The Alain Spiess prize for a second novel aims to promote a second novel whose writing has been judged to be unique.
The editor’s summary for The Middle Fire :
The Comoros: a place, a story, tales, spiritualities… Le feu du milieu is a novel of singular formation, which tips into a marvelous worthy of the Thousand and One Nights. A young servant in the town of Itsandra (Comoros), Gaillard grew up under the protection of two parental figures: her master, who taught her the secrets of the Koran, and her adoptive mother, who told her legends inherited from her slave ancestors from the other side of the sea.
One day, Gaillard meets Halima, a well-born young girl who is trying to escape a forced marriage. They become friends, to the point that the fiancée entrusts Gaillard with a small magic object that she will have to treasure without ever showing it to anyone – following which, Halima returns to submit to the paternal will. Ten years later, the destinies of the two young women meet once more. In the meantime, Gaillard suffered a mutilation that left her different forever.
For her part, Halima had to accept a forced marriage for the second time. Their friendship will take a new turn, and the magic object will reveal its secrets: it contains knowledge buried in the memory of the world and holds the power to make them travel through space and time, in search of what they really are.
In 2021, it was awarded to Marin Fouqué, for his book G.A.V, published by Actes Sud, now a member of the jury for the prize alongside Véronique Jacob, publisher; Jean-Luc Vincent, actor; Anita Weber, Honorary Culture Inspector; Emmanuelle Lambert, writer; Dorian Astor, philosopher; Michel Lederer, translator; Geneviève Damas, author and actress; Lola Gruber, writer and winner of the 2019 Alain Spiess Prize; Christine Guinard, poet; Sylvie Tanette, literary critic, writer winner of the 2019 Alain Spiess Youth Prize and Françoise Spiess, author and founder of this prize.
This prize is accompanied throughout the year by numerous literary events (debates, meetings, readings, performances, master-classes). A young people’s prize is also awarded by high school students: they choose from among three novels from the selection of the prize.
Meetings and workshops are offered in the classrooms. Finally, a short story contest is open to everyone. The topic for this year is: The world following “. The best stories will be published in a collection.
The prize was awarded in 2017 to Anne Godard for crazy luck at the editions of Minuit, in 2018 to Nicolas Mathieu, also Goncourt prize the same year, for Their children following them, published by Actes Sud, in 2019 at Lola Gruber pour Three gigs published by Phébus and in 2020 to Guillaume Poix, for Where I come from has disappearedpublished by Verticales.
Find the list of French and Francophone literary prizes
