Prix Goncourt 2026: four finalists, verdict tomorrow at Drouant
Haenel, Jaenada, Mélois or Prudhomme? The Académie Goncourt announces its verdict on Tuesday 3 November in Paris, at the end of a season marked by the withdrawal of a novel suspected of having been written with AI.
Only a few hours to go. On Tuesday 3 November, the jurors of the Académie Goncourt meet at the Drouant restaurant in Paris to name the winner of the 124th edition of France's most coveted literary prize. Four novels have remained in the running since the final shortlist was announced on 27 October.
The four finalists
- Yannick Haenel, La solitude des professeurs est infinie (Gallimard), a book drawing on his memories as a young teacher.
- Philippe Jaenada, L'inconnue du quai de Javel (Flammarion), the writer's latest long-form investigation, devoted to the murder of a woman, Louise Cansot, in Paris in September 1949, and to the case being closed a few weeks later. Livres Hebdo noted as early as September that the book had got off to a very strong start in bookshops.
- Clémentine Mélois, Choses que je croyais perdues (L'Arbalète/Gallimard), the story of a break-up told through objects.
- Sylvain Prudhomme, De l'autre côté du lac (Minuit), a novel built like a thriller in the Alps around the place left for wild nature.
Two houses of the Madrigall group — Gallimard and Minuit — share three of the four places. Minuit had already won the prize in 2025 with Laurent Mauvignier.
A selection whittled down in three stages
The race began on 2 September with 16 novels, a list that Livres Hebdo judged at the time to be the most open to independent publishers since 2023, with L'Iconoclaste, Verdier and Maurice Nadeau. On 6 October, the jury cut it to eight titles. Among those eliminated at that stage were Olivier Rolin (La Guerre éternelle), Sonia Devillers (Le fabuleux piano), Boris Bergmann (Minotaure) and Anne Godard (Nous aussi), before the final cut on 27 October.
The shadow of artificial intelligence
This edition will also be remembered for a first. On 25 September, the Académie withdrew from its selection C'était ça ou mourir, Thélyson Orélien's debut novel published by Grasset, after an online controversy over the alleged use of artificial intelligence. According to Livres Hebdo, a detection tool highlighted by an internet user estimated that more than 95% of the text was AI-assisted. The book had also appeared on the first lists for the Renaudot, Femina and Médicis prizes. In the wake of the affair, juror Philippe Claudel said he was in favour of banning AI in the prize's rules.
The season was also marked by mourning: Didier Decoin, former secretary general and then president of the Académie from 2020 to 2024, died on 5 August 2026.
What next?
The winner's name will be revealed on Tuesday at Drouant. The winning book will succeed that of Laurent Mauvignier, the 2025 laureate. A win for Sylvain Prudhomme would give Minuit a second consecutive title; a victory for Haenel or Mélois would make Gallimard the big winner of the season.
The prize season does not end there. The Goncourt des lycéens (the high-school students' Goncourt) will be announced on 26 November in Rennes, after national deliberations, and the Goncourt des détenus (the prisoners' Goncourt) on 15 December, at the Centre national du livre.
