a Vitrean in the national jury

Monday November 25, 2024, the regional deliberations, organized in Paris, Lyon, Metz, Nîmes, Poitiers and Rennes, made it possible to select five of the fourteen novels, in the running for the 37^e Goncourt prize for high school students, appearing in the Goncourt academy selection.

Sandrine Collette for Madeleine before dawnRebecca Lighieri for The Lost Children’s ClubThibault de Montaigu for HeartOlivier Norek for The Winter Warriors and Abdellah Taia for The Bastion of Tears will therefore compete for the prestigious prize, Thursday at Rennes City Hall, during the national deliberation.

The list gives no indication of the preference of high school students: it is established according to the name of the author, in alphabetical order. Indeed, the pressure is mounting as the noose tightens on this 2024 edition of the Goncourt for high school students. The stakes are high for authors and publishers alike. Winning the prize is the promise of being among the best sellers in bookstores.

“Beware of appearances”

Monday in Rennes, six high school girls and one Breton and Norman high school student, after deliberation, revealed the trifecta of the great West: the works of Sandrine Collette, Olivier Norek and Abdellah Taia have this honor.

Two high school students were designated to represent the greater region, Thursday in Rennes, at the national deliberation: they are Camille Blin-Malot from the Saint-Joseph institute in Le Havre and Suzanne Richy from the Bertrand-d’Argentré high school in Glazed.

Two days before the award ceremony, it was out of the question for the two young girls to give the slightest clue or reveal their preference. What do they remember from these two months of reading the novels in competition?  That we must be wary of appearances,smiles Suzanne Richy. The historical novel is not a genre that particularly attracts me. Now, I read it with interest. It all depends on the talent of the author.

The young Vitrean quotes You are the Führer’s unhappy love by Jean-Noël Orengo. It does not appear in the list of five novels selected for Thursday’s final. Houris by Kamel Daoud, the 2024 Goncourt Prize, neither.