The Prix Femina is a French

literary prize A literary award or literary prize is an award presented in recognition of a particularly lauded literary piece or body of work. It is normally presented to an author. Organizations Most literary awards come with a corresponding award ceremony. Man ...

awarded each year by an exclusively female jury. The prize, which was established in 1904, is awarded to French-language works written in

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

or verse by male or female writers, and is announced on the first Wednesday of November each year. Four categories of prizes are awarded: ''Prix Femina'', ''Prix Femina essai'', ''Prix Femina étranger'' (foreign novels), and ''Prix Femina des lycéens''. A ''Prix Femina spécial'' is occasionally awarded.

History

The Prix Femina was created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine ''La Vie heureuse'', which later merged into the magazine '' Femina'', which ceased publication in 1954. After the

Great War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, in 1919 Librairie Hachette proposed to the allied countries to create a similar prize. Great Britain accepted, and the first meeting of its jury was held on 20 June 1920. The prize was called the Prix Femina–Vie Heureuse, and it was awarded to English writers, from 1920 to 1939. Among the winners were

E. M. Forster Edward Morgan Forster (1 January 1879 – 7 June 1970) was an English author. He is best known for his novels, particularly '' A Room with a View'' (1908), ''Howards End'' (1910) and '' A Passage to India'' (1924). He also wrote numerous shor ...

in 1925 and

Virginia Woolf Adeline Virginia Woolf (; ; 25 January 1882 28 March 1941) was an English writer and one of the most influential 20th-century modernist authors. She helped to pioneer the use of stream of consciousness narration as a literary device. Vir ...

in 1928. Similarly, in 1920 Lady Northcliffe, wife of

Alfred Harmsworth Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journal ...

, proposed to create a prize for French writers called the Northcliffe prize. Among the winners were

Joseph Kessel Joseph Kessel (10 February 1898 – 23 July 1979), also known as "Jef", was a French journalist and novelist. He was a member of the Académie française and Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour. Biography Kessel was born to a Jewish family in ...

in 1924,

Julien Green Julien Green (originally "Julian Hartridge Green", 6 September 1900 – 13 August 1998) often Julian Green, was an American writer who lived most of his life in France and wrote mostly in French and only occasionally in English. Over a long and ...

in 1928, and

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 ...

in 1931. The last meeting of the jury for this prize was held on 10 April 1940, before the Nazis occupied France during World War II. The archives of the English Committee are held by

Cambridge University Library Cambridge University Library is the main research library of the University of Cambridge. It is the largest of over 100 libraries Libraries of the University of Cambridge, within the university. The library is a major scholarly resource for me ...

Jury

, the jury of the Femina consisted of eleven female members: * Josyane Savigneau (president) * Evelyne Bloch-Dano * Claire Gallois * Anne-Marie Garat *

Paula Jacques Paula Jacques (born Paula Abadi on 8 May 1949) is a French novelist, journalist, and host of the programme ''Cosmopolitaine'' on the French public station '' France Inter''. Jacques was born in Cairo, Egypt. She and her family were expelled from ...

* Christine Jordis *

Mona Ozouf Mona Ozouf (born Mona Annig Sohier 24 February 1931) is a French historian and philosopher. Born into a family of schoolteachers keen on preserving the language and the culture of Brittany, she graduated as a teacher of philosophy from the Écol ...

* Danièle Sallenave *

Nathalie Azoulai Nathalie Azoulai is a French people, French writer. She was born on September 9, 1966. She studied at the École Normale Supérieure, and currently lives in Paris. The author of several books, she is best known for her novel ''Titus n’aimait pas ...

Scholastique Mukasonga Scholastique Mukasonga (born 1956) is a French- Rwandan author born in the former Gikongoro province of Rwanda. In 2012, she won the prix Renaudot and the prix Ahmadou-Kourouma for her book '' Our Lady of the Nile.'' In addition to being a f ...

Patricia Reznikov Patricia Reznikov (born 1962 in Paris) is a Franco-American writer. Biography Reznikov graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. She is a novelist and a translator who worked for '' Les Lettres Françaises'' from 2 ...

List of winners

There are currently four categories: ''Prix Femina'', ''Prix Femina essai'', ''Prix Femina étranger'' (foreign novels), and ''Prix Femina des lycéens''.

Prix Femina

Prix Femina étranger

The Prix Femina étranger is awarded annually to a foreign-language literary work translated into French.

Prix Femina essai

The Prix Femina essai, established in 1999, is awarded to an essay. It replaced the Prix Hélène Vacaresco.

Prix Femina spécial

The has been awarded to several writers, for the entirety of their work. In 2017,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

and essayist Françoise Héritier was awarded a Prix Femina spécial. Pierre Guyotat was awarded the prize in 2018. In 2019, the Prix Femina spécial was awarded to Irish novelist

Edna O'Brien Josephine Edna O'Brien (15 December 1930 – 27 July 2024) was an Irish novelist, memoirist, playwright, poet and short-story writer. O'Brien's works often revolve around the inner feelings of women and their problems relating to men and soc ...

, following the publication of her last novel, ''

Girl A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. '' daughter'' or '' girlfriend'' regardless of age ...

'', which had been shortlisted for the Prix Femina étranger. The prize was awarded in honour of her whole body of work, and it was the first time a non-French author had won it.

Prix Femina des lycéens

Femina–Vie Heureuse

The following awards were made during the lifetime of the award.

Footnotes

References

External links

*
Prix Femina
at Prix Litteraires website
National archive Femina Vie Heureuse Prize: English Committee
an archive of documents covering 1919–1940 {{Authority control Femina Awards established in 1904 1904 establishments in France