Sandrine Collette rewarded for “Madelaine Before Dawn”

BOOK – The literary awards ball is over. The high school students have chosen their 2024 Goncourt Prize. It is the author Sandrine Collette, awarded for her novel Madelaine before dawn. Every year since 1988, a jury made up of high school students has awarded its own literary prize, the little brother of the very prestigious Prix Goncourt awarded this year to Kamel Daoud.

In 2023, it was the author Neige Sinno who won the Goncourt des Lycéens for her novel on incest sad tiger. This year, five novels were in the final. The jury therefore had to decide between Sandrine Collette and Madelaine before dawn (JC Lattès), (POL), Thibault de Montaigu for Heart (Albin Michel), Rebecca Lighieri for The Lost Children's Club, Abdellah Taïa for The Bastion of Tears (Julliard) and also Olivier Norek for Winter Warriors (ed. Michel Lafon).

Madelaine before dawn follows the destiny of a little girl named Madelaine. She emerges one day, hungry and alone from the forest and is immediately adopted by the inhabitants of the village of Les Montées. Peasants whose harsh daily life will be illuminated by the little wild woman. For this novel, Sandrine Collette was also a finalist for the 2024 Goncourt prize. A prize won by Kamel Daoud for Houris. A book that the JC Lattès editions describe as follows: With Madelaine Before Dawn, Sandrine Collette questions the order of things, probes the instinct for revolt, and offers us, served by dazzling writing, an ode to family ties. »

The finalists of the Goncourt des Lycéens

The other unfortunate finalists of the Goncourt high school students are not left out. Thibault de Montaigu obtained for Heart the 2024 Interallié Prize. In this historical novel, the writer traces the destiny of his family over five generations, starting with the figure of his ancestor Louis, a captain killed in 1914 at the start of the First World War.

The Moroccan writer Abdellah Taïa, who notably received the Flore 2010 prize for On King's Day, won an award for his novel The bastion of tears. He indeed received the December 2024 prize. In this biographical novel, the writer paints the portrait of a society deeply plagued by homophobia. The story follows the fate of Youssef, a young gay Moroccan teacher living in France, forced to return to Salé, near Rabat, after the death of his mother.

Pour Winter Warriors Olivier Norek, a former police officer, abandoned the thriller genre to immerse himself in History. A profitable choice since his novel received the Renaudot Prize for High School Students 2024 and the Jean Giono Prize 2024. In this novel, the author takes his readers to the heart of Finland in 1939, at war against the neighboring country, the USSR.

The literary prize was created in Rennes in 1988. It is organized by Fnac and the Ministry of National Education. Each year, some 2,000 students from second to BTS take part to introduce contemporary literature and promote a taste for reading in their establishments.

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