Lucie Rico, 38, has won the 2026 Prix de Flore for her third novel, *Mais que fait ce sang sur le pull de Jennifer?* (*But What Is That Blood on Jennifer's Sweater?*), published by P.O.L. The award was presented at the renowned Café de Flore in Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the traditional venue for this literary distinction. [3] [2]
The novel, which was a standout recommendation from the autumn literary season, centers on Jennifer, a woman in her thirties who works transcribing records of layoff plans. Her life is disrupted when her computer’s period key jams, triggering a fragmented memory regarding an incident in her grandfather’s apartment in Perpignan while they were watching *Gone with the Wind*. To recover the truth, Jennifer meticulously reconstructs her grandfather’s living room, blurring the lines between humor and diffuse anxiety as she pursues a past that refuses to be classified. [4] [3]
Rico defeated finalist Iman Ahmed, author of *Abdallah superstar* (Actes Sud), with seven votes to six. Other finalists on the shortlist included Eva Bottega (*Le ciel ici déborde*, Denoël), Esther Teillard (*Fuck Circus*, Grasset), and Ada Walter (*Shanghaï, cinq heures quarante*, Calmann-Lévy). [2]
The 2026 jury, led by founders Frédéric Beigbeder and Carole Chrétiennot, included Jacques Braunstein, Manuel Carcassonne, Michèle Fitoussi, François Reynaert, Jean-Pierre Saccani, Bertrand de Saint-Vincent, Christophe Tison, Philippe Vandel, Jean-René van der Plaetsen, and Arnaud Viviant. The Prix de Flore, created in 1994, rewards promising young authors with insolent and original talent. The prize carries a monetary value of 6,150 euros and grants the winner a daily glass of Pouilly-Fumé at the café for one year. [3] [2]
This victory follows a previous honor for Rico, who received the Prix Blu Jean-Marc Roberts in early October. In discussions surrounding the book, Rico described the novel’s complex structure and its exploration of childhood trauma and traumatic amnesia. She explained that the narrative deals with the way truth is covered by multiple versions of reality, leaving the reader unsure of which version is real. She also noted that the antagonist of the story is essentially a sentence, which she felt suited the medium of literature rather than film. [2]
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Sources
- Version Femina Yannick Haenel lauréat du prix Femina 2026 avec « La solitude des professeurs est infinie » : « C’est plus que de la littérature »
- Version Femina Voici quel roman, l’un de nos coups de cœur de la rentrée littéraire, vient de remporter le prix de Flore 2026
- telerama.fr Prix de Flore 2026 : Lucie Rico l’emporte pour “Mais que fait ce sang sur le pull de Jennifer ?”
- radiofrance.fr L'écrivaine Lucie Rico remporte le prix de Flore 2026 pour "Mais que fait ce sang sur le pull de Jennifer ?"
