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| Prix des Deux Magots | |
|---|---|
| Name | Prix des Deux Magots |
| Awarded for | French-language novels and literature |
| Country | France |
| Established | 1933 |
| Presenter | Café Les Deux Magots |
Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a French literary prize established in 1933 associated with the Parisian café Les Deux Magots. It awards contemporary literature and has intersected with figures from Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Surrealism, Existentialism, and Modernism movements, influencing careers linked to Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and other Parisian expatriates.
Founded in 1933 by patrons of Les Deux Magots including writers and journalists responding to the conservative turn of prizes like the Prix Goncourt, the award emerged amid debates involving personalities from André Breton, Paul Éluard, Louis Aragon, Blaise Cendrars, and critics tied to publications such as Les Lettres Françaises and La Nouvelle Revue Française. The prize has paralleled institutions like the Académie française and ceremonies such as the Prix Renaudot and Prix Femina, and has been affected by cultural shifts including postwar reconstruction after World War II, decolonization discussions concerning Algeria, and intellectual currents linked to May 1968. Over decades jurors have included figures associated with Éditions Gallimard, Mercure de France, Grasset, Éditions du Seuil, and Éditions Julliard, reflecting interactions with publishers like Gallimard, Flammarion, Hachette, Fayard, and Stock.
Eligible works are typically French-language novels, novellas, or collections published in France by houses such as Gallimard, Seuil, Grasset, Flammarion, Stock, Le Cherche Midi, and occasionally translations issued by Actes Sud or P.O.L. The jury process involves critics, editors, and writers from networks linked to Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Télérama, Les Inrockuptibles, and literary columns in Paris Match. Submission and selection intersect with seasonal schedules of fairs like the Salon du Livre and the Foire du Livre de Brive, and the prize calendar often contrasts with timelines for Prix Femina, Prix Médicis, Prix Interallié, and Prix Renaudot. Decisions are announced amid press coverage by agencies such as Agence France-Presse and outlets like France Culture, RTL, France Inter, and Arte.
Winners span a spectrum from avant-garde to mainstream authors published by houses like Gallimard and Seuil. Early associations linked to figures such as Jean Giono, Henry Miller, Boris Vian, and Julien Green reflect interwar networks; later laureates include writers comparable in stature to Marguerite Duras, Albert Camus, Michel Tournier, Patrick Modiano, Annie Ernaux, Amélie Nothomb, Jean Echenoz, Marie NDiaye, Mathieu Lindon, and Hédi Kaddour. The prize has also honored novelists connected to international lists such as Nobel Prize in Literature nominees and recipients like Günter Grass-adjacent European modernists, and has spotlighted authors represented at festivals including Festival d'Avignon and Festival du Livre de Paris. Journalists and critics who became laureates include contributors to Le Monde Littéraire, La Croix, Les Echos, and L'Express.
The award ceremony traditionally takes place at the café Les Deux Magots in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, often attended by publishers from Editis, Hachette Livre, Lagardère, and agents linked to agencies such as Agence Littéraire Adéquat and Groupe Robert Laffont. The event convenes journalists from Le Monde, Le Figaro Littéraire, Libération, and broadcasters like France Culture and Radio France. The monetary component has historically been symbolic compared with prizes like Prix Goncourt; winners receive a token sum alongside increased sales and visibility in bookshops such as La Hune, Shakespeare and Company, and chains like Fnac and Decitre. The ceremony has occasionally featured readings by actors associated with theaters like Comédie-Française and directors from companies such as Théâtre du Rond-Point.
The prize has influenced French literary taste in contexts involving cafés as cultural hubs alongside institutions like Cercle de l'Union Interalliée and has been invoked in debates about literary legitimacy akin to controversies around Prix Goncourt and Prix Renaudot. Critics from publications like Le Monde, Libération, Marianne, Le Canard enchaîné, and Les Inrockuptibles have questioned its selections for perceived biases toward certain publishers or intellectual circles connected to Saint-Germain-des-Prés salons and journals such as La Nouvelle Revue Française and Cahiers du cinéma. The award's role in promoting authors has intersected with discussions about market dynamics involving Amazon (company), bookstore closures linked to corporate consolidation like Hachette Livre acquisitions, and cultural policy debates in the Ministry of Culture (France). Defenders cite its independence and history linked to literary cafés frequented by Ernest Hemingway, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound as part of Paris's interwar and postwar cultural fabric.
Category:French literary awards