The French Press Prize

Sylvie Kandé is the winner of the 2026 French Press Prize. Laurence Plazenet receives a special jury mention.

The jury warmly congratulates them on their literary projects, carried out as part of the Jules Verne Creative Writing Residency in the Midwest.

Click on each portrait to read about the author and her residency project.

The prize

Created by French Press, the media outlet that gives a voice to the people shaping literature in France today, the French Press Prize honors a French-language author who has published at least two books with a publisher and is developing a literary project connected to the United States.

It was born of a collaboration between French Press, Villa Albertine, the Consulate General of France in Chicago, the network of Centers of Excellence, and the Jules Verne Creative Writing Residency in the Midwest.

A writing residency and a tour

The winner is welcomed to the Jules Verne writing residency at The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). The program, which fosters literary and cultural exchange between France and the United States, allows French-language writers to develop their project in contact with the places, landscapes, archives, and communities of the Midwest.

The winner is then invited to present their work to students, faculty, and the general public on a tour of universities in the Midwest Centers of Excellence network: Washington University in St. Louis, Indiana University, the University of Kansas, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Applications (2027)

Applications will open on May 15, 2027. The deadline for applications is August 15, 2027. The selection committee will meet in mid-September and announce the winner in the days following its deliberation.

Questions may be sent to french.press.contact@gmail.com.

More information on the Villa Albertine website

The French Press Prize jury

• Eric Bourland (Villa Albertine Chicago)
• Lionel Cuillé (Washington University in Saint Louis)
• Benjamin Hoffmann (The Ohio State University)
• Van Kelly (University of Kansas)
• Dan Maroun (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Aurore Mroz (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
• Oana Panaïté (Indiana University)

The announcement in pictures

The announcement images are in French.