Quais du Polar Readers’ Prize
Each year, the Quais du Polar festival awards the Readers’ Prize to a French-speaking detective novel published during the past year. The jury is made up of ten readers chosen by Quais du Polar, accompanied by two representatives of the Quais du Polar association and a representative of Le Figaro. They will select the winner from six novels previously chosen by the festival’s partner booksellers.
Together, they designate “ the » French-speaking thriller from the previous year from a selection of six novels previously chosen by the festival’s partner booksellers.
The 2025 selection:
Woe to the vanquished by Gwenaël Bulteau – The Book Manufacture
L’Agent by Pascale Dietrich – Liana Levi
Roe deer by Sébastien Gendron – Gallimard
Reine by Pauline Guéna – Denoël
Stella and America de Joseph Incardona – Finitude
Eureka in the night Anne-Sophie Kalbfleisch – Le Rouergue
The prize was awarded in 2024 to Morgan Audic for No one dies in Longyearbyen.
Quais du Polar Youth Prize / City of Lyon
Launched in 2015, this prize targets CM1 and CM2 students, rewarding a children’s detective novel or album published in 2024.
From December to February, young jurors from participating elementary schools discover the five selected works during workshops led by Book Ambassadors, under the supervision of the Association of the Student Foundation for the City (Afev). The author of the book who obtains the most votes from students will be invited to receive the Youth Prize during the festival, Friday April 4, 2025.
The 2025 selection:
The crazy escape by Sandrine Bonini – Éditions Seuil Jeunesse
Silk – The orphans of Argentan by Alice Brière-Haquet – Éditions Le Rouergue
Inspector Gambas and special agent La Crevette by Caryl Férey and Irène Bonacina – Éditions Robert Laffont Jeunesse
Grébor detectives from father to daughter by Yves Grevet and Carole Trébor – Éditions Little Urban
Eloise, musketeer of the king by Jean-Luc Marcastel – Gulf Stream Publisher
The schools participating in the 2025 jury are: the Jean de La Fontaine school (Lyon 4th), the Louis Pradel school (Lyon 6th), the Françoise Héritier school (Lyon 7th), the Marie Bordas school (Lyon 8th), the Louis Pasteur school (Lyon 8th), the Simone Signoret school (Lyon 8th), the Léon Jouhaux school (Lyon 3rd) and the Joannes Masset school (Lyon 9th).
The prize was awarded in 2024 to Bertrand Puard for Les Arsène, The Key to the Three Jewels.
Polar Prize in Series / SCELF
The Polar Series Prize – Scelf 2025 highlights French-speaking detective novels, highlighting works for their ability to be adapted into audiovisual series. This award is the result of a collaboration with the SCELF – Société Civile des Éditeurs de Langue Française – and is an integral part of the Polar Connection professional program, establishing a link between the world of publishing and that of audiovisual.
Following a call for applications launched by the SCELF from publishing houses, the preselection committee of Polar in series – Scelf chose 6 finalist works among the 69 submissions. The Polar Series Prize award ceremony will be held on Friday April 4, 2025, during the Polar Connection event.
The 2025 selection:
Poker (Tomes 1 & 2)Derrien and Simon Van Liemt, Le Lombard, 2009
Blues, whites, redsBenjamin Dierstein, Editions Flammarion, 2025
A country without a path, Eric Goffin, Editions du Rouergue, 2025
Fragmented souls, Charlotte Monsarrat, Editions Anne Carrière, 2023
Good feelingsKarine Sulpice, Liana Levi, 2024
Eighth sectionMarc Trévidic, Gallimard, 2024
This selection already salutes the series adaptation potential of these six finalists, and it is now the turn of the jury, made up of 8 cinema and audiovisual professionals, to choose the winner of the edition 2025.
For this 11th edition of the Polar series prize – Scelf, the Prize jury is made up of:
Michel ABOUCHAHLA, president of Écran Total
Matthieu DONCK, director (The Truce (season 1 and 2), Good People…)
Aurélie INIESTA, producer, Gaumont television (Le Signal…)
Lamara LEPRÊTRE-HABIB, screenwriter (D’argent et de sang, Les Monstres, Dans l’ombre…)
Fanny FROMENTAL, Literary Adaptations Executive, Studiocanal Stories
Carole LE BERRE, program advisor, Fiction Unit, France Télévision
Xavier LEHERPEUR, journalist, film and series critic (France Inter)
Véra PELTEKIAN, vice-president in charge of original French productions, HBO Max, at Warner Media International
The prize was awarded in 2024 to Hachin for SkilledFast (tomes 1, 2, 3).
Polar and Justice Prize from the Lyon Judicial Court / Libération
The Crime and Justice Prize, initiated by the Lyon Judicial Court in partnership with the newspaper Libération, is awarded annually to a work of non-fiction — investigation, true crime, testimony, etc. — which explores themes linked to justice or news items.
The jury for this prize is made up of magistrates from the Lyon judicial court, legal professionals, a journalist from Libération, a representative from Quais du Polar, and a guest of honor.
The 2025 selection:
The Mein Kampf Trial by Harold Cobert – The Stairs
Les Babylones by Pauline Guéna and Mahi Grand – Denoël
Organized Crime in France by Christophe Korell – Denoël
A minute of silence by Sophie Loubière – Darkside
We are no longer normal people by Justin Morin – The Book Factory
Cramés: The Monster’s Children by Philippe Pujol – Julliard
The Missing of the Blackfeet Reservation by Anaïs Renevier – 10/18
Action Directe Lyon – From the ultra-left to terrorism by Richard Schittly – The Book Factory
The prize was awarded in 2024 to Chris De Stoop for The Book of Daniel.
Comic Book Polar Experience Prize / France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
The 2025 selection, produced by the Expérience bookstore (Lyon):
American Parano – Tome 2 by Hervé Bourhis and Luca Varela – Dupuis
L’Expert Jennifer Daniel – Casterman
Le Cas David Zimmerman by Lucas and Arthur Harari – Sarbacane
Tales from the attic by Elizabeth Holleville and Iris Pouy – The employee of the self
The Navigators of Serge Lehman and Stéphane De Caneva – Delcourt
Copenhagen de Anne Caroline Pandolfo and Terkel Risbjerg – Dargaud
Habemus Bastard, a heart under a cassock Jacky Schwartzmann and Sylvain Vallée – Dargaud
The Quais du Polar Comic Book Prize / Librairie Expérience / France 3 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes will be awarded by… you! To select your favorite comic and enter the prize, go to this page. Voting is open until February 14, 2025.
The prize was awarded in 2024 to Christophe Dabitch and Piero Macola for The Lagoon Ferryman.
Quais du Polar Prize of the librarians of the metropolis of Lyon
In 2025, Quais du Polar is collaborating with the Municipal Libraries of the City and Metropolis of Lyon to set up the fourth Polar Prize for the libraries of the City and Metropolis of Lyon.
Actively involved in the festival through meetings, events and promotion of their collections, the librarians have selected their favorite thrillers of the year. They then awarded the prize to their favorite title published between September 1, 2023 and August 31, 2024.
The 2025 selection:
Woe to the vanquished by Gwenaël Bulteau – The Book Manufacture
Reine by Pauline Guéna – Denoel
The Wisdom of the Idiot by Marto Pariente – Gallimard/Black Series
Fierce Souls by Marie Vingtras – Éditions de l’Olivier
The Point European Thriller Prize will also be awarded, which each year recognizes a thriller by a French or European author. But also the Claude Mesplède / Quais du Polar Prize for non-fiction books on crime fiction, which rewards each year a work contributing to a better understanding of the crime genre, in the form of an essay, a historical work, correspondence, document, investigation, translation, original edition of complete or unpublished works, new translation or even academic and university work.
In addition, for the first time, Quais du Polar is teaming up with the National Police to launch the Court Polar prize, a short story competition aimed at high school students. This competition will reward three winners in the categories “ intrigue », « chills » et « writing “. The winners will be chosen by a jury made up of members of Quais du Polar, criminologists, authors, YouTubers specializing in True Crime, journalists, screenwriters and editors. The winning short stories will be promoted on the National Police’s social networks and the winners will receive a collection of thrillers as well as immersive experiences within prestigious services such as the national scientific police service or the RAID.
The news, of a maximum of 40,000 characters, must be sent in Word format, feature a police officer and be rich in suspense and twists and turns. The texts can be written individually or in groups, and must be written in French. Registrations close on February 20, 2025 at midnight, with a deadline for sending texts set for December 21, 2024. The results will be announced on March 28, 2025, before the awards ceremony which will take place during the Quais du Polar festival. in Lyon, from April 4 to 6, 2025. The complete regulations are available on the National Police website and can also be downloaded.
Quais du Polar and Babelio are also joining forces for a short story competition during the 21st edition of the festival, on the theme “ Crossings » and in partnership with SOS MEDITERRANEE. Participants are invited to write detective stories around travels, exiles, and encounters in the Mediterranean, integrating elements of crime and humanity. Michel Bussi sponsors this competition.
The Quais du Polar 2025 short story competition invites authors to submit detective or noir genre works in French, with a maximum length of 30,000 characters, including spaces. Applications must be sent to [email protected] before midnight on February 16, 2025. The winner, who will be announced and rewarded on April 4, 2025 during the festival, will benefit from a digital publication on Babelio, will receive a batch of books from the Presses de la Cité and a 30-hour narration training course offered by Les Artisans de la Fiction. Participants must include their personal contact details and number of characters in the body of the submission email. The winner will be contacted in March to organize their presence at the awards ceremony in Lyon.
Quais du Polar is finally collaborating with the Artisans de la Fiction to organize a youth writing competition aimed at children aged 11 to 15, sponsored by the author Jean-Luc Marcastel. The theme for 2025 is At the borders of reality, encouraging participants to integrate fantasy elements into detective stories marked by suspense and action.
Submissions, which must be original works in French not exceeding 8,000 characters, including spaces, should be sent to [email protected] before February 16, 2025. The winner will be announced and rewarded during the festival on April 4, 2025, receiving a copy of Éloïse, musketeer of the king as well as a two-hour session on narration offered by the Artisans of Fiction. Participation is free, but the winners must plan a transport budget to travel to Lyon for the awards ceremony.
The 2025 edition of the Quais du Polar International Festival will explore the theme of Borders.
Photo credits: Quais du Polar 2025
By Hocine Bouhadjera
Contact : [email protected]
