The Goncourt Academy revealed its second shortlist for the 2026 Goncourt Prize on Tuesday, October 6, reducing the original list of 16 novels to eight. The final four books will be announced on October 27, with the prize to be awarded on November 3 at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, a traditional venue for the ceremony. Earlier, on September 25, the novel C’était ça ou mourir by Thélyson Orélien (Grasset) was removed from consideration due to allegations of plagiarism and concerns about the use of artificial intelligence in its creation. Orélien denied the accusations, emphasizing his deep passion for writing and his belief that there was no need to use a machine. The situation also raised questions about the reliability of artificial intelligence detectors, as none can conclusively determine whether a text was written by a human or a machine. The eight novels now in contention are: Minotaure by Boris Bergmann (Albin Michel); Le fabuleux piano by Sonia Devillers (Robert Laffont); Nous aussi by Anne Godard (Actes Sud); La solitude des professeurs est infinie by Yannick Haenel (Gallimard); L’inconnue du quai de Javel by Philippe Jaenada (Flammarion); Choses que je croyais perdues by Clémentine Mélois (L'Arbalète/Gallimard); De l'autre côté du lac by Sylvain Prudhomme (Minuit); and La Guerre éternelle by Olivier Rolin (Gallimard). Several other novels were eliminated from the initial list, including works by Louise Chennevière, Ananda Devi, Olivier Grondeau, Lilia Hassaine, Jean-Yves Jouannais, Emma Marsantes, and Patrice Trigano. The Goncourt Academy, currently presided over by Philippe Claudel since 2024, includes notable members such as Camille Laurens, Françoise Chandernagor, Pascal Bruckner, Tahar Ben Jelloun, Pierre Assouline, Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt, and Christine Angot. This year's selection comes after the death of Didier Decoin, a former general secretary and president of the Academy, who passed away on August 5, 2026. The Goncourt Prize, while accompanied by a 10,000-euro check, is most notable for its influence on book sales and the associated exhibition. Past winners, such as Laurent Mauvignier for La Maison vide (Minuit), which sold over 565,783 copies, and Jean-Baptiste Andrea for Veiller sur elle, now approaching 890,000 copies sold, have seen significant commercial success following their recognition.