Books
France creates the “Prix Pascal,” a literary prize for works written with the help of artificial intelligence
The prize, named after Blaise Pascal, accepts unpublished texts in French until the end of November. The winner will be announced in early December.
By ANN Newsroom · Newsroom
October 25, 2026, 11:00 · Updated 18:40 · 1 min read
In brief
- The competition is open to anyone, regardless of literary experience or citizenship, for unpublished texts in French.
- The jury will pick 10 finalists at the end of November; the winner gets a cash award, publication and media exposure.
- The prize comes amid debate in the book world after a novel suspected of AI use was excluded from the Goncourt.
A new literary prize has been launched in France, dedicated specifically to works written with the help of artificial intelligence. According to the German news agency DPA, cited by ATSH, the “Prix Pascal” is open to everyone, regardless of literary experience or citizenship, as long as the texts are unpublished and written in French.
Participants can submit their works until the end of November. The jury will select 10 finalists, also at the end of November, and the winner will be announced in early December. Besides a cash award, the amount of which has not been disclosed, the winner will have the work published and receive media exposure.
Why Pascal
The prize is named after Blaise Pascal (1623–1662), the French mathematician, physicist, philosopher and theologian, author of the “Pensées” and inventor of a mechanical calculating machine. The organizers present him as a figure who combined advances in machinery with mastery of language.
The debate over the human author
The initiative comes as the book industry increasingly debates the role of AI in writing, the place of the human author and how works created with its help should be judged. Recently, a novel by Canadian-Haitian author Thelyson Orelien was excluded from the Prix Goncourt over suspicions that artificial intelligence had been used. Orelien told the daily “Libération” he had used AI only for research, but his Canadian publisher later ended their collaboration after new information strengthened the suspicions.
