The American Library in Paris Book Award Guidelines & FAQ
The American Library in Paris Book Award was launched in 2013 and honors a title that best realizes new and intellectually significant ideas about France, the French people, or encounters with French culture. Qualities considered in submitted works include literary merit, depth of insight, and originality. The Book Award considers works in all genres, published originally in English.
The Book Award carries a $5,000 prize, which is supported by generous funding from the Florence Gould Foundation. The past recipients of the prize reflect the diversity of intellectual and literary output that the Book Award seeks to recognize.
Eligibility
Submissions for the 2025 Award are now open for books published between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025.
- Any book-length prose fiction or nonfiction work, originally written in English, about France or the French, will be considered by our Advisory Screening Panel.
- A translation into English from another language is not eligible.
- Nominated books must be scheduled for English-language publication between 1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025 for the 2025 prize, or between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 for the 2026 prize.
- A reprint of a book first published in another year is not eligible.
- Anyone – author, publisher, agent, reader — may submit books for this award.
- Books published exclusively in electronic form or online are not eligible.
- Self-published books are eligible.
- Books by members of the Advisory Screening Panel are not eligible for the Award.
- The decision of the jury is final and no correspondence will be entered into regarding the judging process.
Please see the Book Award FAQ for additional information.
Timeline
| 2025 Book Award | 2025 Book Award | |
| Submissions open | 1 November 2024 | 1 November 2025 |
| Submissions close | 1 May 2025 | 1 May 2026 |
| Longlist announced | June 2025 | June 2026 |
| Shortlist announced | September 2025 | September 2026 |
| Winner announced | November 2025 | November 2026 |
| Book publication eligibility window | 1 July 2024 – 30 June 2025 inclusive | 1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026 inclusive |
Submission Process
Submissions for the 2025 Book Award are now open, and will close on 1 May 2025. Submissions for the 2026 Book Award (for books published between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026 inclusive) will open on 1 November 2025.
STEP ONE – Complete the online submission form and pay the 50€ submission fee per title. separate form must be submitted for each title. Contact bookaward@americanlibraryinparis.org if you want to by check or wire transfer. You will also be asked to upload a PDF of the title being submitted.
STEP TWO – Send us five (5) copies of each submitted book.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ANY CUSTOMS OR VAT FEES ARE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE ENTRANT. BREXIT AND NEW EU VAT LAWS HAVE ALTERED THE PROCESS OF SHIPPING BOOKS TO FRANCE. PLEASE TAKE CARE TO ASSURE THAT ARRANGEMENTS ARE IN PLACE TO COVER THESE COSTS BEFORE SHIPPING BOOKS.
To indicate that these books are being mailed as “sample copies,” we ask that you please indicate a value of no more than $5 per book, or $25 total, when declaring them for customs.
The American Library in Paris
Attn: Book Award Coordinator
10, rue du Général Camou
75007 Paris FRANCE
Phone number, if needed by shipper: +33 1 53 59 12 60
- If you choose to send books via FedEx, UPS, DHL, or another shipping company, please send tracking information/number to bookaward@americanlibraryinparis.org.
- All submitted books must be postmarked and mailed to the American Library in Paris no later than 1 May 2025. Print copies of books will not be returned and become the property of the American Library in Paris.
- Proof or reviewer’s copies are acceptable as long as the book’s publication date will fall on or before 30 June 2025 and must be replaced by finished copies at the time of publication.
Administration
The Award is administered by the American Library in Paris, is overseen by its Writers Council and is judged by an independent jury.
The Book Award Administrator is John Burnham Schwartz. The Book Award Coordinator is Claire Hargreaves.
Support
The American Library in Paris Book Award is made possible by a generous gift from the Florence Gould Foundation.
If you are interested in becoming a patron of the Book Award ceremony, or have questions about the prize, please write to bookaward@americanlibraryinparis.org.
Frequently asked questions
The American Library in Paris Book Award is an annual literary prize for the most distinguished book of the year, written and published in English, about France or the French. The Book Award is made possible by a generous gift from the Florence Gould Foundation. The Award is administered by the American Library in Paris and advised and supported by its Writers Council.
The American Library in Paris Book Award is not limited by genre. In 2024, the 73 entries included memoirs, children’s books, poetry, debut novels, exhibition catalogues, and academic titles as well as works of fiction, history, biography, and criticism.
All submitted books must have been written and published in English and explore France or the French in some way. In order to be eligible for the 2025 award, submitted books must be published on or after 1 July 2024 and on or before 30 June 2025.
No. Books first published in electronic form or online are not eligible.
Yes. As long as the book matches the eligibility criteria, the country in which it is published is not a consideration. Every year we receive a number of books published in France, Australia, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere.
Yes. The competition is open to authors of all nationalities. However, only books originally written and published in English are eligible.
Yes. Submissions may come from authors, publishers, agents, or readers.
Books published on or after 1 July 2024 will be eligible for the 2025 award. Books published on or after 1 July 2025 will be eligible for the 2026 award.
The book must be published by the submitting publisher during the current Award cycle’s dates (1 July 2024 and 30 June 2025). If an earlier English-language date of publication in another country is within a previous cycle’s dates (ie. 1 July 2023 and 30 June 2024), the later book is still eligible for the 2025 Award, as long as the earlier edition was not submitted during a previous cycle. If both countries’ publication dates fall within the current cycle, only one publisher needs to submit the book for consideration.
The book’s author must be living during the submission and screening process in order for the title to remain eligible. The decision to award a posthumous prize is at the discretion of the Book Award Chair.
We request that all entrees send an e-book copy alongside the hard copies of the book. However, in order for a submission to be complete, we must receive five print copies before the 1 May 2025 deadline.
Yes. We would be happy to receive proof copies—paper or electronic—in advance of the publication date. However, in order for a submission to be complete, we must receive five finished print copies once they are available.
Please contact the Award Coordinator if your book has a list price of £75 / $75 or higher : bookaward@americanlibraryinparis.org
The submission form must be filled in online. Please send books and entry fees to:
American Library in Paris
Attn: Book Award Coordinator
10, rue du Général Camou
75007 Paris FRANCE
Phone number if needed by shipper: +33 1 53 59 12 60
Once the submission is complete, one copy of your book will be added to the American Library in Paris’s circulating collection. Four copies are shared among Advisory Screening Panel members for consideration. All authors are informed of the Book Award longlist when it is made public in June, and of the Book Award shortlist when it is made public in September. The independent jury will then select the winning book from the shortlist, and the winner is announced in November. All submitted books are featured in a special Book Award display in the Library in the fall and on the Library’s website and online catalog. All authors who entered are invited to the award ceremony in Paris.
Each year’s independent jury is overseen by the members of the Library’s Writers Council.
2024 jury – Andrew Sean Greer (Jury chair), Jonas Hassen Khemiri, Ayelet Waldman
2023 jury – Doan Bui, Lauren Groff, Sudhir Hazareesingh
2022 jury – Charles Trueheart, Thomas Chatterton Williams, and Alexandra Schwartz
2021 jury – Lauren Collins, Julian Jackson, Dinaw Mengestu, and Maggie Paxson
2020 jury – Ethan Katz, Rachel Donadio, and Jake Lamar
2019 jury – Alice Kaplan, Thomas Chatterton Williams, and Pamela Druckerman
2018 jury – Diane Johnson, David Bellos, and Pierre Assouline
2017 jury – Adam Gopnik, Bruno Racine, and Stacy Schiff
2016 jury – Laura Auricchio, Robert Harris, and Robert O. Paxton
2015 jury – Laura Furman, Lily Tuck, and Fredrik Logevall
2014 jury – Alice Kaplan, Sebastian Faulks, and Pierre Assouline
2013 jury – Adam Gopnik, Julian Barnes, and Diane Johnson
The Book Award Coordinator will be pleased to answer any further questions you may have. You may reach them via e-mail at bookaward@americanlibraryinparis.org.
