The members of the jury for the Talent Cultura 2024 prize distinguished this Thursday, October 17, the novel by Stephanie Perez titled La ballerine in Kyiv and published by Récamier editions.
Second novel by the writer after The Guardian of Tehran (Récamier), it immerses the reader in the tragic daily life of Svitlana and Dmytro, two star dancers from kyiv, whose lives are turned upside down with the Russian invasion in February 2022. The couple then finds themselves confronted with war. An unsurprising choice of story when we know that the author, a senior reporter at France Télévisions for more than 25 years, has covered numerous conflicts, notably the war in Iraq, Syria and more recently in Ukraine.
A jury of more than 2,500 individuals
Since 2003, the Talent Cultura prize has been awarded each year to emerging authors who have published a first or second novel in French at the start of the literary season. Booksellers and customers of the brand pre-select the works and submit them to readers. This year, more than forty reading clubs across France read, rated and decided on the novels submitted to establish a selection of four books announced at the end of last August, at the time of their release.
Big news for this 21e edition: Internet users were also able to participate thanks to an online consultation open to all. In total, more than 1,500 voters cast their ballots to elect the novel winner of the Talent Cultura prize, adding to the 1,000 customers and booksellers behind the selection.
This prize represented a springboard in the careers of certain writers who are today among the most sought-after French authors. Among them, Gail Faye, Delphine of Vigan, Leila Slimani or even Nicolas Mathieu.
France
