Prix Médicis
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The Prix Médicis is a French literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by and . It is awarded to an author whose "fame does not yet match his talent." The award goes to a work of fiction in the French language. In 1970 the ''Prix Médicis étranger'' was added to recognize a book published in translation. The ''Prix Médicis essai'' has been awarded since 1985 for non-fiction works.


Laureates ''Prix Médicis''

*1958 – ''La Mise en scène'' –
Claude Ollier Claude Ollier (; 17 December 1922 – 18 October 2014) was a French writer closely associated with the nouveau roman literary movement. Born in Paris, he was the first winner of the Prix Médicis The Prix Médicis is a French literary award gi ...
*1959 – ''Le Dîner en ville'' – Claude Mauriac *1960 – ''John Perkins suivi : d'un scrupule'' – Henri Thomas *1961 – ''Le Parc'' –
Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936) is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the ''avant garde'' literary journal '' Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le S ...
*1962 – ''Derrière la baignoire'' – Colette Audry *1963 – ''Un chat qui aboie'' –
Gérard Jarlot Gérard Jarlot (1923–1966) was a French journalist, screenwriter and novelist, winner of the Prix Médicis in 1963. Jarlot met Marguerite Duras in 1957. She dedicated the novel ''Moderato cantabile'' to him. With her, he adapted the book and wrot ...
*1964 – ''
L'Opoponax ''The Opoponax'' (french: L'Opoponax, link=no) is a 1964 novel by French writer Monique Wittig. It was translated into English in 1966 by Helen Weaver, and published in the US by Simon & Schuster.Monique Wittig Monique Wittig (; July 13, 1935 – January 3, 2003) was a French author, philosopher and feminist theorist who wrote about abolition of the sex-class system and coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". Her seminal work is titled ''The Straigh ...
*1965 – ''La Rhubarbe'' – René-Victor Pilhes *1966 – ''
Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel ''A Season in the Life of Emmanuel'' (french: Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel) is a French Canadian novel by Marie-Claire Blais, published in 1965.Marie-Claire Blais Marie-Claire Blais (5 October 1939 – 30 November 2021) was a Canadian writer, novelist, poet, and playwright from the province of Québec. In a career spanning seventy years, she wrote novels, plays, collections of poetry and fiction, newspa ...
,
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
*1967 – ''Histoire'' –
Claude Simon Claude Simon (; 10 October 1913 – 6 July 2005) was a French novelist, and was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize in Literature. Biography Claude Simon was born in Tananarive on the isle of Madagascar. His parents were French, his father being a ...
*1968 – ''Le Mendiant de Jérusalem'' –
Elie Wiesel Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
*1969 – ''Dedans'' –
Hélène Cixous Hélène Cixous (; ; born 5 June 1937) is a French writer, playwright and literary critic. She is known for her experimental writing style and great versatility as a writer and thinker, her work dealing with multiple genres: theater, literary a ...
*1970 – ''Sélinonte ou la Chambre impériale'' –
Camille Bourniquel Camille Bourniquel (7 March 1918 – 1 April 2013) was a French poet, novelist and painter. Life Born in Paris, Bourniquel became friends with the poets and painters of his generation, François Baron-Renouard, Bazaine, Bertholle, Elvire J ...
*1971 – ''L'Irrévolution'' –
Pascal Lainé Pascal Lainé (born 10 May 1942 in Anet, Eure-et-Loir) is a French academic, novelist, and writer. Awarded both the Prix Médicis (1971 for ''l'Irrévolution'') and the Goncourt (1974 for '' La Dentellière''), Pascal Lainé has published over 20 ...
*1972 – ''Le Tiers des étoiles'' –
Maurice Clavel Maurice Clavel () (1920-1979) was a French writer, journalist, and philosophy, philosopher. Youth Maurice Clavel was born on 10 November 1920 in Frontignan, Hérault to a family headed by a father who was a pharmacist. This conservative milieu o ...
*1973 – ''Paysage de fantaisie'' –
Tony Duvert Tony Duvert (July 2, 1945 – August 2008) was a French writer and philosopher. In the 1970s he achieved some renown, winning the Prix Médicis in 1973 for his novel '' Paysage de Fantaisie''. Duvert's writings are notable both for their styl ...
*1974 – ''Porporino ou les Mystères de Naples'' – Dominique Fernandez *1975 – '' Le Voyage à Naucratis '' –
Jacques Almira Jacques Almira (born Jacques Schaetzle in 1950) is a French writer, winner of the 1975 Prix Médicis. Works *1975: ''Le Voyage à Naucratis'', Prix Médicis *1978: ''Le Passage du désir'', Gallimard *1979: ''Le Marchand d'oublies'', Gallima ...
*1976 – ''Les États du désert'' –
Marc Cholodenko Marc Cholodenko (born 11 February 1950 in Paris), is a French novelist, translator, poet, screenwriter and dialoguist. Awards Cholodenko won the 1976 Prix Médicis for ''Les États du désert''. He has notably been the male dialoguist of the fi ...
*1977 – ''L'Autre Amour'' – Michel Butel *1978 – '' La vie mode d'emploi'' –
Georges Perec Georges Perec (; 7 March 1936 – 3 March 1982) was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist, and essayist. He was a member of the Oulipo group. His father died as a soldier early in the Second World War and his mother was killed in the Hol ...
*1979 – ''La Nuit zoologique'' – Claude Durand *1980 – ''Comptine des Height'' – Jean Lahougue, who then refused the prize, so it was given to ''Cabinet-portrait'' by Jean-Luc Benoziglio *1981 – ''L'Enfant d'Édouard'' – François-Olivier Rousseau *1982 – ''L'Enfer et Cie'' – Jean-François Josselin *1983 – ''Cherokee'' –
Jean Echenoz Jean Echenoz (born 26 December 1947) is a French writer. Biography Jean Echenoz was born in Orange, Vaucluse, the son of a psychiatrist, He studied in Rodez, Digne-les-Bains, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Paris, where he has lived sinc ...
*1984 – ''Le Diable en tête'' –
Bernard-Henri Lévy Bernard-Henri Lévy (; ; born 5 November 1948) is a French public intellectual. Often referred to in France simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the " Nouveaux Philosophes" (New Philosophers) movement in 1976. His opinions, political acti ...
*1985 – ''Naissance d'une passion'' – Michel Braudeau *1986 – ''Les Funérailles de la Sardine'' – Pierre Combescot *1987 – ''Les Éblouissements'' –
Pierre Mertens Pierre Mertens (born 9 October 1939) is a Belgian French-speaking writer and lawyer who specializes in international law, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and literary critic with the ...
,
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
*1988 – ''La Porte du fond'' –
Christiane Rochefort Christiane Rochefort (17 July 1917 – 24 April 1998) was a French feminist writer. She was born into a left-wing working class Parisian family; her father joined the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War. Rochefort worked as a journ ...
*1989 – ''Le Livre brisé'' –
Serge Doubrovsky Julien Serge Doubrovsky (22 May 1928, Paris – 23 March 2017, Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French writer and 1989 Prix Médicis winner for '' Le Livre brisé''. He is also a critical theorist, and coined the term "autofiction" in the drafts for h ...
*1990 – ''Les Quartiers d'hiver'' – Jean-Noël Pancrazi *1991 – ''La Dérive des sentiments'' – Yves Simon *1992 – ''Tlacuilo'' –
Michel Rio Michel Rio (born 1945) is a French writer and novelist. Born in Brittany, he was raised in Madagascar and currently lives in Paris. He studied semiology and published his first novel in 1972. Although he was well-received by critics and has won ...
*1993 – ''Sa femme'' –
Emmanuèle Bernheim Emmanuèle Bernheim (December 1955 – 10 May 2017) was a French writer. She was the daughter of art collector André Bernheim and sculptress Claude de Soria. In 1993 she won the Prix Médicis with her book ''Sa femme''. She wrote the screenp ...
*1994 – ''Immobile dans le courant du fleuve'' – Yves Berger *1995 – ''La Langue maternelle'' –
Vassilis Alexakis Vassilis Alexakis ( el, Βασίλης Αλεξάκης; 25 December 1943 – 11 January 2021) was a Greek- French writer and self-translator of numerous novels in Greek, his mother tongue, and French. Biography Alexakis, the son of actor Gi ...
and ''Le testament français'' (''
Dreams of My Russian Summers ''Dreams of My Russian Summers'' (French: ''Le Testament français'') is a French novel by Andrei Makine, originally published in 1995. It won two top French awards, the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Médicis. The novel is told from the first-person ...
'') –
Andreï Makine Andreï Sergueïevitch Makine (russian: Андрей Серге́евич Макин; born 10 September 1957) is a French novelist. He also publishes under the pseudonym Gabriel Osmonde.Jacqueline Harpman Jacqueline Harpman (5 July 1929 – 24 May 2012) was a Belgian writer who wrote in French. She was born on 5 July 1929, in Etterbeek, Belgium, and was later well known for her books written in French. Her father being a Dutch-born Jew, Harpman ...
and ''L'Organisation'' – Jean Rolin *1997 – ''Les Sept Noms du peintre'' –
Philippe Le Guillou Philippe Le Guillou is a French writer. He was born in Finistère in 1959. A prolific writer, he has published around 40 books, including fiction and non-fiction. He won the Prix Médicis for ''Les Sept Noms du peintre'' and the Prix Mediterra ...
*1998 – ''Le Loup mongol'' – Homéric *1999 – ''Mon grand appartement'' – Christian Oster *2000 – ''Diabolus in musica'' – Yann Apperry *2001 – ''Le Voyage en France'' –
Benoît Duteurtre Benoît Duteurtre () (born 20 March 1960) is a French novelist and essayist. He is also a musical critic, musician, producer and host of a radio show about music. He spends his time between Paris, New York and Normandy. Early life and family Be ...
*2002 – ''Pas un jour'' –
Anne F. Garréta Anne Françoise Garréta is a French novelist and a member of the experimental literary group Oulipo. She is the first member of Oulipo to be born after the group's founding. Her awards include the Prix Médicis. Life and career Early life and aca ...
*2003 – ''Quatre soldats'' –
Hubert Mingarelli Hubert Mingarelli (14 January 1956 – 26 January 2020) was a French writer. He was born in Mont-Saint-Martin, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Mont-Saint-Martin in Lorraine (region), Lorraine. After serving in the navy for three years, he settled in the so ...
*2004 – ''La Reine du silence'' – Marie Nimier *2005 – ''Fuir'' – Jean-Phillippe Toussaint *2006 – ''La promesse'' – Sorj Chalandon *2007 – ''La stratégie des antilopes'' –
Jean Hatzfeld Jean Hatzfeld is a French author and journalist who wrote extensively about the Bosnian War and the Rwandan Genocide in Rwanda. Biography Youth Born in Madagascar, Hatzfeld was the fourth child in the family of Olivier and Maud Hatzfeld. H ...
*2008 – ''Là où les tigres sont chez eux'' – Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès *2009 – ''L'énigme du retour'' –
Dany Laferrière Dany Laferrière (born Windsor Kléber Laferrière, 13 April 1953) is a Haitian-Canadian novelist and journalist who writes in French. He was elected to seat 2 of the Académie française on 12 December 2013, and inducted in May 2015. Life Bo ...
, Canada *2010 – ''Naissance d'un pont'' –
Maylis de Kerangal Maylis de Kerangal (born 16 June 1967) is a French author. Her novels deeply explore people in their work lives. She has won several awards for her work, and her novels have been published in several languages. Two have been adapted as films. L ...
*2011 – ''Ce qu'aimer veut dire'' – Mathieu Lindon *2012 – ''Féerie générale'' – Emmanuelle Pireyre *2013 – ''Il faut beaucoup aimer les hommes'' –
Marie Darrieussecq Marie Darrieussecq (born 3 January 1969, Bayonne) is a French writer. She is also a translator, and has practised as a psychoanalyst. Her books explore the unspoken and abandoned territories in literature. Her work is dense, marked by a constant ...
*2014 – ''Terminus radieux'' – Antoine Volodine *2015 – ''Titus n'aimait pas Bérénice'' – Nathalie Azoulai *2016 – ''Laetitia ou la fin des hommes'' – Ivan Jablonka *2017 – ''Tiens ferme ta couronne'' –
Yannick Haenel Yannick Haenel (born 1967, Rennes) is a French writer, cofounder of the literary magazine '. Biography The son of a soldier, Yannick Haenel studied at the Prytanée National Militaire at La Flèche. From 1997, he codirected the magazine ' ...
*2018 – ''Idiotie'' –
Pierre Guyotat Pierre Guyotat (9 January 1940 – 7 February 2020) was a French writer. Early life Pierre Guyotat was born on 9 January 1940 in Bourg-Argental, Loire. Literary career 1960s–1970s Guyotat wrote his first novel, '' Sur un cheval'', in 1960. ...
*2019 – ''La Tentation'' – Luc Lang *2020 – ''Le Cœur synthétique'' –
Chloé Delaume Chloé Delaume (born Nathalie Dalain in 1973) is a French novelist, performer, musician, and occasional singer. Biography Born in Paris, Delaume spent her childhood in Beirut. In 1983, at ten years old, she witnessed her father murder her mot ...
*2021 – ''Le Voyage dans l'Est'' –
Christine Angot Christine Angot (born 7 February 1959) is a French novelist, playwright and screenwriter. Life Born Pierrette Marie-Clotilde Schwartz (Schwartz being her mother's name) in Châteauroux, Indre, she is perhaps best known for her 1999 novel ''L'I ...
*2022 – ''La Treizième Heure'' – Emmanuelle Bayamack-Tam


Laureates ''Prix Médicis étranger''

* 1970 – ''Saut de la mort'' –
Luigi Malerba Luigi Malerba (11 November 1927 – 8 May 2008), born Luigi Bonardi, was an Italian author of short stories, historical novels, and screenplays. He has been part of the Neoavanguardia and co-founded ''Gruppo 63'', a literary movement inspired by M ...
, Italy * 1971 – ''(no award)'' * 1972 – ''Cobra'' –
Severo Sarduy Severo Sarduy (February 25, 1937 – June 8, 1993) was a Cubans, Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art. Some of his works deal explicitly with male homosexuality and transvestism. Biography Born in a working-class ...
, Cuba * 1973 – ''
Life Is Elsewhere ''Life is Elsewhere'' is the second studio album by Newcastle band Little Comets Little Comets are an English indie rock trio from Jarrow and Washington, Tyne and Wear. They are described as playing "kitchen sink indie" music. In early 2009 ...
'' –
Milan Kundera Milan Kundera (, ; born 1 April 1929) is a Czech writer who went into exile in France in 1975, becoming a naturalised French citizen in 1981. Kundera's Czechoslovak citizenship was revoked in 1979, then conferred again in 2019. He "sees himself ...
, Czechoslovakia * 1974 – '' Libro de Manuel'' – Julio Cortázar, Argentina * 1975 – '' Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954, by Jeffrey Cartwright'' –
Steven Millhauser Steven Millhauser (born August 3, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel '' Martin Dressler''. Life and career Millhauser was born in New York City, grew up in Connecticut, ...
, United States * 1976 – ''
The Golden Notebook ''The Golden Notebook'' is a 1962 novel by the British writer Doris Lessing. Like her two books that followed, it enters the realm of what Margaret Drabble in ''The Oxford Companion to English Literature'' called Lessing's "inner space fiction"; ...
'',
Doris Lessing Doris May Lessing (; 22 October 1919 – 17 November 2013) was a British-Zimbabwean novelist. She was born to British parents in Iran, where she lived until 1925. Her family then moved to Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where she remain ...
, United Kingdom * 1977 – ''Le Traité des saisons'' –
Hector Bianciotti Hector Bianciotti (; 18 March 1930 – 12 June 2012) was an Argentine-born French author and member of the Académie française. Biography Born Héctor Bianciotti (, ) in Calchín Oeste in Córdoba Province, Argentina, Bianciotti's parents were ...
, Argentina * 1978 – ''L'Avenir radieux'' –
Aleksandr Zinovyev Alexander Alexandrovich Zinoviev ( Russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Зино́вьев; October 29, 1922 – May 10, 2006) was a Soviet philosopher, writer, sociologist, and journalist. Coming from a poor peasant fami ...
, Soviet Union * 1979 – ''La harpe et l'ombre'' –
Alejo Carpentier Alejo Carpentier y Valmont (, ; December 26, 1904 – April 24, 1980) was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, of French an ...
, Cuba * 1980 – ''
A Dry White Season ''A Dry White Season'' is a 1989 American drama film directed by Euzhan Palcy and starring Donald Sutherland, Jürgen Prochnow, Marlon Brando, Janet Suzman, Zakes Mokae and Susan Sarandon. It was written by Colin Welland and Palcy, based upon ...
'' – André Brink, South Africa * 1981 – ''Le Jour de la comtesse'' – David Shahar, Israel * 1982 – ''
The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in ficti ...
'' –
Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...
, Italy * 1983 – ''La route bleue'' –
Kenneth White Kenneth White (born 28 April 1936) is a Scottish poet, academic and writer. Biography Kenneth White was born in the Gorbals area of Glasgow, Scotland, but he spent his childhood and adolescence at Fairlie near Largs on the Ayrshire coast, ...
, United Kingdom * 1984 – ''Aracoeli'' –
Elsa Morante Elsa Morante (; 18 August 191225 November 1985) was an Italian novelist, poet, translator and children's books author. Her novel '' La storia'' (''History'') is included in the Bokklubben World Library List of 100 Best Books of All Time. Life a ...
,
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
* 1985 – '' God Knows'' –
Joseph Heller Joseph Heller (May 1, 1923 – December 12, 1999) was an American author of novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His best-known work is the 1961 novel ''Catch-22'', a satire on war and bureaucracy, whose title has become a synonym for ...
, United States * 1986 – ''Adventures in the Alaskan Skin Trade'' – John Hawkes, United States * 1987 – '' Indian Nocturne'' (French title: ''Nocturne indien'') –
Antonio Tabucchi Antonio Tabucchi (; 24 September 1943 – 25 March 2012) was an Italian writer and academic who taught Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy. Deeply in love with Portugal, he was an expert, critic and translator of ...
, Italy * 1988 – ''Les Maîtres anciens'' –
Thomas Bernhard Nicolaas Thomas Bernhard (; 9 February 1931 – 12 February 1989) was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet who explored death, social injustice, and human misery in controversial literature that was deeply pessimistic about modern civilizati ...
, Austria * 1989 – ''La Neige de l'amiral'' –
Álvaro Mutis Álvaro Mutis Jaramillo (August 25, 1923 – September 22, 2013) was a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist. His best-known work is the novel sequence '' The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll'', which revolves around the character ...
, Colombia * 1990 – '' The Circle of Reason'' (French Title: Les feux du Bengale) –
Amitav Ghosh Amitav Ghosh (born 11 July 1956)Ghosh, Amitav
, ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
, India * 1991 – none * 1992 – ''
Wartime Lies ''Wartime Lies'' is a semi-autobiographical novel by Louis Begley first published in 1991. Set in Poland during the years of the Nazi occupation, it is about two members of an upper middle class Jewish family, a young woman and her nephew, who avo ...
'' (French title: ''Une education polonaise'') –
Louis Begley Louis Begley (born Ludwik Begleiter; October 6, 1933) is a Polish-born Jewish American novelist. He is best known for writing the semi-autobiographical Holocaust novel ''Wartime Lies'' (1991) and the ''Schmidt'' trilogy: ''About Schmidt'' (1996 ...
, United States * 1993 – ''Leviathan'' –
Paul Auster Paul Benjamin Auster (born February 3, 1947) is an American writer and film director. His notable works include '' The New York Trilogy'' (1987), '' Moon Palace'' (1989), '' The Music of Chance'' (1990), '' The Book of Illusions'' (2002), ''The ...
, United States * 1994 – '' Frère Sommeil'' –
Robert Schneider Robert Peter Schneider (born March 9, 1971) is an American musician and mathematician. He is the lead singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer of rock/pop band the Apples in Stereo and has produced and performed on albums by Neutral Milk Ho ...
, Austria * 1995 – ''Châteaux de la colère'' –
Alessandro Baricco Alessandro Baricco (; born 25 January 1958) is an Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages. Early life, family and education Baricco was born in Turin, Italy. He has earned degre ...
, Italy * 1996 – ''Himmelfarb'' – Michael Kruger, Germany and ''Sonietchka'' –
Lyudmila Ulitskaya Lyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya (russian: link=no, Людмила Евгеньевна Улицкая, born February 21, 1943) is an internationally acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer who, in 2014, was awarded the prestigious A ...
, Russia * 1997 – '' The Tortilla Curtain'' (French title: ''America'') –
T. Coraghessan Boyle Thomas Coraghessan Boyle, also known as T. C. Boyle and T. Coraghessan Boyle (born December 2, 1948), is an American novelist and short story writer. Since the mid-1970s, he has published sixteen novels and more than 100 short stories. He won the ...
, United States * 1998 – ''The House of Sleep'' –
Jonathan Coe Jonathan Coe (; born 19 August 1961) is an English novelist and writer. His work has an underlying preoccupation with political issues, although this serious engagement is often expressed comically in the form of satire. For example, '' What a ...
, United Kingdom * 1999 – ''Le capitaine et les rêves'' – Bjorn Larsson, Sweden * 2000 – ''
Anil's Ghost ''Anil's Ghost'' is the critically acclaimed fourth novel by Michael Ondaatje. It was first published in 2000 by McClelland and Stewart. ''Anil's Ghost'' follows the life of Anil Tissera, a native Sri Lankan who left to study in Britain and then ...
'' –
Michael Ondaatje Philip Michael Ondaatje (; born 12 September 1943) is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian poet, fiction writer, essayist, novelist, editor, and filmmaker. He is the recipient of multiple literary awards such as the Governor General's Award, the Giller P ...
, Canada * 2001 – ''La noce du poète'' – Antonio Skarmeta, Chile * 2002 – ''
The Human Stain ''The Human Stain'' is a novel by Philip Roth, published May 5, 2000. The book is set in Western Massachusetts in the late 1990s. It is narrated by 65-year-old author Nathan Zuckerman, who appears in several earlier Roth novels, and who also fig ...
'' –
Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...
, United States * 2003 – ''Le Mal de Montano'' –
Enrique Vila-Matas Enrique Vila-Matas (born 31 March 1948 in Barcelona) is a Spanish author. He has authored several award-winning books that mix genres and has been branded as one of the most original and prominent writers in the Spanish language. He is a foundi ...
, Spain * 2004 – ''Histoire d'une vie'' – Aharon Appelfeld, Israel * 2005 – ''
Snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
'' (French title: ''Neige'') –
Orhan Pamuk Ferit Orhan Pamuk (born 7 June 1952) is a Turkish novelist, screenwriter, academic, and recipient of the 2006 Nobel Prize in Literature. One of Turkey's most prominent novelists, his work has sold over thirteen million books in sixty-three lan ...
, Turkey * 2006 – '' Return of the Hooligan'' –
Norman Manea Norman Manea (; born July 19, 1936), is a Romanian Jewish writer and author of short fiction, novels, and essays about the Holocaust, daily life in a communist state, and exile. He lives in the United States, where he is a Professor and writer ...
, Romania * 2007 – '' The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million'' (French title: ''Les disparus'') – Daniel Mendelsohn, United States * 2008 – ''Un garçon parfait'' –
Alain Claude Sulzer Alain Claude Sulzer (born 17 February 1953) is a Swiss writer and translator. He was born in Riehen, near Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), ...
, Switzerland * 2009 – '' What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng'' (French title: ''Le Grand Quoi'') –
Dave Eggers Dave Eggers (born March 12, 1970) is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He wrote the 2000 best-selling memoir ''A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius''. Eggers is also the founder of ''Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern'', a lite ...
, United States * 2010 – ''Sukkwan Island'' – David Vann, United States * 2011 – ''
To the End of the Land ''To the End of the Land'' (original Hebrew title "Isha Borachat Mi’bsora" – "A Woman Flees a Message") is a 2008 novel by Israeli writer David Grossman depicting the emotional strains that family members of soldiers experience when their ...
'' (French title: ''Une femme fuyant l'annonce'') –
David Grossman David Grossman ( he, דויד גרוסמן; born January 25, 1954) is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages. In 2018, he was awarded the Israel Prize for literature. Biography David Grossman was born i ...
, Israel * 2012 – '' Spanish Charity'' (French title: ''Rétrospective'') – A. B. Yehoshua, Israel * 2013 – ''Op zee'' (French title: ''En mer'') - Toine Heijmans, Netherlands. * 2014 – ''
Lola Bensky Lola Bensky is the sixth novel by Australian author and poet Lily Brett. It was published by Hamish Hamilton in 2012. The novel, which won the 2014 Prix_Médicis#Laureates_Prix_Médicis_étranger, Prix Médicis étranger, has been described as sem ...
'' –
Lily Brett Lily Brett (born Lilijahne Brajtsztajn 5 September 1946, Feldafing displaced persons camp, Bavaria, Germany) is an Australian novelist, essayist and poet. She lived in North Carlton and then Elwood/Caulfield (suburbs of Melbourne) from 1948 to ...
, Australia. * 2015 – ''Encore'' – Hakan Günday, Turkey * 2016 – ''Les Elus'' –
Steve Sem-Sandberg Steve Sem-Sandberg (born 16 August 1958) is a Swedish journalist, novelist, non-fiction writer and translator. He made his literary debut in 1976 with the two science fiction novels ''Sländornas värld'' and ''Sökare i dödsskuggan''. He was aw ...
, Sweden. * 2017 – ''Les huit montagnes'' – Paolo Cognetti, Italy * 2018 – '' The Mars Room'' (French title: ''Le Mars Club'') -
Rachel Kushner Rachel Kushner (born 1968) is an American writer, known for her novels ''Telex from Cuba'' (2008), ''The Flamethrowers'' (2013), and '' The Mars Room'' (2018). Early life Kushner was born in Eugene, Oregon, the daughter of two Communist scientists ...
, United States * 2019 – ''Miss Islande'' – Audur Ava Olafsdottir, Iceland * 2020 – ''Un andar solitario entre la gente'' (French title: ''Un promeneur solitaire dans la foule'') -
Antonio Muñoz Molina Antonio Muñoz Molina (born 10 January 1956) is a Spanish writer and, since 8 June 1995, a full member of the Royal Spanish Academy. He received the 1991 Premio Planeta, the 2013 Jerusalem Prize, and the 2013 Prince of Asturias Award for lit ...
, Spain *2021 – ''La Clause paternelle'' –
Jonas Hassen Khemiri Jonas Hassen Khemiri (born December 27, 1978) is a Swedish writer. Khemiri is the author of four novels, six plays, and a collection of essays, short stories and plays. His work has been translated into more than 25 languages. He has received th ...
*2022 – '' Grey Bees'' (French title: ''Les abeilles grises'') –
Andrey Kurkov Andrey Yuryevich Kurkov ( uk, Андрій Юрійович Курков; russian: Андре́й Ю́рьевич Курко́в; born 23 April 1961 in Leningrad, USSR) is a Ukrainian author and public intellectual who writes in Russian. He is ...


Laureates ''Prix Médicis essai''

* 1985 – ''Les Cinq Sens'' –
Michel Serres Michel Serres (; 1 September 1930 – 1 June 2019) was a French philosopher, theorist and writer. His works explore themes of science, time and death, and later incorporated prose. Life and career The son of a bargeman, Serres entered France's ...
* 1986 – ''Le Perroquet de Flaubert'' –
Julian Barnes Julian Patrick Barnes (born 19 January 1946) is an English writer. He won the Man Booker Prize in 2011 with '' The Sense of an Ending'', having been shortlisted three times previously with '' Flaubert's Parrot'', ''England, England'', and '' A ...
* 1987 – ''Le Soleil sur Aubiac'' – Georges Borgeaud * 1988 – No Winner Awarded * 1989 – ''Traité des courtes merveilles'' – Václav Jamek * 1990 – ''Shakespeare : les feux de l'envie'' (''A Theatre of Envy: William Shakespeare'') –
René Girard René Noël Théophile Girard (; ; 25 December 1923 – 4 November 2015) was a French polymath, historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science whose work belongs to the tradition of philosophical anthropology. Girard was the aut ...
* 1991 – ''La Valse des éthiques'' –
Alain Etchegoyen Alain Etchegoyen (6 November 1951 in Lille – 9 April 2007 in Le Mans), was a philosopher and novelist. He was the last Plan Commissionner before that Commission was abrogated. He wrote some twenty books, essays and novels. A former student of ...
* 1992 – ''Le Nouvel Ordre écologique'' –
Luc Ferry Luc Ferry (; born 3 January 1951) is a French philosopher and politician, and a proponent of secular humanism. He is a former member of the Saint-Simon Foundation think-tank. Biography He received an Agrégation de philosophie (1975), a D ...
* 1993 – ''La Sculpture de soi'' –
Michel Onfray Michel Onfray (; born 1 January 1959) is a French writer and philosopher with a hedonistic, epicurean and atheist worldview. A highly-prolific author on philosophy, he has written over 100 books. His philosophy is mainly influenced by such think ...
* 1994 – ''Pour Jean Prévost'' –
Jérôme Garcin Jérôme Garcin (born 4 October 1956) is a French journalist and writer. He heads the cultural section of the ''Nouvel Observateur'', produces and hosts the radio program ' on France Inter, and is a member of the reading committee of the Com ...
* 1995 – ''La tentation de l'innocence'' –
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 ...
* 1996 – ''L'Horreur économique'' – Viviane Forrester * 1997 – ''Siècle des intellectuels'' –
Michel Winock Michel may refer to: * Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name) * Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers) * Míchel (footballer, born 1963), S ...
* 1998 – ''Une histoire de la lecture'' –
Alberto Manguel Alberto Manguel (born March 13, 1948, in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine-Canadian anthologist, translator, essayist, novelist, editor, and a former Director of the National Library of Argentina. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such ...
, Canada * 1999 – ''Gens de la Tamise et d'autres rivages'' – Christine Jordis * 2000 – ''Le Zoo des philosophes'' – Armelle Lebras-Chopard * 2001 – ''Secrets de jeunesse'' –
Edwy Plenel Hervé Edwy Plenel (; born 31 August 1952) is a French political journalist. Biography Early life Plenel spent his childhood in Martinique and his youth in Algiers, Algeria. He studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris. Career His ...
* 2002 – ''Kafka et les jeunes filles'' – Daniel Desmarquet * 2003 – ''Morts imaginaires'' – Michel Schneider * 2004 – ''Aurore et George'' –
Diane de Margerie Diane Jacquin de Margerie (born 24 December 1927) is a French woman of letters and translator from English. Biography Diane de Margerie is the daughter of Jenny Fabre-Luce (1896–1991) and Roland de Margerie (1899–1990). Her father was the n ...
* 2005 – ''La Vie sauve'' – Lydie Violet and Marie Desplechin * 2006 – ''Frère du précédent'' –
Jean-Bertrand Pontalis Jean-Bertrand Pontalis ibé(15 January 1924 – 15 January 2013) was a French philosopher, writer, editor and psychoanalyst. Career A student of Jean-Paul Sartre, Pontalis became a professor of philosophy in the forties, before undergoing an an ...
* 2007 – ''L'Année de la pensée magique'' –
Joan Didion Joan Didion (; December 5, 1934 – December 23, 2021) was an American writer. Along with Tom Wolfe, Hunter S. Thompson and Gay Talese, she is considered one of the pioneers of New Journalism. Didion's career began in the 1950s after she won ...
, United States * 2008 – ''Warhol Spirit'' –
Cécile Guilbert Cécile Guilbert (born 1963) is a French writer and literary critic. She studied at Sciences-Po Paris. She has written a number of books on writers who are ''esprits libres'' or "free spirits": Saint Simon, Guy Debord, Laurence Sterne and Andy Wa ...
* 2009 – ''Mémoire d'un fou d'Emma'' –
Alain Ferry Alain Ferry (born 3 February 1952) is a French politician. A member of the Radical Party, he represented the 6th constituency of the Bas-Rhin in the National Assembly for over 19 years, from 2 April 1993 to 19 June 2012. He has been the mayor ...
* 2010 – ''Les Couleurs de nos souvenirs'' –
Michel Pastoureau Michel Pastoureau (born 17 June 1947) is a French professor of medieval history and an expert in Western symbology. Biography Pastoureau was born in Paris on 17 June 1947. He studied at the École Nationale des Chartes, a college for prospective ...
* 2011 – '' Dans les forêts de Sibérie'' – Sylvain Tesson * 2012 – '' Congo'' –
David van Reybrouck David Grégoire Van Reybrouck (born 11 September 1971, in Bruges) is a Belgian cultural historian, archaeologist and author. He writes historical fiction, literary non-fiction, novels, poetry, plays and academic texts. He has received several Du ...
* 2013 – ''La Fin de l'homme rouge ou le temps du désenchantement'' (''Время секонд хэнд'') -
Svetlana Alexievich Svetlana Alexandrovna Alexievich (born 31 May 1948) is a Belarusian investigative journalist, essayist and oral historian who writes in Russian. She was awarded the 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suf ...
* 2014 – ''Manifeste incertain 3'' – Frédéric Pajak * 2015 – ''Sauve qui peut la vie'' –
Nicole Lapierre Nicole Lapierre is a French sociologist, anthropologist and writer. She is the emeritus director of research at CNRS. She published her first book, ''La Femme majeure'' in 1973, in collaboration with Edgar Morin Edgar Morin (; ; born Edgar ...
* 2016 – ''Boxe'' – * 2017 – ''Celui qui va vers elle ne revient pas'' – Shulem Deen * 2018 – ''Les Frères Lehman'' – Stefano Massini * 2019 – ''J'ai oublié'' –
Bulle Ogier Bulle Ogier (born Marie-France Thielland; 9 August 1939) is a French actress and screenwriter. She adopted the professional surname Ogier, which was her mother's maiden name. Her first appearance on screen was in ''Voilà l'Ordre'', a short film ...
and Anne Diatkine * 2020 – ''Fin de combat'' –
Karl Ove Knausgaard Karl may refer to: People * Karl (given name), including a list of people and characters with the name * Karl der Große, commonly known in English as Charlemagne * Karl Marx, German philosopher and political writer * Karl of Austria, last Austria ...
* 2021 – ''Comme un ciel en nous'' –
Jakuta Alikavazovic Jakuta Alikavazovic (born 6 October 1979 in Paris) is a French writer. Her debut novel ''Corps volatils'' was awarded the prix Goncourt du premier roman. In 2021, her latest novel ''Night As It Falls'' was published in the United Kingdom by Faber ...
* 2022 – ''Le Témoin jusqu'au bout'' –
Georges Didi-Huberman Georges Didi-Huberman FBA (born 13 June 1953) is a French philosopher and art historian. Biography Georges Didi-Huberman was born on 13 June 1953 in Saint-Étienne. He has been a scholar at the French Academy in Rome (Villa Medici) and resid ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prix Medicis French fiction awards Non-fiction literary awards Awards established in 1958 1958 establishments in France