France’s top literary prize in 2025 awarded to author Laurent Mauvignier

French author Laurent Mauvignier has been announced as the 2025 winner of the prestigious Prix Goncourt, the leading Francophone literary award.

Mr Mauvignier received the award for his book La Maison Vide, a frank account of his family’s history sprawling through the ages. The book was released earlier this year but is yet to be translated into English. 

Previous works by the author include Histoires de la Nuit, translated into English as The Birthday Party and longlisted for the International 2023 Booker Prize.

Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre was announced as the winner of the Prix Renaudot – a companion to the Goncourt awarded at the same time – for her novel Je voulais vivre.

€10 prize, restaurant poster, secret double winners

The Prix Goncourt is the most well-known and prestigious of France’s ‘big six’ literary awards, and is one of the foremost literary awards around the world. 

Selected each year by the 10 members of the ‘Société littéraire des (or Académie) Goncourt’, the annual award is handed out to an author who writes a French-language novel.

Although won by mostly French authors, others including Algerian (2024 winner Kamel Daoud), Senegalese, Moroccan and even Afghan nationals have previously won, with Kabul-born Atiq Rahimi winning in 2008. He moved to France in the 1980s seeking political asylum.

Unlike many other awards, the only ‘prize’ is a symbolic €10, based on the original 10 francs given to the first winner in 1903. 

However, the media attention surrounding the book generally leads to a growth in sales and fame that provides a financial boost. 

Over the last 20 years, each winning book has gone on to sell around 400,000 copies, making it an annual bestseller in France.

Tradition dictates that the winner's name – chosen after several rounds of voting by the Académie from a shortlist of books – is posted on the window of the Drouant restaurant in central Paris where the Académie meets each month. 

A well-known story associated with the Prix Goncourt relates to author Romain Gary. 

Winning the prize in 1956 for Les Racines du Ciel, he was frustrated that rules prevented him from winning more than once (the prize must always be handed to a different writer).

He submitted a second novel under the pseudonym Émile Ajar (titled La Vie devant soi), which was awarded victory in 1975. 

Using his cousin’s son to pose as the author in public, it was not until after Romain Gary died that he was confirmed as the real author behind the novel.