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 city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. It was founded in 1882 by the French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt (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 tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Formation and organisation

Wishing to honour his deceased brother

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). In the anglosphere, it is also used for females although it is still a predominantly masculine name.One of the few notable examples of a femal ...

(1830–1870), Goncourt bequeathed his estate to establish an organisation 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 ' ...

, along with Léon Hennique, 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 centur ...

, 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 ( , "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 of only 10 euros, but resul ...

'' for the best work of

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying character (arts), individuals, events, or setting (narrative), places that are imagination, imaginary or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent ...

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 novelist and scriptwriter Jorge Semprún 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 honours 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. 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. While most cutlers ...

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, 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. Biograp ...

, elected 1995; Vice President * Tahar Ben Jelloun, elected 2008 * Patrick Rambaud, 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, elected 2012 * Paule Constant, elected 2013 * Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, elected 2016 * Pascal Bruckner, elected 2020 * Camille Laurens, elected 2020

Academicians by seat

1st Seat

* 1900–1942 : Léon Daudet * 1942–1944 : Jean de La Varende * 1944–1954 :

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known as Colette or Colette Willy, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a Mime artist, mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaki ...

* 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 * 1977–2004 : André Stil * 2004–2019 : Bernard Pivot * 2020–present : Pascal Bruckner

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 (1884, pub ...

* 1907–1910 : Jules Renard * 1910–1917 : Judith Gautier * 1918–1924 : Henry Céard * 1924–1939 : Pol Neveux * 1939–1948 :

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

* 1949–1983 : Armand Salacrou * 1983–2016 : Edmonde Charles-Roux * 2016–present : Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

3rd Seat

* 1900–1917 : Octave Mirbeau * 1917–1947 : Jean Ajalbert * 1947–1973 :

Alexandre Arnoux Alexandre Arnoux (; 27 February 1884, Digne-les-Bains - 4 January 1973, Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French screenwriter and novelist.Powrie & Rebillard p.135 Selected filmography * '' Quatre-vingt-treize (film)'' (1921) * '' Tillers of the Soil ...

* 1973–1995 : Jean Cayrol * 1995–present : Didier Decoin

4th Seat

* 1900–1940 : J.-H. Rosny aîné * 1940–1942 : Pierre Champion * 1943–1971 : André Billy * 1971–2012 : Robert Sabatier * 2013–present : Paule Constant

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 Surrealism, surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littératur ...

* 1969–1983 : Armand Lanoux * 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 Comp ...

* 2008–present : Patrick Rambaud

6th Seat

* 1900–1935 : Léon Hennique * 1936–1950 : Léo Larguier * 1951–1977 : Raymond Queneau * 1977–2008 : François Nourissier * 2006–present : Tahar Ben Jelloun

7th Seat

* 1900–1918 : Paul Margueritte * 1919–1923 : Émile Bergerat * 1924–1937 : Raoul Ponchon * 1938–1948 : René Benjamin * 1949–1971 : Philippe Hériat * 1972–2011 : Michel Tournier * 2011–2015 : Régis Debray * 2016–2020 : Virginie Despentes * 2020–present : Camille Laurens

8th Seat

* 1900–1926 : Gustave Geffroy * 1926–1929 : Georges Courteline * 1929–1973 : Roland Dorgelès * 1973–1995 : Emmanuel Roblès * 1995–present :

9th Seat

* 1900–1925 : Élémir Bourges * 1926–1937 : Gaston Chérau * 1937–1958 : Francis Carco * 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 ...

* 1996–2011 : Jorge Semprún * 2012–present :

10th Seat

* 1900–1949 : Lucien Descaves * 1950–1970 : Pierre Mac Orlan * 1970–2011 : Françoise Mallet-Joris * 2012–present : Pierre Assouline

Notes

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