :

Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in hum ...

* 2016–2020 :

Virginie Despentes Virginie Despentes (; born 13 June 1969) is a French writer, novelist, and filmmaker. She is known for her work exploring gender, sexuality, and people who live in poverty or other marginalised conditions. Work Despentes' work is an inventory of ...

* 2020–present :

8th Seat

* 1900–1926 :

Gustave Geffroy Gustave Geffroy (1 June 1855 – 4 April 1926) was a French journalist, art critic, historian and novelist. He was one of the ten founding members of the literary organisation Académie Goncourt in 1900. Geffroy is noted as one of the first histo ...

* 1926–1929 :

Georges Courteline Georges Courteline born Georges Victor Marcel Moinaux (25 June 1858 – 25 June 1929) was a French dramatist and novelist, a satirist notable for his sharp wit and cynical humor. Biography His family moved from Tours in Indre-et-Loire to Pari ...

* 1929–1973 :

Roland Dorgelès Roland Dorgelès (; 15 June 1885 – 18 March 1973) was a French novelist and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Born in Amiens, Somme, under the name Roland Lecavelé (he adopted the pen name Dorgelès to commemorate visits to the spa town of ...

* 1973–1995 : Emmanuel Roblès * 1995–present :

9th Seat

* 1900–1925 :

Élémir Bourges Élémir Bourges (26 March 1852, Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence – 13 November 1925) was a French novelist. A winner of the Goncourt Prize, he was also a member of the Académie Goncourt. Bourges, who accused the Naturalists of having "belit ...

* 1926–1937 :

Gaston Chérau Gaston Chérau (6 November 1872 – 20 April 1937) was a French man of letters and journalist. Biography The son of an industrialist, Gaston Chérau died in Boston during a lecture tour. A journalist and chronicler, he regularly gave the press ...

* 1937–1958 :

Francis Carco Francis Carco (born François Carcopino-Tusoli) (1886–1958) was a French author, born at Nouméa, New Caledonia. He was a poet, belonging to the ''Fantaisiste'' school, a novelist, a dramatist, and art critic for ''L'Homme libre'' and ''Gil Blas ...

* 1958–1996 :

Hervé Bazin Hervé Bazin (; 17 April 191117 February 1996) was a French writer, whose best-known novels covered semi-autobiographical topics of teenage rebellion and dysfunctional families. Biography Bazin, born Jean-Pierre Hervé-Bazin in Angers, Maine-e ...

* 1996–2011 :

* 2012–present :

10th Seat

* 1900–1949 :

Lucien Descaves Lucien Descaves (16 March 1861– 6 September 1949) was a French novelist. Selected works * ''Le Calvaire de Héloïse Pajadou'' (1883) 'Héloïse Pajadou's Calvary.'' Sunny Lou Publishing , 2021 Further reading * * External links * ...

* 1950–1970 :

Pierre Mac Orlan Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan (born Pierre Dumarchey, February 26, 1882 – June 27, 1970), was a French novelist and songwriter. His novel '' Quai des Brumes'' was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring ...

* 1970–2011 :

Françoise Mallet-Joris Françoise Mallet-Joris (6 July 1930 – 13 August 2016), pen name of Françoise Lilar, was a Belgian author who was a member of the Prix Femina committee from 1969 to 1971 and appointed to the ''Académie Goncourt'' from November 1971 to 2011. ...

* 2012–present :

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academie Goncourt French writers' organizations Organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in France Arts organizations established in 1903