Société des gens de lettres
Encyclopedia
The Sociéte des gens de lettres de France (SGDLF) (English: Society of Men of Letters of France) is a writers' association founded in 1838 by the notable French authors Honoré de Balzac
, Victor Hugo
, Alexandre Dumas, and George Sand
. It is a private association recognised in France as an establishment in the public interest by decree of December 10, 1891.
It is the only writer-run writers' association in France with the expressed aim of defending the moral rights, the legal interests, and the social and legal status of all writers. It protects, considers, and proposes new rules and arrangements for the benefit of the community of writers. It is directed by a volunteer committee consisting of 24 writers and is presently led by the novelist Alain Absire
.
Members of the society must be writers whose work has been published by a publishing house (self-published works do not qualify). The SGDLF offers social and legal assistance to its members. It has facilities for the deposit of completed works, helping writers guarantee their rights as original author in case of a legal dispute. Each year it organises diverse cultural events and awards a number of €75,000 prizes in recognition of published works.
The SGDLF occupies the 18th-century neoclassical
Hôtel de Massa
in Paris
, a building with the strange history of having been moved stone by stone in 1928 from its original site on the Champs-Élysées
to its present site in the garden of the Observatoire de Paris, rue de Faubourg-Saint-Jacques, in Paris
.
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
, Victor Hugo
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
, Alexandre Dumas, and George Sand
George Sand
Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin, later Baroness Dudevant , best known by her pseudonym George Sand , was a French novelist and memoirist.-Life:...
. It is a private association recognised in France as an establishment in the public interest by decree of December 10, 1891.
It is the only writer-run writers' association in France with the expressed aim of defending the moral rights, the legal interests, and the social and legal status of all writers. It protects, considers, and proposes new rules and arrangements for the benefit of the community of writers. It is directed by a volunteer committee consisting of 24 writers and is presently led by the novelist Alain Absire
Alain Absire
Alain Absire is a French writer, and winner of the Prix Femina, 1984, for L'Égal de Dieu.-References:...
.
Members of the society must be writers whose work has been published by a publishing house (self-published works do not qualify). The SGDLF offers social and legal assistance to its members. It has facilities for the deposit of completed works, helping writers guarantee their rights as original author in case of a legal dispute. Each year it organises diverse cultural events and awards a number of €75,000 prizes in recognition of published works.
The SGDLF occupies the 18th-century neoclassical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
Hôtel de Massa
Hôtel de Massa
The Hôtel de Massa is located at 38 rue du Faubourg Saint Jacques in the 14th arrondissement of Paris.This 18th-century hôtel particulier was originally located on the avenue des Champs-Élysées and was moved in 1929 to its present location, in a park beside the gardens of the Paris Observatory...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, a building with the strange history of having been moved stone by stone in 1928 from its original site on the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...
to its present site in the garden of the Observatoire de Paris, rue de Faubourg-Saint-Jacques, in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
Spring session
- Prizes recognising the entire oeuvre of an author
- Grand Prix de littérature de la SGDL, founded in 1947
- Grand Prix de poésie de la SGDL, founded in 1983
- Prix Paul Féval de littérature populaire, founded in 1984
- Prizes recognising a single work
- Grand Prix SGDL du roman, founded in 1947
- Grand Prix SGDL de la nouvelle, founded in 1984
- Grand Prix SGDL du livre d'Histoire / Essai, founded in 1986
- Grand Prix SGDL du livre Jeunesse, founded in 1982
- Prix de poésie Charles Vildrac, founded in 1973
- Grand Prix SGDL de l'œuvre Multimédia
Fall session
- Prizes recognising the entire oeuvre of an author
- Grand Prix Poncetton de la SGDL, founded in 1970
- Prix de Poésie Louis Montalte, founded in 1992
- Prizes recognising a single work
- Grand Prix Thyde Monnier de la SGDL, founded in 1975
- Bourses Thyde Monnier, since 1975
- Bourses Poncetton
- Prizes for translation
- Prix Halpérine-Kaminsky Consécration, since 1993
- Prix Halpérine-Kaminsky Découverte, since 1993
- Prix Gérard de Nerval
- Prix Baudelaire
- Prix Maurice-Edgar Coindreau