Académie Goncourt

The Académie Goncourt is a literary organization based in Paris, France that was created by French writer and publisher Edmond de Goncourt in opposition to the then existing policies towards writers by the Académie française.

Wishing to honor his deceased brother Jules, de Goncourt named his friend Alphonse Daudet to oversee his estate that he bequeathed for the establishment of an organization to promote literature in France. Each December since 1903, a ten-member Board of the Académie has awarded the Prix Goncourt for the best work of fiction of the year. It is the most prestigious prize in French language literature, and a seat on the Board is a much-cherished position in the French literary world.

Membership is reserved to writers who have produced works in the French language but it is not limited to citizens of France. In 1996 the novelist and scriptwriter Jorge Semprun became the first foreigner, and the first spaniard to become a member of the academy.

In addition to the prix Goncourt, which comes with a symbolic cheque of 10 Euros, the Goncourt academy is also responsible for awarding 5 bourses of a more substantial nature.

The ten members of the academy are usually called les dix, and they meet the first Tuesday of each month, except in summer. Since 1914 they have convened in an oval room, the salon Goncourt on the second floor of the Drouant restaurant in the heart of Paris. The cutlery or tableware that they use while meeting and dining at the restaurant constitutes the main physical continuity of the academy. Each new member receives the fork and knife of the member which he (or she) is replacing, and a new name is then added on the knife and the fork.

The cooking is reported to be excellent.