The Wepler - Fondation La Poste Award
Rewards contemporary literature
The Wepler-Fondation La Poste Award is one of Paris’s unmissable literary events. It is the occasion to select France’s most talented writers and reward them for their work.
On Monday, November 9, 2015 at the Brasserie Wepler
, Archives du vent Le Tripode
, Le présent infini s'arrête P.O.L
, L'oragé Mercure de France
, Comme Ulysse P.O.L
, Mémoires d'outre-mer Gallimard
, Entre les deux il n’y a rien Verdier
, Une forêt d'arbres creux La Fosse aux ours
, La sœur L'arbalète/Gallimard
, Achab (séquelles) Verticales
, Quand le diable sortit de la salle de bain Noir sur blanc/Notabilia
, Animarex Robert Laffont
, Farigoule Bastard Le Nouvel Attila
Contact
Marie-Rose GUARNIERI
+33 1 46 06 84 30
mrguarnieri@wanadoo.fr
Press contact
Damien LAVAL
+33 6 77 94 75 81
laval.damien@gmail.com
Winners 2015
The Prize
Pierre Senges, Achab (séquelles)
Verticales
The reader will discover here the true tale of the adventures of Ahab, the so-called Captain, who survived his last battle against an immense sea creature. We will see how this wooden-legged survivor tried to sell his account of the great whale to the highest bidder, firstly as a Broadway musical comedy and then as a Hollywood screenplay. Along the way, we will meet Cole Porter and his chorus girls, but also Cary Grant, Orson Welles, Joseph von Sternberg or Scott Fitzgerald, drowned in alcohol, as well as a host of dubious producers.
The Special Mention
Lise Charles, Comme Ulysse
P.O.L
From 1953 until his death in 1978, the painter Norman Rockwell lived in Stockbridge, a small town in Massachusetts. There, his work was notably featured on several covers for the Saturday Evening Post, occasionally using town residents as models. According to the tale recounted in this novel, towards the end of his life he painted Rebecca, a young girl from Stockbridge.
The spirit behind the Prix Wepler
The Prix Wepler-Fondation La Poste was founded by Marie-Rose Guarniéri (Librairie des Abbesses) and the Fondation La Poste. Today, Michel Bessière perpetuates the cultural effervescence that the Brasserie Wepler has always known.
The Prix Wepler-Fondation La Poste is one of the unmissable literary events of the autumn.
The concept is simple: thanks to a system of turning jury members, who showcase literary excellence, the Prix Wepler-Fondation La Poste aims to loosen the constraints of literary machinery by opening up doors from the left bank to the right bank. It is not just a geographical move, but the desire to embark on an alternative critical adventure, one that is passionate, and one that distances itself from a certain “autumnal” collective enthusiasm focused on a small minority of books that can be found in other parts of the literary world.
The Jury’s philosophy
The Prix Wepler pays tribute to the literature of contemporary and past writers such as Céline, Prévert, Boris Vian, Max Jacob, Paul Verlaine, Henry Miller and more.
Academics to institutions have found refuge in Montmartre. In keeping with its libertarian tradition, the award represents a political opening in cultural sponsoring and private initiative. By supporting more challenging literary works, whose ambition is not purely commercial, this initiative allows the written word to distance itself from marketing.
Thanks to the Fondation La Poste, the award has €10,000 at its disposal for the winner, as well as €3,000 for the special mention given to a book that stands out from the others thanks to its unclassifiable character.
Rétrospective
It was back in 1998, the year of its foundation, that the Librairie des Abbesses bookshop made a particular appeal to the Fondation La Poste, the daring patron recognised for its wide variety of cultural and editorial initiatives, as well as the Brasserie Wepler, the star of Place de Clichy, and the legendary haunt of many contemporary and past writers, including Céline, Prévert, Boris Vian, Max Jacob, Francis Jammes, Stéphane Mallarmé, Paul Verlaine, Henry Miller and many more.
These are all names who defied the academics and institutions of their era, and who came to seek refuge in Montmartre.
In tribute to their literature, an original troika was born between an independent bookshop, a famous brasserie and an emblematic public company.
The prize is already fifteen years old, and has been awarded to 29 different authors, who have each benefitted from the prize sponsorship. These 29 authors are unclassifiable, yet magnificent, inaccessible, yet overwhelming…
With a perpetual sense of curiosity, the Prix Wepler-Fondation La Poste attempts in its own way to bridge the gaps in literary appreciation. Its ambition? To defend a literary point of view that celebrates adventures in words.
The Awarded Prizes
Today
The price
, le Soleil L’olivier
2014
Special mention
, La Condition pavillonnaire Noir sur Blanc
The price
, Sur la scène intérieure Faits aux éditions Gallimard
2013
Special mention
, Béton armé Editions de la Table Ronde
The price
, Millefeuille P.O.L
2012
Special mention
, La blonde et le bunker Editions de l’Olivier
The price
, les Découvertes Editions de Minuit
2011
Special mention
, Solène Verdier
The price
, Cronos Christian Bourgois éditeur
2010
Special mention
, Les jardins statuaires Éditions Attila
The price
, Yanvalou pour Charlie Actes Sud
2009
Special mention
, Par effraction Allia
The price
, Les mains gamines P.O.L
2008
Special mention
, Bastard Battle Éditions Léo Scheer
The price
, On n’est pas là pour disparaître Verticales
2007
Special mention
, Couronnes, boucliers, armures P.O.L
The price
, Trans Seuil
2006
Special mention
, Rhésus P.O.L
The price
, Vertig Denoël
2005
Special mention
, “Musulman” Roman Sabine Wespieser Éditeur
The price
, Daewoo Fayard
2004
Special mention
, Anti-Liban Verticales
The price
, Le vaillant petit tailleur Minuit
2003
Special mention
, Tu n’écriras point Seuil
The price
, Corpus scripti Denoël
2002
Special mention
, Composants Fayard
The price
, Le théoriste Verticales
2001
Special mention
, À présent Stock
The price
, Apprendre à finir Minuit
2000
Special mention
, Ma vie folle Pauvert
The price
, Des anges mineurs Seuil
1999
Special mention
, Requiem pour un sauvage Pauvert
The price
, Je n’ai pas de château Gallimard
1998