Prix de la Closerie de Lilas 2018

By Abdon FLORES

Slowly, like a blossoming flower, spring is conquering grayish Paris. Even if T.S. Elliot wrote that “April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land…”, this time of the year, when actually lilacs distil their rousing aroma, is the signal for one of the most beautiful literary events in town: the Closerie de Lilas Prize ceremony. As it is known, the prize is awarded to a first novel written by a woman; and it has been, so far, a prize that has discovered emerging talents like Julia Kerninon, Nathalie Kuperman or Cécile Reyboz.

Created in 2007 by Carole Chrétiennot with the support of her parents, owners of the venue Miroslav Siljegovic and Colette Siljegovic, the prize was an attempt to recognize a new feminine talent in French literature. Enmmanuelle de Boysson, Tatiana de Rosnay, Jessica Nelson, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonerre and Stéphanie Jannicot are included among the founders too. Along with the literary prize, the Lilas Academy Prize is also awarded to a woman having a remarkable trajectory. It must be said that it is not a minor event. Most of people that matter in French literature and many other party-goers celebrities gather in this splendid restaurant to celebrate this solitary art.

On this 11th edition, the winner was Belgian writer Odile d’Oultremont with her novel Les déraisons (Editions de l’Observatoire). President of the jury, Belgian writer Amélie Nothomb, had to excuse herself for such a coincidence and jokingly made a small speech about corruption. The novel, of course, deserved the prize due to its boldness and innovation. The Lilas Academy prize for the celebrity of the year was awarded to film director Agnès Varda, a woman that needs no further introduction.

 

 

 

A special prize was posthumously awarded to Ann Dufourmantelle (Souviens toi de ton avenir) who passed away last summer in the South of France.