The Société littéraire des Goncourt (Goncourt Literary Society), usually called the Académie Goncourt (Goncourt Academy), is a French literary organisation based in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. It was founded in 1900 by the French writer and publisher

Edmond de Goncourt Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot d ...

(1822–1896), who wanted to create a new way to encourage literature in France and disagreed with the contemporary policies of the Académie Française.

Formation and organization

Wishing to honor his deceased brother

Jules Jules is the French form of the Latin "Julius" (e.g. Jules César, the French name for Julius Caesar). It is the given name of: People with the name * Jules Aarons (1921–2008), American space physicist and photographer *Jules Abadie (1876–19 ...

(1830–1870), Goncourt bequeathed his estate to establish an organization to promote literature in France. He named his friend, the writer Alphonse Daudet, along with Léon Hennique, to oversee and administer his estate. The society was to consist of ten members, of whom eight were nominated in the will. Each of the members was to receive an annuity of 6,000

francs The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th centu ...

, and a yearly prize of 5,000 francs was to be awarded to the author of some work of fiction. After some litigation, the academy was constituted in 1903. Since then, each December, a ten-member board of the Académie has awarded the ''

Prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

'' for the best work of fiction of the year. Membership is reserved to writers who have produced works in the French language, but it is not limited to citizens of France. In 1996, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

novelist and scriptwriter

Jorge Semprún Jorge Semprún Maura (; 10 December 1923 – 7 June 2011) was a Spanish writer and politician who lived in France most of his life and wrote primarily in French. From 1953 to 1962, during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, Semprún lived clande ...

was elected as the first foreigner to become a member of the academy. In addition to the Prix Goncourt, which comes with a symbolic cheque of 10 euros, the Académie Goncourt awards honors for first novel and achievements in short story, poetry and biography genres. The ten members of the academy are usually called ''les Dix'' (the Ten). They meet the first Tuesday of each month, except in summer. Since 1914, they have convened in an oval room, the ''salon Goncourt'', on the second floor of the Restaurant Drouant, place Gaillon, in the

heart of Paris ''Heart of Paris'' (French: ''Coeur de Paris'') is a 1932 French film directed by Jean Benoît-Lévy and Marie Epstein and starring Simone Mareuil, Blanche Beaume and Jimmy Gaillard.Crisp p.391 Cast * Simone Mareuil as Jeannette Durand * Bla ...

. The cutlery which they use while dining there constitutes the main physical continuity of the academy. Each new member receives the fork and knife of the member whom he (or she) is replacing, and the member's name is engraved on the knife and the fork.

Current members

As of 2020, the members of the Académie Goncourt are: * Didier Decoin, elected 1995; President * Françoise Chandernagor, elected 1995; Vice President * Tahar Ben Jelloun, elected 2008 * Patrick Rambaud, elected 2008 * Philippe Claudel, elected 2012; Secretary General *

Pierre Assouline Pierre Assouline (born 17 April 1953) is a French writer and journalist. He was born in Casablanca, Morocco to a Jewish family. He has published several novels and biographies, and also contributes articles for the print media and broadcasts for ...

, elected 2012 * Paule Constant, elected 2013 * Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, elected 2016 *

Pascal Bruckner Pascal Bruckner (; born 15 December 1948, in Paris) is a French writer, one of the "New Philosophers" who came to prominence in the 1970s and 1980s. Much of his work has been devoted to critiques of French society and culture. Biography Bruckner ...

, elected 2020 *

Camille Laurens Laurence Ruel (born 6 November 1957), known by her pen name Camille Laurens, is a French writer and winner of the 2000 Prix Femina for ''Dans ces bras-là''. Laurens is a member of the Académie Goncourt. Career A graduate of humanities, Camil ...

, elected 2020

Academicians by seat

1st Seat

* 1900–1942 :

Léon Daudet Léon Daudet (; 16 November 1867 – 2 July 1942) was a French journalist, writer, an active monarchist, and a member of the Académie Goncourt. Move to the right Daudet was born in Paris. His father was the novelist Alphonse Daudet, his moth ...

* 1942–1944 : Jean de La Varende * 1944–1954 : Colette * 1954–1970 :

Jean Giono Jean Giono (30 March 1895 – 8 October 1970) was a French writer who wrote works of fiction mostly set in the Provence region of France. First period Jean Giono was born to a family of modest means, his father a cobbler of Piedmontese descent a ...

* 1971–1977 :

Bernard Clavel Bernard Charles Henri Clavel (29 May 1923 – 5 October 2010) was a French writer. Clavel was born in Lons-le-Saunier. From a humble background, he was largely self-educated. He began working as a pastry cook apprentice when he was 14 years ol ...

* 1977–2004 : André Stil * 2004–2019 :

Bernard Pivot Bernard Pivot (; born 5 May 1935) is a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. Biography Pivot was born in Lyon, the son of two grocers. During Worl ...

* 2020–present :

2nd Seat

* 1900–1907 :

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel '' À rebour ...

* 1907–1910 :

Jules Renard Pierre-Jules Renard (; 22 February 1864 – 22 May 1910) was a French author and member of the Académie Goncourt, most famous for the works '' Poil de carotte'' (Carrot Top, 1894) and ''Les Histoires Naturelles'' (Nature Stories, 1896). Among ...

* 1910–1917 :

Judith Gautier Judith Gautier (25 August 1845, Paris – 26 December 1917) was a French poet, translator and historical novelist, the daughter of Théophile Gautier and Ernesta Grisi, sister of the noted singer and ballet dancer Carlotta Grisi. She was mar ...

* 1918–1924 : Henry Céard * 1924–1939 : Pol Neveux * 1939–1948 : Sacha Guitry * 1949–1983 :

Armand Salacrou Armand Camille Salacrou (9 August 1899 – 23 November 1989) was a French dramatist. Biography He was born in Rouen, but spent most of his childhood at Le Havre, and moved to Paris in 1917. His first works show the influence of the Surrealis ...

* 1983–2016 :

Edmonde Charles-Roux Edmonde Charles-Roux (17 April 1920 – 20 January 2016) was a French writer. Early life Charles-Roux was born in 1920 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, the daughter of Francois Charles-Roux, the former French ambassador to Czechoslovakia, a member of t ...

* 2016–present : Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt

3rd Seat

* 1900–1917 :

Octave Mirbeau Octave Mirbeau (16 February 1848 – 16 February 1917) was a French novelist, art critic, travel writer, pamphleteer, journalist and playwright, who achieved celebrity in Europe and great success among the public, whilst still appealing to the ...

* 1917–1947 : Jean Ajalbert * 1947–1973 : Alexandre Arnoux * 1973–1995 : Jean Cayrol * 1995–present : Didier Decoin

4th Seat

* 1900–1940 : J.-H. Rosny aîné * 1940–1942 : Pierre Champion * 1943–1971 : André Billy * 1971–2012 : Robert Sabatier * 2013–present : Paule Constant

5th Seat

* 1900–1948 : J.-H. Rosny jeune * 1948–1967 : Gérard Bauër * 1967–1968 : Louis Aragon * 1969–1983 : Armand Lanoux * 1983–2008 : Daniel Boulanger * 2008–present : Patrick Rambaud

6th Seat

* 1900–1935 : Léon Hennique * 1936–1950 : Léo Larguier * 1951–1977 :

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau w ...

* 1977–2008 :

François Nourissier François Nourissier (Paris, 18 May 1927–Paris, 15 February 2011) was a French journalist and writer. Nourissier was the secretary-general of Éditions Denoël (1952–1955), editor of the review ''La Parisienne'' (1955–1958), and an adviser ...

* 2006–present : Tahar Ben Jelloun

7th Seat

* 1900–1918 : Paul Margueritte * 1919–1923 :

Émile Bergerat Émile Bergerat (29 April 1845 – 13 October 1923) was a French poet, playwright and essayist. He used the pseudonyms l'Homme masqué (the masked man), Caliban and Ariel (the latter two drawn from '' The Tempest'' by William Shakespeare). ...

* 1924–1937 :

Raoul Ponchon Raoul Ponchon (born 30 December 1848 in La Roche-sur-Yon, France, died 3 December 1937 in Paris, France) was a French poet. A friend of Arthur Rimbaud, he was one of only "seven known recipients" of the first edition of '' A Season in Hell''. He ...

* 1938–1948 : René Benjamin * 1949–1971 :

Philippe Hériat Philippe Hériat (15 September 1898 in Paris – 10 October 1971) was a multi-talented French novelist, playwright and actor. Biography Born Raymond Gérard Payelle, he studied with film director René Clair and in 1920 made his debut in silent ...

* 1972–2011 :

Michel Tournier Michel Tournier (; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the ''Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française'' in 1967 for '' Friday, or, The Other Island'' and the Prix Goncourt for '' The Erl-King'' i ...

* 2011–2015 :

Régis Debray Jules Régis Debray (; born 2 September 1940) is a French philosopher, journalist, former government official and academic. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in h ...

* 2016–2020 : Virginie Despentes * 2020–present :

8th Seat

* 1900–1926 : Gustave Geffroy * 1926–1929 : Georges Courteline * 1929–1973 : Roland Dorgelès * 1973–1995 : Emmanuel Roblès * 1995–present : Françoise Chandernagor

9th Seat

* 1900–1925 :

Élémir Bourges Élémir Bourges (26 March 1852, Manosque, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence – 13 November 1925) was a French novelist. A winner of the Goncourt Prize, he was also a member of the Académie Goncourt. Bourges, who accused the Naturalists of having "belit ...

* 1926–1937 : Gaston Chérau * 1937–1958 :

Francis Carco Francis Carco (born François Carcopino-Tusoli) (1886–1958) was a French author, born at Nouméa, New Caledonia. He was a poet, belonging to the ''Fantaisiste'' school, a novelist, a dramatist, and art critic for ''L'Homme libre'' and ''Gil Blas ...

* 1958–1996 :

Hervé Bazin Hervé Bazin (; 17 April 191117 February 1996) was a French writer, whose best-known novels covered semi-autobiographical topics of teenage rebellion and dysfunctional families. Biography Bazin, born Jean-Pierre Hervé-Bazin in Angers, Maine- ...

* 1996–2011 :

* 2012–present : Philippe Claudel

10th Seat

* 1900–1949 : Lucien Descaves * 1950–1970 :

Pierre Mac Orlan Pierre Mac Orlan, sometimes written MacOrlan (born Pierre Dumarchey, February 26, 1882 – June 27, 1970), was a French novelist and songwriter. His novel '' Quai des Brumes'' was the source for Marcel Carné's 1938 film of the same name, starring ...

* 1970–2011 : Françoise Mallet-Joris * 2012–present :

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academie Goncourt French writers' organizations Organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in France Arts organizations established in 1903