{"id":8855943,"date":"2026-04-13T12:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/?p=8855943"},"modified":"2026-04-13T20:31:51","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T20:31:51","slug":"la-maison-vide-by-laurent-mauvignier-wins-us-goncourt-prize-selection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/villa-albertine.org\/va\/press-release\/la-maison-vide-by-laurent-mauvignier-wins-us-goncourt-prize-selection\/","title":{"rendered":"La maison vide\u00a0by Laurent\u00a0Mauvignier\u00a0wins\u00a0US Goncourt\u00a0Prize\u00a0Selection\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

New York, April 13, 2026<\/strong> \u2013 On Saturday, April 11, a jury of 11 university students named La maison vide <\/em>by Laurent Mauvignier <\/em>winner of the fifth US Goncourt Prize Selection. Hosted at Villa Albertine with remote participation of Honorary Chair Sandrine Collette<\/strong> (author of Madelaine avant l\u2019aube<\/em>, trans. by Alison Anderson, published by Europa Editions, and winner of the fourth US Goncourt Prize Selection), the award ceremony was the culmination of months of rigorous study and debate around the four-book Prix Goncourt shortlist conducted by students at 11 U.S. universities. This year, participating universities were Columbia University, Duke University, Harvard University, New York University, Princeton University, University of California Los Angeles, University of Florida, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Southern California, University of Virginia and Yale University. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Prix Goncourt is considered\u00a0one of France\u2019s most prestigious literary prizes.\u00a0The\u00a0International Goncourt Prize Selection\u00a0distinction\u00a0\u2013\u2013\u00a0bestowed\u00a0by university students\u00a0across\u00a040 countries worldwide\u00a0\u2013\u2013\u00a0serves as\u00a0a global literary\u00a0barometer, measuring how the shortlist for the Prix Goncourt resonates with\u00a0younger audiences. The US prize, now in its fifth year, is organized and funded by Villa Albertine, in partnership with the Acad\u00e9mie Goncourt and universities from the French Embassy\u2019s Centers of Excellence network.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s winner, Laurent Mauvignier, studied fine arts at the \u00c9cole des Beaux-Arts of Tours and then started writing fiction, publishing his first novel Loin d\u2019eux<\/em> (\u00c9ditions de Minuit, 1999). Since then, he\u2019s published several novels and plays and written for television and cinema. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

La maison vide<\/em>, published by Les \u00c9ditions de Minuit, <\/em>begins in 1976 when a man reopens the house he inherited from his mother after it has been closed for twenty years. Filled with stories, the house bears the traces of two world wars and of rural life in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the lives of three generations of women and the men who orbited around them. Through their intertwined histories, the novel brings these figures into the light and explores how their shadows extend into the present. The American translation will soon be available in the US. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 2026 US Goncourt Prize was awarded by a jury of 11 students who described the selection process selection as an \u201cenriching experience filled with intense debates\u201d. They discussed key criteria such as theme, the political dimension of literature, style, prose and writing, literary merit, impact, and finally, authenticity and connection to reality.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis exchange brought to our attention thoughtful and carefully argued interpretations, and what made this debate particularly valuable was the collective effort of our generation, young adults, to listen, respond, and reflect on what gives a literary work its force and the lasting impact a book can have on its audience, as potential agents of social change.\u201d Barbara Marinescu, Duke University, President of the Jury<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After several rounds of voting and in-depth discussions, La maison vide<\/em> emerged as the work that reached the broadest consensus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Laurent Mauvignier\u2019s La maison vide<\/em> was selected from a shortlist that also included: <\/p>\n\n\n\n