Cardiff University students participate in prestigious literary event

Students from the School of Modern Languages at Cardiff University have played a part in awarding prestigious French literary prize.

The Choix Goncourt programme is an initiative of the Higher Education, Research and Innovation Department of the French Embassy in the UK. Institut français in the United Kingdom, in partnership with the Académie Goncourt, the Maison française d’Oxford, the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie and the French bookshop Librairie La Page support the programme.

The annual event, which has been running for the last 4 years, takes place in 35 countries around the world. It advocates the teaching of French language and literature. It also advocates the translation and publication of contemporary authors.

Seven students from the School of Modern Languages participated in the reading stage of the competition. Two of these students, Samyuktha Dasarathi and Emma Hearn, were among 30 students from 15 universities from across the UK who went on to choose the winner at Institut français in London.

Four books reached the shortlist: Le Mage du Kremlin by Giuliano da Empoli (Gallimard), Vivre vite by Brigitte Giraud (Flammarion), Les Presque Sœurs by Cloé Korman (Seuil) and Une somme humaine by Makenzy Orcel (Payot & Rivages). The panel decided that the recipient of this year’s award would be Brigitte Giraud, with her book, Vivre Vite (Flammarion).

James Illingworth, who coordinated the activity at Cardiff University, said, “The Choix Goncourt UK provides students with a unique opportunity to explore French and Francophone literature outside the context of the classroom. The students involved this year have expressed themselves in French with eloquence on some of the most pressing topics of our time. Samyuktha and Emma should be proud of their exemplary representation of Cardiff at the deliberations in London.”