In Metz, Anne Percin wins a prize for a novel of family memory
· BehindLines newsroom
The 2026 Erckmann-Chatrian Prize was awarded on November 2 to Anne Percin for Eugénie sous les bombes, published by Buchet-Chastel. The 97th edition followed deliberations by the jury at Metz city hall. The City of Metz and Moselle TV reported the decision.
The book follows Charles and Eugénie in the Vosges countryside at the beginning of the 20th century. He becomes a schoolteacher and she works as a domestic servant. Their paths meet as their social aspirations intertwine with their attachment to rural life. The story then follows them through the First World War.
The book draws on pages left by Charles, the author’s great-grandfather. ActuaLitté describes the discovery of these writings as the starting point for an inquiry into the couple. Moselle TV also reports the role of these family archives in the writing of the novel. This link between inherited documents and literary construction helps situate the book’s project without reducing a novel to a simple transcription of archives.
The November distinction brings renewed attention to a title from the autumn literary season. According to ActuaLitté, the book was published on August 20, 2026. Moselle TV reports that the jury made its choice unanimously. The nickname “the Lorraine Goncourt,” used for this prize, points to its regional roots. According to the City’s presentation, the award is for a Lorraine author or a novel whose plot is set in Lorraine.
Two other authors appear on this edition’s list of laureates. Nicolas Ruiz receives the History Fellowship for a book on marriage and property in 18th-century Lorraine. The Lorraine Fellowship goes to Jean-Claude Bignon for a book on wooden architecture in the Vosges. These distinctions accompany the novel prize while highlighting other ways of writing about the region.