The Ouest-France Dimoitou Prize
Created by Sunday West Francethe Prix Ouest-France Dimoitou has rewarded, since 2009, a children’s novel for 8-10 year olds published during the year. It is one of the very rare literary prizes awarded by young readers. The jury is made up of ten children, aged 8 to 10, who will meet on Saturday, October 5, 2024, at the Faire Lire! fair, the reading festival of the City of Le Mans (Sarthe), to choose together the winning novel from among the five children’s novels in the running for the prize (1). Last year, it was Pauline’s path by Julie Bonnie (Albin Michel Jeunesse), which won over the young jurors.
Erik the Man
The one who is also the author of the trilogy The Book of Stars or even from the series of A for associationdid, he said, only hold a “child’s promise. I decided that I would be a writer one day, when I was in sixth grade. Everything else, my adventures, my travels, I did in the meantime.” And for 25 years he has been doing nothing but that, writing. For young people, a lot, for adults a little and more recently. In children’s literature, “The author disappears behind his story, whereas in adult literature, we rather ask the story to serve us. For me, a writer is a storyteller and that’s what I found right away, in a very frank and spontaneous way, in children’s literature.”
The great journey
In his latest work, The great journeyselected among the finalists of the Ouest-France Dimoitou Prize 2024, the 56-year-old author, a fan of science fiction and fantasy, has this time chosen to envelop his readers in the mists of Breton legends. “With my parents, we would spend all our summer holidays in Brittany. I was very struck by the atmosphere, the smells, the landscapes”explains this native of Isère. “I tried to put humor first when it was necessary, then friendship, then tenderness… And then the fourth wheel, which helped me move the cart of this intrigue forward, is the principle of the adventure.”
Exorcising Bad Memories
Victor, 12 years old, and his two friends Fanch and Léonie, set off on a very painful and risky quest in the land of Ankou, the guardian of the land of the dead. “For me the main theme is the power of friendship which helps to overcome the most painful trials”Erik L’Homme points out. It also discusses bullying at school. “When I was in sixth grade, I was… I don’t dare say harassed, I was bothered by a girl who was in the class above. She was very annoying. I like to exorcise my bad memories.” For him, it is not a question of slipping in “values” or other hidden messages. “I tell stories and I put things in them that are important to me. Simply. Courage, loyalty to your friends. Not letting them down.” And the power of imagination. Which led, in reality, the young man of 20 that he was at the end of the 1980s, in search of the wild man in the most remote mountains of Pakistan and Afghanistan. Impossible, after such odysseys, to lack imagination.
Living room Let’s Read! The Reading Festival : Saturday, October 5, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, October 6, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Info on: www.faiteslire.fr
The 5 novels in the Ouest-France Dimoitou prize selection
The great journey Erik L’Homme. Gallimard Jeunesse Editions, 204 pages. €9.90.
A chainsaw love Colin Thibert. Editions Thierry Magnier, 87 pages. €11.90.
Leon 1916 Tristan Pichard. Poulpe Fictions Editions, 190 pages. €11.95.
The Legend of Sigrid Julie Steis. Editions Talents Hauts, 160 pages. €14.90.
A crumb and some glitter Anne Rehbinder. Actes Sud jeunesse, 81 pages. €12.50.
Partners of the Ouest France Dimoitou prize
Maif, the Doucet bookstore in Le Mans, Faites lire! the reading festival and the City of Le Mans are partners of the Ouest-France Dimoitou Prize.
