Goncourt Prize 2025: 4 Novels Compete for France’s Most Prestigious Literary Award

France’s literary world is eagerly awaiting Tuesday’s announcement of the winner of the 2025 Prix Goncourt, the country’s most prestigious literary award. 

Four novels are vying for the honor, with no clear favorite this year, according to France Info.

The Four Finalists are: “Le Nuit au Cœur” (The Night Within) by Natacha Appanah (Gallimard), “Kolkhoze” by Emmanuel Carrère (P.O.L), “La Maison Vide” (The Empty House) by Laurent Mauvignier (Éditions de Minuit), and “Le Beau Mystère” (The Beautiful Mystery) by Caroline Lamarche (Seuil) , the only Belgian contender.

The jury, chaired by Philippe Claudel, includes leading French authors such as Tahar Ben Jelloun, Pascal Bruckner, and Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt.

Deliberations take place at the historic Drouant restaurant near the Paris Opera House, where Goncourt Academy members meet on the first Tuesday of each month (except during summer).

The voting process involves multiple rounds, an absolute majority is required within the first ten ballots, followed by a relative majority up to the thirteenth round. In case of a tie, the president casts the deciding vote.

The Goncourt winner receives only a symbolic €10, but the red “Prix Goncourt” ribbon on the book cover guarantees huge commercial success, often hundreds of thousands of copies sold. 

Past winners like Hervé Le Tellier’s “The Anomaly” (2020) and Jean-Baptiste Andrea’s “Watch Over Her” (2023) reached sales exceeding 500,000 copies.

This year, the Madrigall publishing group (which owns Gallimard, P.O.L, and Minuit) holds a strong position with three nominees under its umbrella.