Senior Anniversary Fellow Professor Catriona Seth is one of the board members of the Prix Naissance d’une Œuvre, awarded annually for a novel in French. The Prize is given to a fourth, fifth or sixth novel in an author’s corpus. It is often said France is the country of Literary Prizes as a wide variety of awards is on offer every year. Though relatively recent, the ‘Prix Naissance d’une Œuvre’ stands out since it offers encouragement to an author who is not an absolute beginner but is developing an interesting œuvre. It is also particularly generous: the winner receives 20,000 euros. The annual ceremony takes place at the foot of Mont Blanc in Saint-Nicolas de Véroce.
Four novels had been shortlisted for the 2023 Prix Naissance d’une Œuvre:
Isabel Ascensio, Les événements, suite
Miguel Bonnefoy, L’inventeur
Gilles Marchand, Le Soldat désaccordé
Laurine Roux, Sur l’épaule des géants
The award went to Gilles Marchand for Le Soldat désaccordé (literally ‘the out of tune soldier’). The novel takes place in the 1920s. A veteran sets out to find a soldier who disappeared in 1917. His quest will lead him to uncover a tragic and beautiful love story.
Prof. Seth said:
It is a great pleasure to read contemporary fiction in French and it was a pleasure to read the shortlisted books, particularly "Le Soldat désaccordé." This novel is a moving and original quest which recounts a tale of love and loss during wartime. I love the view of the Meadows from my study in IASH but I also enjoyed my brief stay in the Alps which gave me a chance to see the other members of the panel and to meet the author and his publisher.
Photo credit: Boris Molinier