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Chadian Novelist Nétonon Noël Ndjékéry Wins the 2026 Prix Ivoire for La Fabrique du merveilleux

The award for African literature written in French goes to a fable about tyranny and democracy, chosen from 46 books submitted from 13 countries. The prize will be presented in Abidjan on November 28.

The Publishing Times Staff · October 31, 2026 · 3 min read

The Chadian novelist Nétonon Noël Ndjékéry has won the 2026 Prix Ivoire for African literature written in French, for his novel La Fabrique du merveilleux, published by the Swiss house Hélice Hélas. The Ivorian association Akwaba Culture, which runs the prize, announced the jury's choice on October 30, ActuaLitté reported.

The award carries two million CFA francs, about €3,000 according to ActuaLitté. Ndjékéry is due to receive it on Saturday, November 28, at the Les Vallons hotel in Abidjan.

The shortlist

This was the prize's 18th edition. According to Tchadinfos and ActuaLitté, 46 books from 13 countries were submitted, and five novels reached the final round. The other finalists were:

  • Djaïli Amadou Amal (Cameroon), Espoir (Éditions Emmanuelle Collas)
  • Jocelyn Danga (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Né sur des pissenlits (Elyzad)
  • Célia Sanchez (Senegal), Yaay ! (L'Harmattan Sénégal)
  • Ephrem Youkpo (Côte d'Ivoire), Ceux qui parlent fort (Eyo Éditions)

The jury was chaired by the writer and playwright Werewere-Liking-Gnépo. Its other members were Hélène Lobé, president of the Association des écrivains de Côte d'Ivoire; Foua Ernest de Saint Sauveur, honorary president of the same association; and the literary critics Auguste Gnaléhi and Henri N'koumo.

ActuaLitté reported that the jurors singled out the novel's "écriture inventive, imaginative à souhait, très riche et variée," praising its inventive and richly varied prose, and its use of the warmth and depth of African languages.

The novel

La Fabrique du merveilleux is a fable set in the imaginary principality of Lara, where a former courtesan, Queen Poudoudou, takes control of the court of the monarch Laoula and rules by terror. In the primordial forest, trees and animals join the deity Sou to make dreams of freedom, which two characters, Guiliguili and Tipipi, use to overthrow the tyrant. The publisher's description presents the book as a reflection on democracy and how hard it is to sustain, and on progress and its sensible use. Hélice Hélas lists it as a 140-page novel published in January 2026.

The author

Ndjékéry was born in Moundou, Chad, and lives in Switzerland. He received Chad's Grand Prix littéraire national in 2017 for his body of work, ActuaLitté reported. His earlier novel Il n'y a pas d'arc-en-ciel au Paradis, also from Hélice Hélas, won the Prix Hors concours and the Grand Prix littéraire d'Afrique noire in 2022 and the Prix Lettres frontière in 2023.

About the prize

Akwaba Culture, an Ivorian association chaired by Isabelle Kassi-Fofana, created the Prix Ivoire in 2008. It is supported by Côte d'Ivoire's Ministry of Culture and Francophonie, the French embassy in Abidjan and Librairie de France Groupe, according to ActuaLitté. Ndjékéry succeeds the Ivorian writer Véronique Tadjo, who won in 2025 for Je remercie la nuit (Mémoire d'encrier). The Tunisian novelist Azza Filali won in 2024 for Malentendues (Elyzad).

Sources