Ananda Devi wins the Prix Jean Giono with a multigenerational Mauritius novel
The French prize honours Chronique d’un royaume perdu, published by Grasset, about a community’s struggle to protect its refuge.
Ananda Devi has won the 2026 Prix Jean Giono for Chronique d’un royaume perdu, published by Grasset. The verdict was announced on 10 November in Paris, France. Supported by Fondation Jan Michalski, the €10,000 award recognises the power of imagination in storytelling.
Devi returns to Mauritius to follow several generations of a family linked to a sugar estate. Their flight south and the creation of an isolated community do not guarantee lasting peace: rivalries and interests in the land reach even this refuge. The novel uses myth and the fantastic to tell a story in which collective memory is never secure. The other finalists were Pierre Ducrozet, Jean-Yves Jouannais and Anne Percin.