Not to be missed a meeting place for literati, Saint Germain des Près offers authors a chance to shine during the literary season, and readers a delightful selection of readings and autographs.
Saint-Germain-des-Près can pride itself on having historical links with the world of literature. Late 17th century, le Procopethe first literary café, frequented by Voltaire and otherswas born. Two centuries later, Mérimée, Nerval and George Sand all lived there. At the end of the 19th century, the holy trinity of bistros Lipp-Le Flore-Les Deux Magots begins to reign over Saint-Germain.
Les Deux Magots attracted a literary crowd very early on. In the early 1930s, Queneau, Leiris, Bataille, Desnos and other Surrealist dissidents were all there.. It was at one of these tables that the anti-Breton manifesto was drafted A corpse.
The Prix des Deux Magots was created in 1933. It has been awarded every year since then. And so it is, last Tuesday in JanuaryThe 13-member jury rewards both promising and established authors. The Saint-Germain-des-Prés café founded its literary prize on the day André Malraux was awarded the Goncourt for The Human Condition. We owe this audacity to the writer Roger Vitrac and the Beaux-Arts librarian. Between them, they assembled a jury of 13 authors, each of whom donated 100 francs. The first winner was Raymond Queneau for his novel Le Chiendent. The Prix des Deux Magots is one of the oldest literary awards in France..
Others have since joined.
The Literary prizes are annual events celebrated and organised by each of the historic bistro owners and some more recent establishments that cultivate this Saint-Germain's natural tradition for the love of literature.
Prix des Deux Magots January
Pélléas Prize / Appollinaire Prize
April
Prix du Café de Flore
November
Lipp Prize
March-April
Prix du Procope
November
Prix du Castel - November
Night Novel Prize - March
Prix du Lutétia - October
Prix de La Closerie des Lilas - April
and others depending on the year...
Find out more on the Brasseries website.
Le Prix de Flore was created in 1994 with the aim of crowning an author with "promising" talent based on specific criteria such as originality, modernity and youth.
It was awarded for the first time to Vincent Ravalec for Cantique de la Racaille.
Le Prix des Deux Magots was created in 1933 to draw attention to quality writers, with the aim of having a diverse and non-conformist choice. The prize has been awarded every year since then. On the last Tuesday in January, the 13-member jury rewards promising and established authors. The prize is endowed with €7,700 to encourage and support the winners in their writing.
The first winner was Raymond Queneau for his novel Le Chiendent.
Le Apollinaire Prize was created in 1941, and each year rewards a collection of poems for its originality and modernity.
In October 2012, the prize will be awarded for the first time at theHôtel Lutetia. Since 2016, the prize has been awarded at the famous café and literary restaurant Les Deux MagotsThe prize is sponsored by a celebrity (Juliette Binoche in 2016, Jacques Weber in 2017). The prize is worth €3,500.
The first Prix Guillaume-Apollinaire was awarded in 1941 to Just Calveyrach for French GuianaÎles de Lérins.
Le Cazes Prize from the Lipp brewery was created in 1935. It is customary for it to be awarded before the book fair to an author who has never won a prize.
The first winner was the theatre company "le Rideau de Paris de Marcel Herrand et Jean Marchat" for its productions of Le Coup de Trafalgar (Roger Vitrac) and L'Homme blanc (André de Richaud).
Le Castel Prize for the novel of the night was created in 2017.
Because night is the mysterious place where literature sometimes nestles, and because there are places that are part of the legend of "Paris by night” . The price award a novel where at nightplays an essential role: in the thread of the story or the profile of the character.
The prize was awarded for the first time to Isaac Rosa for his novel The dark roomtranslated by Jean-Marie Saint-Lu, published by Bourgois.
Le Pelléas prizecreated in 1997, is a price This annual literary prize is awarded for "the work on music with the finest literary qualities".
It has been awarded €3,000 by the café Les Deux MagotsThe award was presented to the winner at the cocktail party to launch the Nohant Festival.
It was awarded for the first time in 1997 to Laurent de Wilde : Monk (Gallimard).
Le Françoise Sagan Prize was created by Le Lutétia at 2010. The prize is awarded for the best novel of the spring by an author who has not yet won an award.
It gives priority to new discoveries, choosing works in the making. In 2015, it was awarded to Vincent Almendros for his novel " Un été", 16 June at La Société (4 Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés).
Le Prix Lilas was founded in 2007 by la Closerie des Lilas to crown a French-language novelist. The winner is selected on the basis of a high level of competence, plurality and integrity, with a shared concern for high standards and freedom.
It was awarded for the first time to Anne Wiazemsky for the novel Young Girl.
Le Procope des Lumières Prize was created in 2011 by the legendary Parisian restaurant Le Procope. Its originality lies in rewarding the author of a political, philosophical or societal essay written in French and published in bookshops during the current year.
The Prize was awarded for the first time to Ruwen OGIEN for his essay L'influence of'smell of hot croissants on the bonté human.
Le Prix Saint Germain is a multicultural award created in 1993 by a group of legendary local venues: the café Les Deux Magotsthe Café de Florethe Brasserie Lipp, Sonia Rykiel and the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Committee. It is awarded to a a leading figure in the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district to recognise their talent and their attachment to the district. Awarded every year on the first Monday in January, the prize comes with a €3,000 cash prize, as well as a permanent invitation to the Saint-Germain cinema and a screening of the winning film.
