Sunday June 23, 2024, a few hours before the end of the Holidays in Caillié, the winner of the René-Caillié literary prize for travel writing (1), awarded by the town of Mauzé-sur-le-Mignon, was revealed.
The jury, chaired by Marie-Françoise Bouix, nominated Élise and Léopoldine Desprez, for their book Horsewomen, the Kyrgyz ride. The members of the reading committee, among the dozen works selected by the Claude-Durand media library, chose the story of these two Norman sisters, who left in 2019 for four months to realize their dream: to cross Kyrgyzstan on horseback. A book written by four hands, recounting a 1,600 km journey, punctuated by numerous encounters with the local population, the two sisters having learned to become true nomadic horsewomen in this wild nature.
Call to readers for the jury
Marie-Françoise Bouix took the opportunity to launch an appeal, the reading committee is looking for new members. “In 1999, the jury was made up of 15 members. Literature was then prolific. With social networks, it is more difficult to find true adventure with unique encounters allowing you to escape, she comments. Today, we need new members to share the reading of adventure stories. With 9 members, the jury is struggling to recruit readers, lovers of adventure stories, who love reading and travel stories. Interested people are invited to make themselves known to the town hall to participate in the selection of the next edition of the 2025 literary adventure prize. »
(1) The prize created in 1999, worth 2,000 euros, rewards real-life testimonies from men and women each year. It will be presented during the Adventure Festival hosted by the socio-cultural center of the Mauzéen country in November.
