The Prix des Deux Magots jury's summer selection
The Prix des Deux Magots jury unveils its summer selection
Before getting together to start reading the books for the 2025 literary season, with a view to the 92nd Prix des Deux Magots, to be awarded on Monday October 6, the members of the jury wanted to share some recent favorites published in the first few months of the year.
It’s a way for everyone to salute the works that have made a lasting impression on them, and to offer readers the chance to discover them as summer approaches.
“Alongside the Prix des Deux Magots, we wanted to offer a summer selection of French and foreign novels. a summer selection of French and foreign novels, like so many” coups de and suggestions for books to discover. This list reflects the the reading pleasure these books have given us.”
– Étienne de Montety
Here are some of our favorites:
Kate Atkinson, Le Règne de la nuit (Christian Bourgois)
Isabelle Autissier, La Fille du grand hiver (Paulsen)
Adrien Bosc, L’invention de Tristan (Stock)
Frédéric Casotti, Dans les plis du drapeau (Le cherche midi)
Bruno de Cessole, Tout est bien puisque tout finit (Le cherche midi)
Francesca Giannone, La porteuse de lettres (Albin Michel)
Stéphanie Hochet, Armures (Rivages)
Armistead Maupin, Mona et son manoir (L’Olivier)
Yassaman Montazami, Dans une autre vie (Sabine Wespieser)
David Nicholls, Rendez-vous ici (Belfond)
Bernard Quiriny, Nouvelles nocturnes (Rivages)
Olivier Rolin, Vers les îles Eparses (Verdier)
Jim Thompson, Pottsville, 1280 habitants (Rivages)
Charles Wright, Le Jardin anglais (Albin Michel)
The jury for the Prix des Deux Magots is made up of the following personalities:
Étienne de Montety, director of Figaro Littéraire and writer
Laurence Caracalla, journalist
Nicolas Carreau, journalist, columnist and author
Jean-Luc Coatalem, journalist and writer
Pauline Dreyfus, writer
Clara Dupont-Monod, editor and writer
Jessica Nelson, writer and co-founder of Éditions des Saints Pères
Marianne Payot, journalist
Abel Quentin, writer
About the Prix des Deux Magots
Created in 1933 as a reaction to the Goncourt, considered too academic, the Prix des Deux Magots is one of France’s oldest literary awards. True to the spirit of independence and daring that drives the famous Saint-Germain-des-Prés cultural café, each year it honors a French-language novel or essay, revealing an emerging or under-recognized talent. The jury is free in its choices, but does not rule out awarding a prize to a work that meets other criteria. Endowed with €7,700 and an open table at Les Deux Magots for one year, the prize is currently chaired by Étienne de Montety and is one of the major literary events of the autumn. Over the years, it has crowned such authors as Raymond Queneau, Antoine Blondin, Pauline Réage, Roland Topor, Marc Dugain, Serge Joncour and Jérôme Garcin. The 92nd winner will be announced at the award ceremony on Monday October 6, 2025, at 12:30 pm, at the Café des Deux Magots. He or she will succeed Jean-Pierre Montal, who won in 2024 for his novel La Face nord (éditions Séguier).