Moroccan Authors Binebine and Taïa Shortlisted for Prestigious Renaudot Prize

This new selection is a true consecration for the two Moroccan authors, who thus testify to the richness as well as the vitality of Moroccan French-language literature. Indeed, the two writers had already been selected in 2017 by the Renaudot prize jury, which counts a lot in the list of any good writer who aspires to laurels.

For this year, it is with "Rue du Pardon" published on May 9 by Editions Stock that Mahi Binebine hopes to win this great literary prize. "The title of the work refers to the name of a very modest little street in Marrakech where the narrator of the novel, Hayat (life, in Arabic), grew up. The neighborhood is poor, only meanness thrives," the publishing house indicates.

From Abdellah Taïa, we must remember "La vie lente", published on March 7 by Editions Seuil. Taïa’s novel in turn tells "the tumultuous friendship between Mounir, a 40-year-old Parisian homosexual of Moroccan origin, and Madame Marty, his 80-year-old neighbor, two outcasts of the Republic living in precarious conditions after the terrorist attacks that occurred in Paris in 2015," warns his publishing house.

The productions of the two Moroccan authors are among the twelve spring novels selected by the jury, in addition to seven essays. It is worth remembering that the first selection of the Renaudot prize will be unveiled on September 4, followed by a second on October 8. As for the winner of the prize, it will be announced on November 4, just after the proclamation of the Goncourt prize.