French Institute in Romania launches first Goncourt Season, featuring Kamel Daoud, Nathacha Appanah
The French Institute in Romania is launching this autumn the first edition of the Goncourt Season, a three-month programme dedicated to contemporary French literature in Romania and the Republic of Moldova, featuring acclaimed writers Kamel Daoud and Nathacha Appanah among its main guests, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.
At the heart of the Goncourt Season is the Goncourt Choice of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, a programme that gives students an active role in engaging with contemporary French literature. They read and debate the novels in the official Prix Goncourt selection, compare their views and, following deliberations, make their own choice. Through the Goncourt Season, the French Institute aims to broaden the scope of this programme by bringing together meetings with writers, discussions with readers and the students' final deliberations.
'The Goncourt Season is, above all, a project built around reading and the meaningful encounters that books make possible: encounters between authors and readers, between contemporary French literature and a new generation of readers in Romania and the Republic of Moldova. We are delighted to place the students' voices at the heart of this project, because reading truly comes alive especially when it is shared. Through the Goncourt Choice of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, young people not only discover French literature, but become part of its international dialogue. The Goncourt Season is, above all, about this circulation of ideas and the power of literature to forge connections across borders,' said Melanie Martini, cultural attache at the French Institute in Romania.
Opening the Goncourt Season is Franco-Algerian writer Kamel Daoud, regarded as one of the most powerful and influential voices in contemporary French-language literature and winner of the 2024 Prix Goncourt for his novel 'Houris', who will be in Romania from 23 to 26 September, the cited source said.
He will meet the public on 23 September at the French Institute in Romania at an event moderated by literary critic Adina Dinitoiu. On 24 September, from 18:00, Daoud will take part in a discussion centred on 'Houris' with writer and cultural journalist Marius Constantinescu at the Humanitas Cismigiu bookshop. The novel has been published in Romanian by Trei Publishing House in its Anansi. World Fiction collection, translated by Irinel Antoniu.
Nathacha Appanah, an acclaimed writer known for the evocative power of her prose, will be in Bucharest from 8 to 10 October. Her novel 'La Nuit au coeur' was selected by the student jury from Romania and the Republic of Moldova as the 2025 Goncourt Choice of Romania and the Republic of Moldova.
On 8 October, from 19:00, Appanah will launch 'La Nuit au coeur' at the Humanitas Cismigiu bookshop. The novel is due to be published in Romanian by Trei Publishing House, translated by Madalina Ghiu. On 9 October, from 18:30, she will meet readers and the students who read, debated and selected her novel at the French Institute in Romania.
The Goncourt Season will culminate in the final deliberations for the 2026 Goncourt Choice of Romania and the Republic of Moldova, when students from the seven participating universities will decide which of the selected novels receives their vote. The deliberations are due to take place on either 26 November or 3 December, according to the French Institute.
The Goncourt Choice of Romania and the Republic of Moldova is part of the international Les Choix Goncourt network, launched in 1998 and developed by the Academie Goncourt together with cultural institutions and partners in numerous countries. The programme was launched in Romania in 2013 and expanded to include the Republic of Moldova in 2022.
The Goncourt Choice is distinct from the Prix Goncourt itself, awarded by the Academie Goncourt in Paris. Under the international initiative, juries in different countries consider novels from the official Prix Goncourt selection and make their own choice, the cited source explained. AGERPRES (EN - writing by: Simona Iacob)
The content of the www.agerpres.ro website has the exclusive purpose of public informing.
All the information published on this website by AGERPRES is protected by relevant legal dispositions.
It is forbidden to copy, reproduce, recompile, decompile, distribute, publish, display, modify, create derived components or products or full services, as well as any exploitation of the site's content.
Details in the section Terms of Use. If you are interested in picking up AGERPRES news items, please contact the Marketing Department – marketing@agerpres.ro.
The use of the Comments section entails your obligation to respect the AGERPRES terms and conditions in regards to the publishing of comments on the www.agerpres.ro.
Other news in category
September INSCOP barometer: AUR - 39.7%; PSD - 18.7% and PNL - 16.3%
AUR (Alliance for the Union of Romanians) leads voters' preferences for parliamentary elections, with a lead of approximately 20 percentage points over the next two parties in the ranking, PSD (Social Democratic Party) and PNL (National Liberal Party), according to the 14th edition of the INSCOP Research Barometer, conducted from September 1 to 7. Accordin
Oradea International Theatre Festival runs from 10 to 20 September, double anniversary edition
The Oradea International Theatre Festival (FITO), taking place from 10 to 20 September, is a celebratory edition marking 10 years since the event was established and 50 years since the first edition of the Short Theatre Festival, the 'Regina Maria' Theatre in Oradea, the event's organiser, announced in a release on Thursday. According to the releas
European Commissioner for Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib welcomed at Cotroceni Palace
European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib was welcomed by President Nicusor Dan at Cotroceni Palace on Thursday. Presidential adviser Valentin Naumescu said in a Facebook post that the meeting 'represented an opportunity to reaffirm the importance Romania attaches to the complex issues covered by the portfolio in q
Five-century-old medieval tower in Hotarani, restored on PNRR money
The medieval tower in Hotarani, in Farcasele commune, built around 500 years ago as a watch and observation post, has been consolidated and restored through a 1 million-euro project funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR) and will be introduced in the tourist circuit, according to Mayor Leon - Viorel Vladu.
Annual Congress of the European Society for Artificial Organs held in Iasi for first time
The 52nd edition of the Annual Congress of the European Society for Artificial Organs (ESAO), organised for the first time in Romania, is taking place at the Palace of Culture and the 'Nicolae Leon' Building of the 'Grigore T. Popa' University of Medicine and Pharmacy (UMF) in Iasi from 9 to 12 September. Organised by the Creative Life Associat
ICDL Romania reminds teaching staff of guide on responsible integration of AI in education
ICDL Romania reminds teachers, headteachers and educational institutions of GhidAIEDU.ro, the practical and free resource launched this year for the responsible integration of artificial intelligence into education, amid findings that 40% of Romanian 15-year-old pupils use AI chatbots at least once a week to help them learn, while 57% perform below the benchmark level in sol
Cattle and pig slaughtering up in July; decreases reported for poultry, sheep and goats (INS)
The number of cattle and pigs slaughtered increased in July compared with the same period in 2025, while decreases were reported for poultry, sheep and goats, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS) data published on Thursday. According to the quoted source, 44,000 cattle were slaughtered during the period under review, compared with 41,000 in
Romanian, Moldovan culture ministers highlight common European future as theatre festival opens in Chisinau
The 11th edition of the European Performing Arts Festival - Meeting of Romanian National Theatres has opened in Chisinau, with Romania's interim Culture Minister Demeter Andras Istvan highlighting the importance of ensuring the event's continuity. 'I have been coming to Chisinau with some regularity since 2010,' the minister said. 'And one
Parliament/IT committee hearings: National Cyberint Centre sent 1,300 notifications on vulnerabilities in public institutions
Romania's National Cyberint Centre has sent 1,304 notifications to various public institutions since 2021 concerning technical, procedural or human-related IT vulnerabilities within their systems, CNC head Anton Rog told a meeting of Parliament's information technology committees. The committees examined the 14 July 2026 cyberattack on the National Age
Prince Radu attends ceremony marking 165 years of veterinary medical education in Bucharest
Prince Radu took part in the anniversary ceremony marking 165 years of veterinary medical education in Bucharest, held in the Prof. Dr. Aurel Popoviciu Hall of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the Bucharest University of Agronomic Sciences and Veterinary Medicine (USAMV). The event included the launch of the commemorative album '165 Years of Veterinar
26-year-old Dutch tourist airlifted from Retezat Massif after leg injury
A 26-year-old woman who was hiking in the Retezat Mountains with a group of Dutch tourists was airlifted by helicopter from the Zanoaga Lake area on Wednesday after falling and suffering a severe leg injury.
Presidential Administration:Romania is not sending combat troops to Ukraine;priority is protection of our citizens
Romania is not sending combat troops to Ukraine, and the priority is the protection of our citizens, the Presidential Administration stated on Wednesday in a Facebook post. According to the cited source, the message is a reaction to a false narrative recently circulating online, claiming that Romania intends to send troops to Ukraine to participate in the war.
UPDATE/EC approves new Romanian product for Protected Geographical Indication status: 'Branza framantata de Teaca'
The European Commission on Wednesday approved the registration of Romania's 'Branza framantata de Teaca' as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), according to a statement by the EU executive. 'Branza framantata de Teaca' is a traditional kneaded cheese from Teaca, a village in northern Romania. It is made from raw, unpas
EU Commissioner Hadja Lahbib to visit Romania and Moldova for talks on EU civil-protection mechanisms
European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib will arrive in Bucharest on Thursday, 10 September, for discussions with President Nicusor Dan, acting Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, and Secretary of State Raed Arafat on Europe's crisis-preparedness agenda and Romania's contribution to EU civil-protection structures, the European Comm