The Alain Spiess Prize for the Second Novel has announced its 2026 shortlist, reducing the number of eligible books from fifteen to six. The winner will be revealed on October 16. The six remaining titles are Les Sangs bleus by Sara Bourre (Grasset), Le seul gouffre du monde by Guillaume Huon (Calmann-Lévy), Jours sous soleil by Alix Lerasle (Le Castor Astral), Midgar by Noham Selcer (Gallimard), Que ta bouche me couvre de baisers by Antoine Vigne (Christian Bourgois), and Princesse by Kinga Wyrzykowska (Seuil). Nine books were eliminated in this second round of selection. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the prize, which was established in 2017 by Françoise Spiess in memory of her husband, the writer Alain Spiess. The award honors a second French-language novel that demonstrates originality in writing and comes with a prize of 2500 euros. The 2026 jury is chaired by Françoise Spiess and includes notable literary figures such as Albert Dichy, Christine Guinard, Lola Gruber, Véronique Jacob, Emmanuelle Lambert, Michel Lederer, Alexandre Lenot, Sophie-Aude Picon, Jean-Luc Vincent, and Anita Weber. In 2025, the prize was awarded to Constantin Alexandrakis for his novel L’Hospitalité au démon (Verticales), following Abigail Assor’s win in 2024 for La Nuit de David. After the October 16 announcement, the winner will be honored at an event on November 18 at the bookstore Millepages in Vincennes. A special evening celebrating the tenth anniversary of the Alain Spiess Prize for the Second Novel will also take place on November 26 at the National Book Center, featuring past winners and jury members.