The books running for the 2026 edition - to come
Each year, the 10 members of the jury of the Quais du Polar Readers’ Award, in partnership with Le Figaro, select the best French-language crime novel of the year, from a selection made by the festival’s partner booksellers.
Discover the selection of books running for the next edition from january 2026.
- Petite-ville, de Mélikah Abdelmoumen (Mémoire d’encrier)
- On ne mange pas les cannibales, de Stéphanie Artarit (Belfond)
- Le livre des prodiges, de Olivier Ciechelski (Le Rouergue)
- Les braises de l’incendie, d’Éric Decouty (Liana Levi)
- Bleus, Blancs, Rouges, de Benjamin Dierstein (Flammarion)
- 34 m², de Louise Mey (Le Masque)
The jury
Every year, the Quais du Polar festival honours a French-language novel published during the year with the Readers’ Award. The jury is made up of ten readers selected by Quais du Polar, a representative of the Quais du Polar organisation, a representative of Le Figaro and the award-winner from the previous year. Together, they honour the French-language crime novel of the previous year from a selection of six novels pre-selected by the festival’s partner bookshops.
A jury made up of prisoners also selects the award-winner of the Noir behind bars mention.
Since 2025, a Students mention has been awarded as part of a partnership between Quais du Polar and Le Crous.
Previous winners
In previous editions, the prize was awarded to DOA for
