The 30 Million Friends Foundation novel prize was awarded on Tuesday November 12 to Frédéric Joignot for Zoographyan autobiography in which this author traces his relationship with various animals.
This former journalist from Libération, Actuel and Le Monde published in February with Maurice Nadeau editions this account of his encounters with animals of all species, from horses to spiders. He succeeds Cédric Sapin-Defour, who won this literary prize in 2023 for Its smell after the rain.
The 30 Million Friends of the Essay prize went to Françoise Malby-Anthony for The Wisdom of Elephantspublished in May by Albin Michel editions.
The latter is the founder, in 1999 with her now deceased husband, of a reserve in South Africa which welcomes not only elephants but also other emblematic species of the continent, such as giraffes or rhinos.
Deterioration of animal condition
During the award ceremony at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, Frédéric Joignot said he had two cats today and said he was very worried about the deterioration of the animal condition.
“It’s getting more and more serious”he said. “The so-called sixth extinction is underway. There is something that should challenge us, that appeals to certain people”.
“Why aren’t we reacting? It's very difficult. There is industrial development. We are told: if you want to feed growing humanity, it is necessary. This is a false statement because we know very well that breeding and animal production could be done completely differently”he added.
