Pascal Quignard has been named the 2023 Formentor de las Letras prize recipient, a distinction that highlights a lifetime of literary exploration and a distinctive voice that reshapes how readers encounter the human story. The jury noted that his work showcases a mastery in which literary thought revives the lineage of ideas and renews the expressive power of language, inviting new generations to hear old questions in a fresh cadence.
Minutes from the jury emphasize that the prize honors the construction of a sweeping thesis on the literary riddles of the human spirit. It celebrates a talent that defies the day-to-day cadence of text, steering readers toward the most unexpected dimensions of writing. The verdict reflects admiration for a writer who displaces the mundane with moments of astonishing clarity and depth, turning writing into a space of inquiry rather than a mere craft.
The jury, convened in Canfranc (Huesca), consisted of renowned figures who weighed the breadth and tempo of Quignard’s oeuvre. The adjudicators applauded his ability to live beyond conventional time, describing a flexible, luminous and penetrating way with language. They lauded the way his prolific output sustains a dazzling wisdom that revitalizes the springs of creativity found in early literary traditions.
According to the Formentor Foundation, the prize recognizes a heritage that blends Greco-Latin thought, medieval and baroque strands, Eastern perspectives, and Western philosophy. This mix sparks awe at the monumental invention that characterizes universal literature. Quignard’s work is portrayed as intense and volatile, probing the finest layers of human psychology, and as a force that renews stylistic practices and extends the reach of European intellectual heritage across genres, disciplines, and broad knowledge bases.
In light of these qualities, the jury underscored an exceptional metaphysical and anthropological elaboration—an elaborate weaving of historical, artistic, and philological threads. The Formentor Award for Letters thus recognizes Quignard for his monumental treatment of the literary enigmas of the human soul and for the lasting influence his writing has exerted on readers and thinkers alike.
Born in Verneuil-sur-Avre in 1948 into a family of musicians and scholars of classical letters, Quignard studied philosophy in Nanterre and began his career within the publishing world before dedicating himself fully to literature. He is regarded today as one of the most significant French writers, their influence spanning dozens of works and a constant reimagining of how narrative can intersect memory, history, and philosophy.
Among his most notable books are The Wurtemberg Hall (1986), All the Mornings of the World (1991), A Terrace in Rome (2000, awarded the Grand Prize by the Académie française for novels), Villa Amalia (2006, tied to the Jean Giono Grand Prize), Wandering Shadows (2002, a Goncourt Prize finalist), Mysterious Solidarity (2011), Tears (2016), and Love the Sea (2022). He also published a number of essays that blend fiction with reflective essays, such as Little Treatises and The Last Kingdom, expanding the conversation between narrative and thought.
In 2019, Quignard received the Marguerite Yourcenar prize in recognition of his work and his global contributions to art and letters. His writings have helped extend the reach of French literature beyond national borders, sparking dialogue across continents and cultures through a distinctive voice that defies easy categorization.
The Formentor Prize, with its ceremony slated to take place in Huesca at the close of September, stands as a tribute to works that reinforce literature’s prestige and cultural influence. The prize has a storied lineage of recipients who shaped global literary conversation, a tradition that includes luminaries such as Samuel Beckett, Jorge Luis Borges, Saul Bellow, Jorge Semprún, Witold Gombrowicz, Carlos Fuentes, Juan Goytisolo, Javier Marías, Enrique Vila-Matas, and Ricardo Piglia. The award underscores a shared belief in literature as a living force that bridges time, place, and idea, inviting readers to inhabit the text as a space of moral and imaginative inquiry.