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Anne Godard Wins the 2026 Prix Décembre for Nous aussi
Her third novel, written entirely with the pronoun "on," wins the €15,000 prize on the same day it missed the Goncourt's final four.
Anne Godard has won the 2026 Prix Décembre for Nous aussi, her third novel and her first in nearly ten years. The jury announced the result on Tuesday, October 27, at the Prunier restaurant in Paris, franceinfo reported. The prize is worth €15,000 and is backed by the Fondation Pierre Bergé-Yves Saint Laurent.
The win came on the same day the Académie Goncourt named its four finalists, and Nous aussi wasn't one of them. Godard's novel had been on the Goncourt's second list of eight, Télérama shows, but it didn't make the cut to four.
The book
Actes Sud published Nous aussi on August 19. According to franceinfo, it tells the story of a family from the very top of the Paris bourgeoisie, Catholic and well read, living in the 5th arrondissement. They look perfect from the outside, until a buried trauma comes to light and the family's certainties fall apart.
What people talk about is the voice. The entire novel is narrated with "on," a French pronoun that can stand for "one," "we" or "people," and franceinfo says Godard picked it to get across how airless this family is. Nobody in it is allowed a separate voice.
The book has done well in shops, and it has been all over the autumn lists. franceinfo counts thirteen prize selections it has appeared on.
About the author
Godard is the daughter of a bookseller, holds the agrégation in modern literature and teaches literature at the Sorbonne. Her first novel, L'Inconsolable, came out in 2006. The second, Une chance folle, followed in 2017. At the time she told the newspaper La Nouvelle République that "writing is at times necessary for me, at times impossible" (PT's translation).
She takes over from the poet and novelist Laura Vasquez, who won last year for Les Forces.
The jury
Claude Arnaud chairs the Décembre jury. The other members, as listed by franceinfo, are Laure Adler, Maxime Catroux, Charles Dantzig, Chloé Delaume, Christophe Honoré, Maylis de Kerangal, Patricia Martin, Amélie Nothomb and Arnaud Viviant.
What comes next
The big November prizes are still to come. The Goncourt will be named on November 3 at Drouant, and its four finalists come from Gallimard, Flammarion, L'Arbalète and Minuit. Godard is out of that race, but the Décembre gives Nous aussi a win and a cash prize of its own before the rest of the season plays out.
Why it matters for writers
Godard's path is a useful reminder that a writing career doesn't have to run on a one-book-a-year schedule. She went close to a decade between novels while teaching full time, and the third book is the one that broke through. Prizes like the Décembre also show that being left off one shortlist isn't the end of a book's season. A novel can drop out of the Goncourt and still pick up a major award the very same day.
Sources
- franceinfo, October 27, 2026: Le prix Décembre 2026 est attribué à Anne Godard pour "Nous aussi" (French; quotes translated by PT)
- Télérama, October 27, 2026: Prix Goncourt 2026 : les quatre finalistes dévoilés (French)
Photo: Anne Godard in September 2026. Photo by Pete571Aire, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
