December 16, 2021 — Organizers announced today that Palestinian author Karim Kattan had won this year’s Prix des Cinq Continents for his 2021 novel Le Palais des deux collines published by Elyzad Editions.
As a precaution against further spread of Covid-19, the jury’s deliberations were held remotely.
In a prepared statement, the jury, chaired by Paula Jacques, called it a work of “great originality.” It is Kattan’s first novel. He has also published a collection of short stories in French, Préliminaires pour un verger futur (2017). In English, his work has appeared in The Paris Review, Strange Horizons, +972 Magazine, The Funambulist, and elsewhere, and he is at work on a novel called Hotel Oriental.
Readers can find more at his website.
Judges chose Kattan’s novel from among a ten-book longlist of French books written by authors from around the world.
The official award ceremony is set to take place on March 20, 2022, in Dubai, on the sidelines of the International Day of La Francophonie. The prize comes with 15,000 euros for the winner, with an additional 5,000 euros for the special mention, which this year went to Miguel Bonnefoy for his novel Héritage.. The prize, now in its twentieth year, was created by the Organisation internationale de la francophonie.
