The Renaudot Prize 2026 has narrowed its shortlist for its centenary year, keeping nine novels and six essays after initially choosing 17 novels and nine essays in early September. The jury, led by Frédéric Beigbeder, will announce the finalists on October 28, with the winners to be revealed on November 3 at Drouant, the same day as the Goncourt Prize. The nine novels still in the running include works by Boris Bergmann, Jean-Marie Blas de Roblès, Hemley Boum, François-Henri Désérable, David Djaïz, Osvalde Lewat, Thélyson Orélien, Anne Percin, and Marie Petitcuénot. The six selected essays are authored by Jean-Paul Enthoven, Luz, Louis Michaud, Christophe Ono-dit-Biot, Olivier Rolin, and Joy Sorman. Thélyson Orélien's novel C'était ça ou mourir (Grasset) remains in the running for the Renaudot Prize despite being removed from the Goncourt selection on September 25. The Goncourt Academy cited accusations of plagiarism in previous texts and potential use of artificial intelligence in the novel. The book has also been excluded from the second selections of the Femina and Décembre Prizes. However, it remains in the second selection of the Renaudot Prize. The author has returned to Canada after his Canadian publisher, les éditions du Boréal, suspended the promotion of the book. Additional accusations of plagiarism involving other writings, articles, or poems have emerged. The Renaudot Prize, established in 1926, is celebrating its centenary this year. In 2025, Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre won the novel prize with Je voulais vivre (Grasset), and Alfred de Montesquiou received the essay prize for Le Crépuscule des hommes (Robert Laffont). The jury includes members such as Mohammed Aïssaoui, Dominique Bona, Patrick Besson, Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, Cécile Guilbert, Stéphanie Janicot, Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio, and Jean-Noël Pancrazi. The final selection will be made on October 28 at the Hôtel de Massa, the headquarters of the Society of Men of Letters.