Prix Médicis
Encyclopedia
The Prix Médicis is a French
literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. 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 1980 for non-fiction works.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
literary award given each year in November. It was founded in 1958 by Gala Barbisan and Jean-Pierre Giraudoux. 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 1980 for non-fiction works.
Laureates Prix Médicis
- 1958 – La Mise en scène – Claude OllierClaude OllierClaude Ollier is a French writer closely associated with Alain Robbe-Grillet and the nouveau roman literary movement. He was the first winner of the Prix Médicis which he received for his novel La Mise en scène.-Works:...
- 1959 – Le Dîner en ville – Claude MauriacClaude MauriacClaude Mauriac was a French author and journalist, eldest son of the author François Mauriac.He was the personal secretary of Charles de Gaulle from 1944 to 1949, before becoming a cinema critic and arts person of Figaro. He is the author of several novels and essays, and co-scripted the movie of...
- 1960 – John Perkins suivi : d'un scrupule – Henri ThomasHenri ThomasHenri Thomas was a French writer and poet.-Life:Henri Thomas was born in 1912 and grew up in the Alsace/Lorraine region of France. He moved to Paris to attend the prestigious Henri IV high school, working with the noted essayist Alain...
- 1961 – Le Parc – Philippe SollersPhilippe SollersPhilippe Sollers is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the avant garde journal Tel Quel , published by Seuil, which ran until 1982...
- 1962 – Derrière la baignoire – Colette AudryColette AudryColette Audry was a French novelist, screenwriter, and critic. She won the Prix Médicis for the autobiographical novel Derrière la baignoire . As a screenwriter she first gained acclaim for The Battle for the Railway and also wrote for her sister Jacqueline...
- 1963 – Un chat qui aboie – Gérard Jarlot
- 1964 – L'Opoponax – Monique WittigMonique WittigMonique Wittig was a French author and feminist theorist who wrote about overcoming socially enforced gender roles and who coined the phrase "heterosexual contract". She published her first novel, L'Opoponax, in 1964...
- 1965 – La Rhubarbe – René-Victor PilhesRené-Victor PilhesRené-Victor Pilhes is a French writer and winner of the Prix Femina, 1974, for L'Imprécateur.-References:...
- 1966 – Une saison dans la vie d'Emmanuel (A Season in the Life of Emmanuel) – Marie-Claire BlaisMarie-Claire BlaisMarie-Claire Blais, is a Canadian author and playwright.- Life :Born in Quebec City, Quebec, she was educated at a convent school and at Université Laval. It was at Laval that she met Jeanne Lapointe and Father Georges Lévesque, who encouraged her to write and, in 1959, to publish her first...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - 1967 – Histoire – Claude SimonClaude SimonClaude Simon was a French novelist and the 1985 Nobel Laureate in Literature. He was born in Antananarivo, Madagascar, and died in Paris, France....
- 1968 – Le Mendiant de Jérusalem – Elie WieselElie WieselSir Eliezer "Elie" Wiesel KBE; born September 30, 1928) is a Hungarian-born Jewish-American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He is the author of 57 books, including Night, a work based on his experiences as a prisoner in the Auschwitz, Buna, and...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 1969 – Dedans – Hélène CixousHélène CixousHélène Cixous is a professor, French feminist writer, poet, playwright, philosopher, literary critic and rhetorician. She holds honorary degrees from Queen's University and the University of Alberta in Canada; University College Dublin in Ireland; the University of York and University College...
- 1970 – Sélinonte ou la Chambre impériale – Camille Bourniquel
- 1971 – L'Irrévolution – Pascal LainéPascal LainéPascal Lainé is a French writer born in 1942 in Anet .He studied philosophy at l'École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud and began his career as a teacher first at the and later at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris. He then became a professor in 1974 at the Institut universitaire de technologie...
- 1972 – Le Tiers des étoiles – Maurice ClavelMaurice ClavelMaurice Clavel is a French writer, journalist and philosopher born on November 10, 1920 in Frontignan and who died on April 23, 1979 in Asquins .-Youth:...
- 1973 – Paysage de fantaisie – Tony DuvertTony DuvertTony Duvert was a French writer and philosopher. In the 1970s he achieved some renown, winning the Prix Medicis in 1973 for his novel Paysage de Fantaisie . Duvert's writings are notable both for their style and core themes: the celebration and defence of pedophilia, and criticism of modern...
- 1974 – Porporino ou les Mystères de Naples – Dominique FernandezDominique FernandezDominique Fernandez is an openly homosexual French novelist and member of the Académie française...
- 1975 – Le Voyage à Naucratis – Jacques Almira
- 1976 – Les États du désert – Marc Cholodenko
- 1977 – L'Autre Amour – Michel Butel
- 1978 – La vie mode d'emploi – Georges PerecGeorges PerecGeorges Perec was a French novelist, filmmaker, documentalist and essayist. He is a member of the Oulipo group...
- 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 EchenozJean EchenozJean Echenoz is a French writer.Son of a psychiatrist, Echenoz studied in Rodez, Digne-les-Bains, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Marseille and Paris, where he lives since 1970. He published his first book, Le méridien de Greenwich in 1979...
- 1984 – Le Diable en tête – Bernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri LévyBernard-Henri Lévy is a French public intellectual, philosopher and journalist. Often referred to today, in France, simply as BHL, he was one of the leaders of the "Nouveaux Philosophes" movement in 1976.-Early life:...
- 1985 – Naissance d'une passion – Michel Braudeau
- 1986 – Les Funérailles de la Sardine – Pierre CombescotPierre CombescotPierre Combescot is a French journalist and writer. He works for the Canard Enchaîné, under the pseudonym Luke Décygnes...
- 1987 – Les Éblouissements – Pierre MertensPierre MertensPierre Mertens 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 newspaper Le Soir.Influenced by Franz Kafka, Mertens started to publish...
, BelgiumBelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... - 1988 – La Porte du fond – Christiane RochefortChristiane RochefortChristiane Rochefort 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...
- 1989 – Le Livre brisé – Serge DoubrovskySerge DoubrovskySerge Doubrovsky is a French writer and 1989 Prix Médicis winner for Le Livre brisé. He is also a critical theorist.-Biography:Along with publishing seven volumes of autobiography, he is known as a critical theorist...
- 1990 – Les Quartiers d'hiver – Jean-Noël Pancrazi
- 1991 – La Dérive des sentiments – Yves SimonYves Simon (singer)Yves Simon is a French singer and writer.-Biography:Simon was born in Choiseul, France, in 1944. He has published over 30 books and released about twenty albums....
- 1992 – Tlacuilo – Michel RioMichel RioMichel Rio is a French writer and novelist. Born in Brittany, he was raised in Madagascar and currently lives in Paris. He has won several literary awards, and has been translated in many languages.-Bibliography:* Mélancolie Nord...
- 1993 – Sa femme – Emmanuèle BernheimEmmanuèle BernheimEmmanuèle Bernheim is a French writer who won the Prix Médicis in 1993 with her book Sa femme. She wrote the screenplay of the movie Swimming Pool with François Ozon. She lives in Paris and also works for the television....
- 1994 – Immobile dans le courant du fleuve – Yves Berger
- 1995 – La Langue maternelle – Vassilis Alexakis and Le testament français (Dreams of My Russian SummersDreams of My Russian SummersDreams of My Russian Summers is a French novel by Andrei Makine, originally published in 1995. It won two top French awards, the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Médicis...
) – Andreï MakineAndreï MakineAndreï Makine is a Russian-born French author. He also publishes under the pseudonym Gabriel Osmonde. Makine's novels include Dreams of My Russian Summers which won two top French awards, the Prix Goncourt and the Prix Médicis.-Biography:Andreï Makine was born in Krasnoyarsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet... - 1996 – Orlanda – Jacqueline HarpmanJacqueline HarpmanJacqueline Harpman is a Belgian writer who writes in French. She also works as a psychoanalyst and lives in Brussels.-Works:* L'Amour et l'acacia - 1958* Brève Arcadie - 1959...
and L'Organisation – Jean RolinJean RolinJean Philippe Rolin is a French writer and journalist. He received the Albert Londres Prize for journalism in 1988, and his novel L'organisation received the Medicis award in 1996.... - 1997 – Les Sept Noms du peintre – Philippe Le Guillou
- 1998 – Le Loup mongol – Homéric
- 1999 – Mon grand appartement – Christian Oster
- 2000 – Diabolus in musica – Yann Apperry
- 2001 – Le Voyage en France – Benoît DuteurtreBenoît DuteurtreBenoît Duteurtre is a French novelist and essayist, born in 1960. 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:...
- 2002 – Pas un jour – Anne F. Garréta
- 2003 – Quatre soldats – Hubert Mingarelli
- 2004 – La Reine du silence – Marie Nimier
- 2005 – Fuir – Jean-Phillippe Toussaint
- 2006 – La promesse – Sorj ChalandonSorj ChalandonSorj Chalandon is a French writer and journalist. From 1973 until 2007 he worked as a journalist on Libération where, among other things, he covered events in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan. In 1988 he received the Albert Londres Prize for his articles on Northern Ireland and the...
- 2007 – La stratégie des antilopes – Jean Hatzfeld
- 2008 – Là où les tigres sont chez eux – Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès
- 2009 – L'énigme du retour – Dany LaferrièreDany LaferrièreDany Laferrière is a francophone Haitian and Canadian novelist and journalist.Born in Port-au-Prince, Haïti, and raised in Petit Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haïti before moving to Canada in 1976...
, Canada - 2010 – Naissance d'un pont – Maylis de Kerangal
- 2011 – Ce qu'aimer veut dire - Mathieu Lindon
Laureates Prix Médicis étranger
- 1970 – Saut de la mort – Luigi MalerbaLuigi MalerbaLuigi Malerba was an Italian author who wrote short stories , historical novels, and screenplays, and who co-founded the Gruppo 63, based on Marxism and Structuralism...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - 1971 – (no award)
- 1972 – Cobra – Severo SarduySevero SarduySevero Sarduy was a Cuban poet, author, playwright, and critic of Cuban literature and art.-Biography:...
, CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city... - 1973 – Life Is Elsewhere – Milan KunderaMilan KunderaMilan Kundera , born 1 April 1929, is a writer of Czech origin who has lived in exile in France since 1975, where he became a naturalized citizen in 1981. He is best known as the author of The Unbearable Lightness of Being, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting, and The Joke. Kundera has written in...
, CzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakiaCzechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992... - 1974 – Libro de Manuel – Julio CortázarJulio CortázarJulio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...
, ArgentinaArgentinaArgentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... - 1975 – La Vie trop brève d'Edwin Mulhouse – Steven MillhauserSteven MillhauserSteven Millhauser is an American novelist and short story writer. He won the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel Martin Dressler. The prize brought many of his older books back into print.-Life and career:...
, United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... - 1976 – The Gold Coronet, Doris LessingDoris LessingDoris May Lessing CH is a British writer. Her novels include The Grass is Singing, The Golden Notebook, and five novels collectively known as Canopus in Argos....
, United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... - 1977 – Le Traité des saisons – Hector BianciottiHector BianciottiHector Bianciotti is an Argentine-born French author and member of the Académie française.-Biography:Born Héctor Bianciotti in Calchin Oeste in Córdoba Province , Bianciotti's parents were immigrants from Piedmont, who communicated among themselves in the dialect of that region but who forbade...
, Argentina - 1978 – L'Avenir radieux – Aleksandr ZinovyevAleksandr ZinovyevAleksandr Aleksandrovich Zinovyev was a prominent Russian logician and dissident writer of social critique....
, Soviet UnionSoviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... - 1979 – La harpe et l'ombre – Alejo CarpentierAlejo CarpentierAlejo Carpentier y Valmont was a Cuban novelist, essayist, and musicologist who greatly influenced Latin American literature during its famous "boom" period. Born in Lausanne, Switzerland, Carpentier grew up in Havana, Cuba; and despite his European birthplace, Carpentier strongly self-identified...
, Cuba - 1980 – A Dry White Season – André BrinkAndré BrinkAndré Philippus Brink, OIS, is a South African novelist. He writes in Afrikaans and English and is a Professor of English at the University of Cape Town....
, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans... - 1981 – Le Jour de la comtesse – David Shahar, IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
- 1982 – The Name of the RoseThe Name of the RoseThe Name of the Rose is the first novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
– Umberto EcoUmberto EcoUmberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
, Italy - 1983 – La route bleue – Kenneth WhiteKenneth White (poet)Kenneth White 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, where his father worked as a railway signalman.White obtained a double first in...
, United Kingdom - 1984 – Aracoeli – Elsa MoranteElsa MoranteElsa Morante was an Italian novelist, perhaps best known for her novel La storia .-Biography:...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - 1985 – God Knows – Joseph HellerJoseph HellerJoseph Heller was a US satirical novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His best known work is Catch-22, a novel about US servicemen during World War II...
, United States - 1986 – Adventures in the Alaskan Skin Trade – John Hawkes, United States
- 1987 – Nocturne indien – Antonio TabucchiAntonio TabucchiAntonio Tabucchi is an Italian writer and academic who teaches Portuguese language and literature at the University of Siena, Italy....
, Italy - 1988 – Les Maîtres anciens – Thomas BernhardThomas BernhardThomas Bernhard was an Austrian novelist, playwright and poet. Bernhard, whose body of work has been called "the most significant literary achievement since World War II," is widely considered to be one of the most important German-speaking authors of the postwar era.- Life :Thomas Bernhard was...
, AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... - 1989 – La Neige de l'amiral – Álvaro MutisÁlvaro MutisÁlvaro Mutis Jaramillo is a Colombian poet, novelist, and essayist and author of the compendium The Adventures and Misadventures of Maqroll.-Early life:...
, ColombiaColombiaColombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the... - 1990 – Les feux du Bengale – Amitav GhoshAmitav GhoshAmitav Ghosh , is a Bengali Indian author best known for his work in the English language.-Life:Ghosh was born in Calcutta on July 11, 1956, to Lieutenant Colonel Shailendra Chandra Ghosh, a retired officer of the pre-independence Indian Army, and was educated at The Doon School; St...
, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... - 1991 – none
- 1992 – Wartime LiesWartime LiesWartime 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 avoid persecution as Jews by assuming Catholic identities...
(French title: Une education polonaise) – Louis BegleyLouis BegleyLouis Begley is an American novelist.-Early life:Begley was born Ludwik Begleiter in Stryj at the time part of Poland and now in Ukraine, as the only child of a physician...
, United States - 1993 – Leviathan – Paul AusterPaul AusterPaul Benjamin Auster is an American author known for works blending absurdism, existentialism, crime fiction and the search for identity and personal meaning in works such as The New York Trilogy , Moon Palace , The Music of Chance , The Book of Illusions and The Brooklyn Follies...
, United States - 1994 – Frère Sommeil – Robert Schneider, Austria
- 1995 – Châteaux de la colère – Alessandro BariccoAlessandro BariccoAlessandro Baricco is a popular Italian writer, director and performer. His novels have been translated into a wide number of languages...
, Italy - 1996 – Himmelfarb – Michael KrugerMichael Krüger (writer)Michael Krüger is a German writer, publisher and translator.Michael Krüger grew up in Berlin. After the graduating he was apprenticed to a publisher and later studied philosophy and literature...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Sonietchka – Lyudmila UlitskayaLyudmila UlitskayaLyudmila Evgenyevna Ulitskaya is a critically acclaimed modern Russian novelist and short-story writer. She was born in the town of Davlekanovo in Bashkiria on February 21, 1943...
, Russia - 1997 – The Tortilla CurtainThe Tortilla CurtainThe Tortilla Curtain is a novel by U.S. author T.C. Boyle about middle-class values, illegal immigration, a fear and hatred of foreigners, poverty, and environmental destruction...
(French title: America) – T. Coraghessan BoyleT. Coraghessan BoyleTom Coraghessan Boyle is a U.S. novelist and short story writer. Since the mid 1970s, he has published twelve novels and more than 100 short stories...
, United States - 1998 – The House of Sleep – Jonathan CoeJonathan CoeJonathan Coe 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 Carve Up! reworks the plot of an old 1960s spoof horror film of the same name...
, United Kingdom - 1999 – Le capitaine et les rêves – Bjorn LarssonBjörn LarssonBjörn Larsson is a Swedish game director, executive producer and game designer. Björn founded Iridon Interactive in 1998 publishing and producing titles including Total Soccer 2000 and Pure Pinball. In 2004, Björn rebranded Iridon to Legendo Entertainment to focus on computer and video games based...
, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... - 2000 – Anil's GhostAnil's GhostAnil’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 the United States on a scholarship, during which time she has become a forensic...
– Michael OndaatjeMichael OndaatjePhilip Michael Ondaatje , OC, is a Sri Lankan-born Canadian novelist and poet of Burgher origin. He is perhaps best known for his Booker Prize-winning novel, The English Patient, which was adapted into an Academy-Award-winning film.-Life and work:...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... - 2001 – La noce du poète – Antonio SkarmetaAntonio SkármetaAntonio Skármeta is a Chilean writer, born November 7, 1940 in Antofagasta, Chile. He was born to Croatian immigrants from the Adriatic island of Brač, region of Dalmatia....
, ChileChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far... - 2002 – The Human StainThe Human StainThe Human Stain is a novel by Philip Roth. It is set in late 1990s rural New England. Its first person narrator is 65-year-old author Nathan Zuckerman, a character in previous Roth novels, including American Pastoral and I Married a Communist ; these two books form a loose trilogy with The Human...
– Philip RothPhilip RothPhilip Milton Roth is an American novelist. He gained fame with the 1959 novella Goodbye, Columbus, an irreverent and humorous portrait of Jewish-American life that earned him a National Book Award...
, United States - 2003 – Le Mal de Montano – Enrique Vila-MatasEnrique Vila-MatasEnrique Vila-Matas is a Spanish novelist who has had a long and outstanding literary career and is one of the most prestigious and original writers in contemporary Spanish fiction...
, SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - 2004 – Histoire d'une vie – Aharon AppelfeldAharon Appelfeld-Biography:Appelfeld was born in the village of Zhadova near Czernowitz, Romania, now Ukraine. In 1941, when he was eight years old, the Romanian army invaded his hometown and his mother was murdered. Appelfeld was deported with his father to a concentration camp in Ukraine. He escaped and hid for...
, Israel - 2005 – SnowSnow (novel)Snow is a novel by Turkish author Orhan Pamuk. It was published in Turkish in 2002 and in English in 2004. The story encapsulates many of the political and cultural tensions of modern Turkey and successfully combines humor, social commentary, mysticism, and a deep sympathy with its characters.Kar...
(French title: Neige) – Orhan PamukOrhan PamukFerit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... - 2006 – Return of the Hooligan – Norman ManeaNorman ManeaNorman Manea is a Jewish Romanian writer and author of short fiction, novels, and essays about the Holocaust, daily life in a communist state, and exile. He is a Francis Flournoy Professor of European Culture and writer in residence at Bard College...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea... - 2007 – The Lost: A Search for Six of Six MillionThe Lost: A Search for Six of Six MillionThe Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million is a non-fiction memoir by Daniel Mendelsohn, published in September 2006, which has received critical acclaim as a new perspective on Holocaust remembrance...
(French title: Les disparus) – Daniel MendelsohnDaniel Mendelsohn-Life and career:Mendelsohn was born on Long Island. He graduated with a B. A. in Classics from the University of Virginia, which he attended from 1978 to 1982 as an Echols Scholar, and received his M. A. and Ph. D. in Classics from Princeton University, where he was a Mellon Fellow in the...
, United States - 2008 – Un garçon parfait – Alain Claude Sulzer, Switzerland
- 2009 – What Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak DengWhat Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak DengWhat Is the What: The Autobiography of Valentino Achak Deng is a 2006 novel written by Dave Eggers. It is based on the real life story of Valentino Achak Deng, a Sudanese refugee and member of the Lost Boys of Sudan program.-Plot summary:...
(French title: Le Grand Quoi) – Dave EggersDave EggersDave Eggers is an American writer, editor, and publisher. He is known for the best-selling memoir A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and for his more recent work as a screenwriter. He is also the co-founder of the literacy project 826 Valencia.-Life:Eggers was born in Boston, Massachusetts,...
, United States - 2010 – Sukkwan Island – David VannDavid Vann (writer)David Vann is an assistant professor of English at University of San Francisco. He teaches creative nonfiction and fiction. He was a Wallace Stegner Fellow and Jones Lecturer at Stanford University and is the author of the memoir A Mile Down: The True Story of a Disastrous Career at Sea...
, United States - 2011 – Une femme fuyant l'annonce - David GrossmanDavid GrossmanDavid Grossman is an Israeli author. His books have been translated into more than 30 languages, and have won numerous prizes.He is also a noted activist and critic of Israeli policy toward Palestinians. The Yellow Wind, his non-fiction study of the life of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied...
, Israel
Laureates Prix Médicis essai
- 1986 - Le Soleil sur Aubiac Georges BorgeaudGeorges BorgeaudGeorges Borgeaud was a Swiss writer and publisher.-Biography:Georges Borgeaud studied at Collège d'Aubonne and Collège de Saint-Maurice, where he met Maurice Chappaz and Jean Cuttat....
- 1990 – Shakespeare : les feux de l'envie (A Theatre of Envy: William Shakespeare) – René GirardRené GirardRené Girard is a French historian, literary critic, and philosopher of social science. His work belongs to the tradition of anthropological philosophy...
- 1993 – La Sculpture de soi – Michel OnfrayMichel OnfrayMichel Onfray is a contemporary French philosopher who adheres to hedonism, atheism and anarchism...
- 1995 – La tentation de l'innocence – Pascal BrucknerPascal BrucknerPascal Bruckner is a French writer.-Biography:After studies at the university Paris I and Paris VII Diderot, and then at the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Bruckner became maître de conférences at the Institut d’Études Politiques de Paris, and collaborator at the Nouvel Observateur.Bruckner...
- 1996 – L'Horreur économique – Viviane ForresterViviane ForresterViviane Forrester is a writer, essayist, novelist and literary critic. She works for Le Monde, Le Nouvel Observateur and Quinzaine littéraire and is a member of the jury of the Prix Femina. She became famous internationally with her books on political affairs...
- 1997 – Siècle des intellectuels – Michel WinockMichel WinockMichel Winock is a French historian, specializing in the French Republic, intellectual movements, anti-Semitism, nationalism and the far right movements of France. He is a professeur des universités in contemporary history at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris and member of L'Histoire...
- 1998 – Une histoire de la lecture – Alberto ManguelAlberto ManguelAlberto Manguel is a Canadian Argentine-born writer, translator, and editor. He is the author of numerous non-fiction books such as The Dictionary of Imaginary Places , A History of Reading , The Library at Night and Homer's Iliad and Odyssey: A Biography ; and novels such as News...
, Canada - 1999 – Colette, une certaine France – Michel Del CastilloMichel del CastilloMichel del Castillo is a French writer, born in Madrid.-Biography:Michel del Castillo was born in Madrid...
- 2000 – Le Zoo des philosophes – Armelle Lebras-Chopard
- 2001 – Secrets de jeunesse – Edwy Plenel
- 2002 – Kafka et les jeunes filles – Daniel Desmarquet
- 2003 – Morts imaginaires – Michel Schneider
- 2004 – Aurore et George – Diane de Margerie
- 2005 – La Vie sauve – Lydie Violet and Marie DesplechinMarie DesplechinMarie Desplechin is a French writer. She studied literature and journalism before becoming a writer. She is the author of a children's novel and Taking it to Heart, a collection of short stories. Sans Moi, her first novel, has been a great success in France, where it has sold over 120,000 copies...
- 2006 – Frère du précédent – Jean-Bertrand Pontalis
- 2007 – L'Année de la pensée magique – Joan DidionJoan DidionJoan Didion is an American author best known for her novels and her literary journalism. Her novels and essays explore the disintegration of American morals and cultural chaos, where the overriding theme is individual and social fragmentation...
, United States - 2008 – Warhol Spirit – Cécile Guilbert
- 2009 – Mémoire d'un fou d'Emma – Alain Ferry
- 2010 – Les Couleurs de nos souvenirs – Michel PastoureauMichel PastoureauMichel Pastoureau is a French specialist in medieval history, who was born in Paris on 17 June 1947. He studied at the École Nationale des Chartes, a college for prospective archivists and librarians...
- 2011 – Dans les forêts de Sibérie - Sylvain Tesson