Watchdog savages Paris's literary lions

Jon Henley
Tuesday June 28, 2005
The Guardian

The Paris literary scene was shaken yesterday when the government's anti-corruption watchdog warned that France's most prestigious book prizes were wide open to corruption.
In its 2004 report, the SCPA, part of the justice ministry, said it was "difficult to distinguish between jury members, who are generally the authors of literary works, and the houses which publish their books. There is a risk that fair competition rules may be being broken."

The report, seen by Le Parisien newspaper, continued: "There is an evident risk of a conflict of interest. Moreover, the conditions in which the jury members are recruited or co-opted, often for life, are not exactly transparent, which makes them suspect as a matter of principle."
France's major literary awards such as the Prix Femina, the Prix Médicis and - most prestigious of all - the Prix Goncourt have long been accused of rigging their votes, taking it in turns to reward big publishers.

Of the four best-known names in French publishing, Gallimard has won the Goncourt 34 times, Grasset 16 times, Albin Michel 11 and Seuil five. Perhaps in response to mounting resentment, the prize went last year to a small and relatively recent house, Actes Sud.

In another advance, the Goncourt committee co-opted one of France's most popular and respected literary critics, Bernard Pivot, on to the jury: unlike the Pulitzer or the Booker, the jury composition of the major French contests, particularly the Goncourt, changes rarely if ever.

Nor is it uncommon to find that authors in competition for a prize are not only literary critics for well-known newspapers or magazines and commissioning editors for renowned publishing houses, but also members of the jury for rival awards.

"When you realise the millions of euros that a good Goncourt winner can generate for its publisher, you start to see the immorality of the whole thing," said a series editor for a small, independent publishing house outside Paris who asked not to be named.

"French publishing, and particularly the whole prize charade, is all about mutual back-scratching. It's scandalous really, and if it gets cleaned up that can only be a good thing."


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