The Académie Goncourt unveiled its second shortlist of eight authors for the 2026 Prix Goncourt in Paris on Tuesday following an artificial intelligence scandal.
The announcement comes days after the panel excluded Canadian-Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien over allegations that he used artificial intelligence software to write his novel and engaged in past plagiarism.
The academy narrowed the field from the original sixteen authors selected on September 3 to eight remaining contenders for France's most prestigious literary award.
The Eight Remaining Contenders
The authors remaining in competition are Boris Bergmann with Minotaure published by Albin Michel, Sonia Devillers with Le Fabuleux piano published by Robert Laffont, Anne Godard with Nous aussi published by Actes Sud, and Yannick Haenel with La solitude des professeurs est infinie published by Gallimard.
They are joined by Philippe Jaenada with L'inconnue du Quai de Javel published by Flammarion, Clémentine Mélois with Choses que je croyais perdues published by L'Arbalète and Gallimard, Sylvain Prudhomme with De l'autre côté du lac published by Éditions de Minuit, and Olivier Rolin with La Guerre éternelle published by Gallimard.
The selection features several of the most prominent publishing houses in French literature. Gallimard holds three nominations across its main imprint and the L'Arbalète imprint, alongside major houses such as Actes Sud, Albin Michel, Flammarion, Robert Laffont, and Éditions de Minuit.
Allegations of Artificial Intelligence
The shortlist selection follows weeks of controversy surrounding Orélien, whose novel C'était ça ou mourir had achieved major commercial and critical success. The book tells the story of a teacher fleeing Haiti who crosses numerous international borders and obstacles to reach safety in Canada.
The novel had sold more than 35,000 copies before allegations surfaced on September 21, just hours after Orélien received the Prix roman Fnac award. An account on the social network X operated by essayist Samuel Fitoussi accused the author of relying on artificial intelligence to write the text.
An analysis generated by the American software Pangram was cited to support the claim. The 38-year-old author rejected the accusation, maintaining that he wrote the book himself based on his own experiences and calling the claims an attempt to silence him.
His publisher Grasset defended the book, describing the allegations as fake news and suggesting a conspiracy theory. Grasset noted that Orélien was among the final writers signed by publisher Olivier Nora prior to Nora's high-profile dismissal by media executive Vincent Bolloré earlier in the spring.
Plagiarism Claims and Academy Reaction
The controversy deepened after the Quebec daily newspaper La Presse reported that Orélien had engaged in extensive plagiarism during the early 2010s. The report identified copied passages across news articles and poetry. Orélien has offered no public defense regarding those findings.
Following the revelations, Orélien ended his promotional tour in France and returned to Quebec. Despite the dispute, his book has remained a bestseller in French bookstores while generating intense debate across news media and online platforms.
Académie Goncourt president Philippe Claudel initially urged caution, stating that the academy refused to condemn the author without careful review. However, the panel excluded Orélien several days later after concluding that the plagiarism findings had damaged his credibility.
The exclusion divided members of the academy. Author Pascal Bruckner defended Orélien in a column for the magazine Le Point, asking whether artificial intelligence was the true plagiarist in the dispute.
The Award Selection Process
The Prix Goncourt is awarded annually by the Académie Goncourt to recognize the best French prose work of the year. The ten-member academy convenes regularly in Paris to evaluate contenders during the autumn literary season.
The jury will announce a final selection of four finalists on October 27. The panel will then vote to choose the winner on November 3 during a traditional gathering at the Drouant restaurant in the second arrondissement of Paris.
The winner of the 2026 prize will succeed author Laurent Mauvignier, who received the award for his novel La Maison vide.
