On Saturday, April 11, discover the winner of the fifth annual US Goncourt Prize during a selection ceremony at Villa Albertine.

In honor of France’s prominent literary prize, the Prix Goncourt and Villa Albertine, the French Institute for Culture and Education have partnered with the Académie Goncourt and the French Embassy’s Centers of Excellence to present the US Goncourt Prize Selection.

Established for the first time in 1998 in Poland and now in 40 countries, the International Goncourt Selection is a global literary barometer to gauge how the Goncourt Prize’s shortlisted titles resonate with young audiences from around the world. The selection additionally serves a dual purpose of promoting French and Francophone contemporary literary works in their original language and encouraging the translation and publication of selected titles in English.

Listen to student jurors from 11 universities, who studied the four shortlisted books for the Prix Goncourt, debate and select the winner. This year, the participating universities include 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.

Explore the 2026 shortlisted titles below.

• La nuit au cœur by Nathacha Appanah (Gallimard)
• Kolkhoze by Emmanuel Carrère (P.O.L)
• Le Bel Obscur by Caroline Lamarche (Seuil)
• La maison vide by Laurent Mauvignier (Minuit)

The ceremony will begin at 3:00 PM and will be followed by a cocktail reception. The ceremony will be in English. This event is free and open to the public with RSVP.

Please note guests will not be admitted after 3:45pm.