Breaking news. Philippe Jaenada wins 2026 Prix Goncourt for novel 'L'Inconnue du quai de Javel' – Euronews.com

Breaking news. Philippe Jaenada wins 2026 Prix Goncourt for novel ‘L’Inconnue du quai de Javel’  Euronews.com

It is the most prestigious literary prize awarded to an author writing in French. Meeting at the legendary Drouant restaurant in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, the jury of the Académie Goncourt delivered its verdict: the Goncourt Prize 2026 goes to Philippe Jaenada for his novel "L'Inconnue du quai de Javel" (Flammarion).At 528 pages, this investigation revisits the murder of a young woman found dead on a quay on the Seine at the end of the 1950s.The 62-year-old author has already written several books devoted to criminal cases, among them "Sulak" (2013), "La Petite Femelle" (2015) and "La Serpe" (2017).For Gwilherm Perthuis, head of L'œil cacodylate, an independent bookshop in Lyon, "L'Inconnue du quai de Javel" is a book "quite accessible, bringing people together, that concerns a wide readership".

He nevertheless believes that the Academy "is unfortunately not recognising a particularly ambitious work"."At L'œil cacodylate, we prefer the years when the Goncourt Prize makes it possible to discover new voices, still little established in the literary field, and writing projects that shake up reading habits", he tells Euronews.Goncourt Prize or Madrigall Prize?The four finalists, unveiled on 27 October, were all published by publishing houses in the Madrigall group: Gallimard for "La Solitude des professeurs est infinie" by Yannick Haenel and "Choses que je croyais perdues" by Clémentine Mélois; Flammarion for