The jury for the Prix des Amériques insulaires announced the three finalists for its 2026 edition: Je ne te trouverai pas deux fois dans ce même corps [I Will Not Find You Twice in This Same Body] by Haitian writer Kettly Mars (Mémoire d’encrier, 2026); Le ventre de la jungle [The Belly of the Jungle] by Cuban writer Elaine Vilar Madruga (translated from the 2024 Spanish original, El cielo de la selva [translated into English as What the Forest Devours], by Margot Nguyen Béraud, Les Léonides); and Portrait Huaco by Peruvian writer Gabriela Wiener (translated from the 2022 Spanish original, Huaco retrato, by Laura Alcoba, Métailié).

Lora Lemaréchal (Livres Hebdo) writes: “Created in 2000 to highlight the literatures of the Caribbean and the Americas, the Prix des Amériques insulaires (Prize of the Island Americas) has selected three finalist authors for its 2026 edition. [. . .] The winner will be announced in November at the conclusion of the Écritures des Amériques (Writings of the Americas) Festival in Guadeloupe.” See more information from Livres Hebdo below.

[. . .] The jury is chaired by Raphaël Confiant and composed of Sandra Araminthe, Julien Delmaire, Gilda Gonfier, Marie-Alice Mouchart, and Muriel Urtiaga.

Promoting Caribbean and American Literature

Founded in 2000 by Maryse Condé and Amédée Huyghues Despointes, the Prix des Amériques insulaires (Prize of the Island Americas) was created to promote Caribbean and American literature. Awarded every two years, it recognizes a novel while also being part of a broader project: from its inception, its founders have combined the prize ceremony with a week of meetings with the writers to introduce the public to the languages, imaginations, and literary creations of the greater Caribbean region.

This dimension has since given rise to the Écritures des Amériques (Writings of the Americas) festival, which hosts the selected authors each year. The three shortlisted authors this year, from Haiti, Cuba, and Peru respectively, are invited to participate in the event, held in Guadeloupe from November 21 to 28. [. . .]

Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. See the full, original post at https://www.livreshebdo.fr/article/le-prix-des-ameriques-insulaires-devoile-ses-finalistes