Vanier represents Quebec at the 2022 Prix Goncourt des lycéens  

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Since mid-September, ten students and two professors from Vanier College have been taken up with reading the novels shortlisted for the 2022 Prix Goncourt des lycéens. This is the second time that Vanier represents Quebec at this prestigious French literary prize.

The Vanier group, accompanied by French teachers Daniel Gosselin and Josée Tamiozzo, will be in Paris for the regional deliberations on November 21. Subsequently, if a Vanier student is elected to represent the foreign delegates, that student will participate in the final deliberations taking place in Rennes on November 24th.

Created in 1988, the Goncourt des lycéens aims to give students a taste for reading, writing and sharing their opinions while debating about the books they are reading. The Prix Goncourt des lycéens is awarded by the students themselves and allows some 2000 students from 50 classes to read the 15 books on the short list for the Goncourt prize. After the list is announced, the students have 2 months to read all the novels.

"I really appreciate the experience of reading the same books and hearing the variety of opinions expressed. I especially liked defending my favorite novels since that forced me to strengthen and explain my own critical analysis,” said Maxine Visentin.

The experience is also stimulating for teachers. “I have animated and organized a lot of activities during my 30-year career, but the Prix Goncourt des lycéens is the craziest I’ve ever undertaken,” indicates Vanier French teacher Daniel Gosselin. “In terms of socio-cultural activities, participating in the most prestigious French literary event in the world, is the greatest professional honour of my career. Finding 10 students (we received 25 applications) and getting them to read 15 novels (5000 pages) in 2 months is almost impossible, but impossible doesn’t exist in French since we are almost done! We also needed to make reservations in France, find some financing, obtain the books, many of which had not even come out yet, deal with bureaucratic technicalities, organize debates, etc. but no one needed to motivate the students, quite the opposite! I will remember this experience all my life, and surely they will too.”

“It really is an unbelievable experience to discover authors and books from elsewhere that I might never have read otherwise,” comments Emma Senkara. Another student, Katya Jutras, adds, “It was a crazy reading adventure where I happily spent all my time on public transit with books, which means a ton of hours. The advantage of reading 15 books, is that it gives you a good sampling to see the tendencies that stand out; it’s a sort of comparative study.”

Vanier College is proud to be part of the French Jury. The Vanier students heading to France represent many different origins, much like the college itself that is one of the most cosmopolitan in Quebec. Congratulations to the participants: Alek Perreault-Deslauriers, Chloe Magda Francisco, Emma Senkara, Frédérique Dumouchel, Juniel Djossou, Katya Jutras, Marcela Munguia-Rosario, Maxine Visentin, Safa Khaoula Khaldi, and Sofia Marsico Perron. Congratulations as well to Daniel Gosselin and Josée Tamiozzo who worked hard to offer students this unique experience.

Bon voyage and enjoy the deliberations!