site.bta Jean-Baptiste Andrea's Novel "Veiller sur elle" Wins 7th Choix Goncourt de la Bulgarie Competition

French writer Jean-Baptiste Andrea's novel Veiller sur elle [Watching Over Her] won the 7th Choix Goncourt de la Bulgarie [the Choice of the Goncourt Prize in Bulgaria] competition, the French Institute in Sofia said. A jury headed by French actress Penda Diouf chose their favourite novel based on the selection of the 2023 Goncourt Prize, France's top literary prize. 

On the jury were eight representatives of eight teams from three language high schools with the LabelFrancEducation seal, two French lycees, and three universities from Sofia and Veliko Tarnovo.

Within the discussion on the prize, the jury conferred a prize for creative writing on Elitsa Angelova from the St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo and an honorary prize on a tenth-grader from the International French Lycee in Varna.

Choix Goncourt de la Bulgarie aims to popularize contemporary French-language literature in Bulgaria, said the French Institute in Sofia which organizes the competition in partnership with Goncourt Academy.