Goncourt Academy Announces Shortlist of Winners in Beirut

The Goncourt Prize jury in March 2020 at the Drouant
restaurant. Credit: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
The Goncourt Prize jury in March 2020 at the Drouant restaurant. Credit: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
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Goncourt Academy Announces Shortlist of Winners in Beirut

The Goncourt Prize jury in March 2020 at the Drouant
restaurant. Credit: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP
The Goncourt Prize jury in March 2020 at the Drouant restaurant. Credit: Lionel BONAVENTURE / AFP

At Beirut’s Pine Residence, the jury of the Goncourt literary prize has exceptionally announced the names of the four finalists in France's most prestigious literary prize. The name of the winner will be announced, as every year, at the Drouant restaurant in Paris on November 3.

Didier Decoin, president of the Académie Goncourt, announced the names of the 2022 finalists: Giuliano da Empoli for her book ‘Le Mage du Kremlin’ (Gallimard), Brigitte Giraud for ‘Vivre Vite’ (Flammarion), Cloé Korman for ‘Les Presque Sœurs’ (Seuil) and Makenzy Orcel for ‘Une Somme Humaine’ (Rivages). The ceremony was also attended by president Philippe Claudel, Camille Laurens, and Paule Constant.

This announcement in the Lebanese capital comes on the sidelines of the 1st edition of the “Beirut Books”- International and Francophone Book Festival.

Sponsored by France’s embassy in Beirut, the festival runs over 10 days in several Lebanese regions. This is the second time the Goncourt Academy announces its finalists list from Beirut, the first was in 2012.

Beirut Books, which hosts over 100 Francophone writers from around the world, witnessed some debate following a tweet by the Lebanese culture minister Mohammad Mortada, in which he said that Beirut will never be a route for normalization through writers partaking in a cultural event, without naming the writers or the nature of their activities.

The tweet was deleted shortly, but the debate continued between some who considered that the minister is distorting Lebanon’s reputation as the country of liberties, and others who assured that there is no room for tolerance with Israel or those who support it. However, some francophone writers didn’t wait for the end of the Lebanese debate and announced they are not willing to attend the festival because they don’t feel comfortable.

Among those are Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Pascal Bruckner, Pierre Assouline, and Tahar Ben Jelloun. When the jury members were asked about their colleagues’ decision not to attend, Decoin replied: “They said why they’re not coming and voiced their opinion about that. As for Pascal, he has a personal situation.”

Asked whether it’s because the freedom of expression, Philippe Claudel said: “The entire world has problems with the freedom of expression. Even the most democratic countries have some topics that cannot be discussed, taboos are everywhere. Even in the US, there are some terms that people cannot say. It’s a universal complication. Anyone can write whatever they want on social media, and do whatever they want, in one minute.”

“I won’t feel safe in this country where killing is so easy,” Tahar Ben Jelloun said after he announced he’s not going to attend the festival. It’s worth noting that Ben Jelloun was invited to many events in Lebanon in the past years but didn’t attend any.

The academy members who came to Beirut expressed their gratitude and joy for the hospitality and warmth they received, saying they are ready to return any time, and that they will visit different regions to meet the Lebanese people. They also said their work at the academy has went beyond reading books and selecting winners, to travelling, meeting with readers, and bringing books closer to people’s tastes, which is a very important task.

About the four winners, the jurors said they are thrilled with the results because the academy was always falsely accused of excluding women, non-French candidates, or small publishing houses.

Among this year’s winners are two women, and two men including and Italian and a Swiss. Last year, Senegalese novelist Mohamed Mbougar Sarr, and a small Senegalese publishing house won the prize.

According to the jury members, their selection was mainly based on the joy of reading and the quality, noting that they spent a lovely summer exchanging and discussing the novels. The winners were selected based on the majority of voices following democratic deliberations in a videocall that included all the jury members.



Rare Pudu Birth in Argentina Sparks Conservation Hopes for Tiny Enigmatic Deer

 A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
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Rare Pudu Birth in Argentina Sparks Conservation Hopes for Tiny Enigmatic Deer

 A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)
A rare pudu fawn named Lenga, born earlier this month, is seen at the Temaiken Foundation, in Buenos Aires, Argentina November 22, 2024. (Reuters)

A rare pudu fawn was born in a biopark in Argentina earlier this month, giving scientists and conservationists a unique chance to study and collect data on the tiny enigmatic deer.

Weighing just 1.21 kg (2.7 lbs), the delicate, fragile and white-spotted male pudu fawn was named Lenga after a tree species endemic to the Andean Patagonian forest of Chile and Argentina.

"It's a very enigmatic animal, it's not easy to see," said Maximiliano Krause, Lenga's caretaker at the Temaiken Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to conserving wild species.

Pudus are one of the smallest deer species in the world, growing up to 50-cm (20-inches) tall and weighing up to 12 kg (26.5 lbs).

At just a fraction of that weight, Krause says Lenga is spending his days exploring the park with his mother Chalten and father Nicolino. Lenga is breastfeeding for the first two months until he can handle a herbivorous diet.

After that, Lenga will lose his white spots that help fawns camouflage themselves in their environment. Krause says the mottled color helps the tiny baby deer hide from both daytime and nighttime predators. At about one year, pudus develop antlers and reach up to 10 cm (4 inches).

Pudus are very elusive animals and flee in zig-zags when chased by predators. The tiny deer also face threats from wild dogs and species introduced into southern Argentina and Chile. Only about 10,000 pudus remain and are classified as near-threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"This pudu birth is obviously a joy for us," said Cristian Guillet, director of zoological operations at the Temaiken Foundation.

Guillet said that Lenga will help them research and gather data that will help conservation efforts for pudus and other Patagonian deer, like the huemul.

"(This) offers hope of saving them from extinction," Guillet said.