Thélyson Orélien’s novel C’était ça ou mourir was dropped from the second selection of the Prix Femina, as reported by La Presse, following recent controversies surrounding alleged artificial intelligence use and plagiarism.
The Bottom Line
- Prix Femina Omission: The novel failed to make the cut for the Femina’s second literary selection of ten titles.
- Contrasting Selections: Despite losing ground at major prizes like the Femina, Goncourt, and Prix Décembre, the book secured a spot on the first selection list for the Prix de la Porte Dorée.
- Ongoing Eligibility: The author remains in the running for upcoming selections from the Renaudot, Décembre, and Médicis juries.
The Fallout From the Second Femina Selection
The second selection of the Prix Femina, unveiled on a Tuesday, bypassed Thélyson Orélien’s novel entirely, keeping titles like Yannick Haenel’s La solitude des professeurs est infinie and Véronique Ovaldé’s Vivre sans bonheur et n’en point dépérir in contention, according to La Presse. The Femina jury’s decision follows a turbulent period for the author. Just weeks prior, C’était ça ou mourir was removed from the Prix Goncourt’s consideration after anonymous posts on the social network X alleged the use of artificial intelligence in its creation. Concurrently, separate cases of plagiarism surfaced regarding Orélien’s previous journalistic and literary work, though the AI allegations remain unverified by reliable sources.
Parallel Rejections and the Porte Dorée Nomination
The literary momentum for the novel has seen a sharp divergence across French prize lists. Le Devoir reported that the Prix Décembre also dropped the title, narrowing its own race to a trio of female-authored works: Anne Godard’s Nous aussi, Daria Marx’s Tuer le vieux, and Lucie Rico’s Mais que fait ce sang sur le pull de Jennifer?. Conversely, the Prix littéraire de la Porte Dorée included Orélien’s work in its initial six-book selection. Established in 2010, the Porte Dorée prize specifically honors fiction addressing exile, immigration, and plural identities—themes that form the core narrative of Orélien’s book.
| Literary Prize | Status of C’était ça ou mourir | Key Dates & Details |
|---|---|---|
| Prix Femina | Dropped | Excluded from second list of 10; winner announced Nov 4. |
| Prix Décembre | Dropped | Excluded from second selection; finalists named. |
| Prix de la Porte Dorée | Selected | Included in initial 6-book list; winner announced Nov 25. |
| Prix Goncourt | Removed | Withdrawn from consideration following AI and plagiarism allegations. |
What Lies Ahead in the Autumn Literary Season
Despite setbacks from juries like the Femina and Goncourt, Orélien’s work—published in France by Grasset after launching in March via Éditions du Boréal in Quebec—maintains a presence in other quarters of the autumn literary circuit. Radio-Canada noted that the author’s fate across other major institutions remains partially open. The Prix Renaudot and the Prix Médicis are scheduled to announce their subsequent lists and final shortlists through the month of October, testing whether the shadow of the recent controversies will entirely halt the international trajectory that initially saw the novel’s rights sold across 22 territories.
