The 4 winners of the 2024 Read in Pocket prize

The various juries for the 2024 Read in Pocket prize have distinguished a winner in the categories of French literature, translated literature, children’s literature and crime fiction. These were officially announced during the opening ceremony of the Lire en pocket festival, this October 11 at the Théâtre des 4 Saisons in Gradignan.

• The jury for the French literature category is made up of ten readers from the Gradignan media library. This year, they chose to reward Avril Bénard for his work To those who have lost everything (I read). This first novel follows the story of several characters who have to leave their homes following a civil war. He was in the running with Feurat Alani pour I remember Fallujah (LGF) and Hadrien Bels pour Tibi la Blanche (Close) who were among the finalists.

• The translated literature prize rewards the translator and publisher of a foreign novel published in French and in paperback. The jury, made up of booksellers exhibiting at the Read in Pocket show, awarded the eponymous prize to Mona de Pracontal for his translation of the American novel Sven’s odyssey of Nathaniel Ian Miller published by J’ai lu. This tells the story of a young Swedish man looking for a place to retire in the Arctic after being disfigured by an accident. Carine Chichereautranslator of the English-speaking novel by Lauren Groff, Matrix (Points) et Rania Samaratranslator from Arabic (Lebanon) of the novel byElias Khoury, The Sun Gate (Babel) were also among the finalists.

• As for children’s literature, it is Jean-Luc Marcastel who stands out with his work The return of the beastillustrated by Cécile Marty et Lionel Marty and published by PKJ. The reader follows the daily life of a French village under the Occupation between the appearance of the beast of Gévaudan and the arrests perpetuated by the SS. The jury, made up of fifteen classes of CM1, CM2 and 6^e of the commune preferred this book to that ofAlice Butaud, Girls don’t usually go that high (Junior Folio), illustrated by François Ravard and that ofAlexandre Chardin, The Sweet Taste of Fear (The Youth Pocket Book).

• Finally, between April 30 and July 2, 2024, Internet users were able to vote for their favorite thriller on the Lire en Poche and newspaper website. South West. They distinguished Morgan Audic pour Too many deaths in Wonderland (LGF Policier), a thriller that follows the investigation of Diane Kellerman trying to find Alice Andersen. Also among the finalists were Nicolas Leclerc with Still alive (Police Points) and Thibaut Solano with The Devoured (Pocket).