For the twelfth consecutive year, the “Polar en séries – Scelf” Award will reward a French-language crime novel, thriller, or detective story for its intrinsic qualities and its potential for adaptation into an audiovisual series. It was created with the support of SCELF – Société Civile des Éditeurs de Langue Française (Civil Society of French Language Publishers).  – as part of the Polar Connection professional program, to promote links between literature and audiovisual media.

The prize is based on a call for entries launched with Scelf among publishing houses. This call has generated a lot of interest among publishers: nearly 70 book entries were submitted in 2026. Initially, a pre-selection committee reviews the works to draw up a final list to be submitted to the jury. This committee is composed of members of Quais du Polar, Silence&Conversation and screenwriters from CinéFabrique in Lyon.

This year, the jury is composed of: 

• Michel ABOUCHAHLA, president of Écran Total
• Slimane-Baptiste BERHOUN, director (Surface, Vortex, etc.)
• Camille BERTRAND, Fiction Program Coordinator,  Arte France
• Carole LE BERRE, Program Advisor, Fiction Unit, France Télévisions
• Xavier LEHERPEUR, journalist, film and television critic, France Inter, L’Obs…
• Claire LE LUHERN, screenwriter (Furies, Soleil Noir, French Connection)
• Véra PELTEKIAN, consultant, script doctor
• Fanny ROBERT, screenwriter, producer, Anthracite Productions / Mediawan (Anthracite, Profilage, etc.)

At the awards ceremony, the 6 books in the shortlist will be presented in the form of pitches by the publishers, prior to the announcement of the award-winner by the jury. This is an opportunity to establish links between publishing houses and authors, particularly those looking for projects.

Books in the running for the 2026 edition :