The Marie Volle Prize aims to crown “ the author of a literary work for young people, likely to develop the imagination or knowledge of children or young adolescents and to awaken their taste for reading “. It is aimed at both works of fiction and documentary works, written in French and published by a publishing house.
Applications for the first edition, scheduled for 2025, must be submitted before January 20, 2025. Authors and publishers wishing to participate must send a letter of application and two copies of the work to the Secretariat of the Literary Commissions of the Academy, at Paris.
A historic tradition of supporting youth
This prize is part of a broader tradition of the French Academy, which has always paid particular attention to literature for young people. From the 19th century, it awarded the Montyon Prizes to reward works “ useful to morals and recommendable by a character of moral elevation and usefulness ».
In 1872 Jules Verne received the Montyon Prize for the first series of Extraordinary journeys, including Five Weeks in a Balloon, Journey to the Center of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, From the Earth to the Moon et Around the Moon.
In 1891, the Sobrier-Arnould Prize marked a turning point: it became the first institutional prize specifically dedicated to children's literature. Each year it crowned two authors for works that were both moral and instructive. Although this award disappeared in 1975, it laid the foundations for literary recognition of this type of literature.
The Marie Volle Prize therefore intends to fill an absence by restoring the spotlight to a thriving sector of literature.
Find the list of French and French-speaking literary prizes
Photo credits: CC BY 2.0/Jorge Lascar
By Clotilde Martin
Contact : [email protected]
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