Prix Femina Names Its Final Selection for 2026

The Prix Femina jury released its third and final selection for 2026 on Friday, October 23. Three women and two men are left in the running for the main prize for a French novel, franceinfo reported, writing with AFP. The jury is made up entirely of women, 12 members in all. The prize will be awarded on November 4, the day after the Goncourt and the Renaudot.

The list also names five essays and five foreign novels for the Femina's other two awards. Details below are translated from the French.

The French novels

• David Djaiz, La Méthode (Stock)
• Yannick Haenel, La solitude des professeurs est infinie (Gallimard)
• Elise Lespade, Paradisi Gloria (Le cercle ouvert)
• Emma Marsantes, N'efface pas mes cercles (Verdier)
• Lucie Rico, Mais que fait ce sang sur le pull de Jennifer ? (P.O.L)

Several of these books are still alive for other autumn prizes, franceinfo notes. Marsantes is also on the Médicis list. Haenel remains in contention for the Goncourt and for the Grand Prix de l'Académie française. Djaiz is still on the Renaudot selection.

The essays

• Stéphanie Genand, Germaine de Staël, une femme d'exception (Perrin)
• Judith Lyon-Caen, Balzac nous appartient (CNRS éditions)
• Raphaël Meltz, Cinq silences (Bayard)
• Mathieu Roger-Lacan, Une langue à soi (Stock)
• Jennifer Tamas, Barbe Bleue contre-enquête (Seuil)

The foreign novels

• Gustavo Faveron Patriau, Les Lieux souterrains (Bourgois)
• Laura Kasischke, Baignade surveillée (Gallimard)
• Katie Kitamura, L'Audition (Stock)
• Mayra Montero, Le soir où Bobby n'est pas venu jouer (Métailié)
• Paul Murray, La Piqûre d'abeille (Albin Michel)

What came before

The jury's previous selection came out on October 6, according to franceinfo. Last year's Femina went to Nathacha Appanah for La Nuit au cœur (Gallimard).

Why it matters for authors and rights sellers

Early November is prize week in French publishing, and the Femina is one of its main awards. A foreign-novel nomination can lift a translated book in France, which is why agents and rights teams outside France watch this list. For the five French novelists, the shortlist also keeps them in a crowded race with the Goncourt, the Renaudot, and the Médicis, all decided within days of one another.

Sources

• franceinfo, with AFP, October 23, 2026: Prix Femina 2026: five finalists still in the running