For its centenary, the **Renaudot Prize** has announced its initial shortlist for the 2026 literary season. The jury, led by writer and journalist Frédéric Beigbeder, met at the historic restaurant Drouant and selected 17 novels and 9 essays for further consideration. Two more meetings are scheduled in October, with the final winners to be revealed on November 3, 2026. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the **Renaudot Prize**, which was established in 1926 by ten journalists and literary critics who had been waiting for the announcement of the **Goncourt Prize**, another prestigious French literary award. They named their prize after Théophraste Renaudot, a 17th-century figure who founded La Gazette, one of the earliest French newspapers and a key figure in the development of the French press. The **Renaudot Prize** has a distinguished list of past winners, including Marcel Aymé, Louis-Ferdinand Céline, Louis Aragon, Michel Butor, Georges Perec, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, Annie Ernaux, and Virginie Despentes. Unlike other literary awards, the **Renaudot Prize** does not offer a financial reward, focusing instead on literary recognition. The 2025 winner, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre, was honored for her novel Je voulais vivre, in which she reimagined the character Milady de Winter from Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers. That year’s essay prize went to Alfred de Montesquiou for Le Crépuscule des hommes, which explored the Nuremberg trials and the journalists who covered them. Other recent winners include Gaël Faye for his novel Jacaranda and Sébastien Lapaque for his essay Échec et mat au paradis. The 17 novels shortlisted for the 2026 **Renaudot Prize** include a range of contemporary French fiction, such as Minotaure by Boris Bergmann, Cipango by Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès, Le ciel ici déborde by Eva Bottega, and Un corps indocile by Osvalde Lewat. Among the nine essay entries are Aimer Jérusalem by Nathan Devers, Le Fabuleux Piano by Sonia Devillers, and Dictionnaire amoureux du bonheur by Jean-Paul Enthoven. These works reflect the diversity of French literature and the wide scope of the **Renaudot Prize**. The jury will meet again on October 7 at the Hôtel de Massa to narrow the list further. A final selection will be made on October 28 at the same venue. The winners will be announced on November 3 at Drouant, the traditional location for the **Renaudot Prize** announcement, which coincides with the day the **Goncourt Prize** is also awarded. The jury includes notable figures such as Frédéric Beigbeder, president, and Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, among others, ensuring a mix of literary expertise and critical insight.