Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien nominated for the 2026 Goncourt Prize

The Goncourt Academy unveiled its first selection for the 2026 prize on Wednesday, September 2. Among the sixteen authors selected is Thélyson Orélien, a writer born in Haiti and living in Quebec.

Le Nouvelliste
02 Sep 2026 — Lecture : 1 min.
Haitian writer Thélyson Orélien nominated for the 2026 Goncourt Prize

Thélyson Orélien
Photo : OLIVIER DION

The native of Gonaïves is nominated for his debut novel, It Was This or Die (Grasset), released in France on August 19. The author had originally published his book in Quebec with Éditions Boréal, where it established itself as the publisher's greatest success since its founding in 1963, with rights already sold in about twenty countries.

The novel has already won the Méduse Prize and the Strasbourg Espoir CIC Prize, and is still in the running for the Fnac Novel Prize, the winner of which will be announced on September 21. The upcoming selection lists for the Goncourt Prize, established in 1892 and awarded annually by the Goncourt Academy for the best work of imaginative prose, will be announced on October 6 and 27.