On July 13th, members of the jury for the Veolia Foundation Environmental Book Prize met at the REcyclerie, an eco-cultural third-place in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, of which Veolia is the main partner, to choose the nominees for the Prize in 2023.
National literary recognition dedicated to major environmental issues
Created in 2006, the Environment Book Prize aims to encourage and promote writers and publishers who contribute to raising awareness and mobilizing the general public around the planet's major issues. Chaired since 2019 by Dominique Bourg, honorary professor at Lausanne University and philosopher specializing in ecological issues, the jury brings together writers, specialists and personalities committed to the environment. It meets twice a year: in May, to select the 20 books in the Prize's shortlist (12 adult books and 8 children books) from over 100 works received, and in July, to decide on the 7 nominated books (4 adult books and 3 children books), as well as the winner and youth mention of the year among the latter.
The 7 books nominated in 2023
Commenting on the selection on July 13, Dominique Bourg declared: "We want to choose books that are serious, well-founded, well-argued, well-informed but also fascinating, and that raise awareness of either a new issue or a new angle on a more traditional one.”
The jury was also keen this year to highlight the need, and even the urgency, of opening up our collective imaginations, in the service of inventing a shared world, and sought a certain coherence and unity between the 4 nominated books.
The 4 books at the heart of this 18th edition of the Environment Book Prize are :
Planète en ébullition by Laurence Hansen-Løve, published by Ecosociété : a planetary revolution, destined to be the "hallmark" of the 21st century, driven by renewed currents of thought and forms of action.
La condition terrestre, habiter la Terre en communs by Sophie Gosselin and David gé Bartoli, published by Seuil : a vast survey of communities around the world that questions our relationship with modernity and invites us to re-inhabit our relationships, our affects, our imaginations in order to live an Earth in common.
Ethnographies des mondes à venir by Philippe Descola and Alessandro Pignocchi, published by Seuil : a lively, constructive conversation about the transformations needed to halt the ecological catastrophe and the multiple, hybrid actions that could bring them about.
Après le changement climatique, penser l’histoire by Dipesh Chakrabarty, published by Gallimard : an anthropological and philosophical reflection that explores Man's relationship with time and the world, whose history, past and future, is now profoundly linked to that of the human condition.
The 3 books nominated for the youth mention (8-12 years) category are :
Le super week-end de l’océan, by Gaëlle Alméras, published by Maison Georges.
La bonne idée de Mr. Johnson, by Pierre Grosz, illustrated by Rémi Saillard, published by La Cabane Bleue.
Magda - Cuisinière intergalactique - 1. Le grand tournoi, by Nicolas Wouters, illustrated by Mathilde Van Gheluwe, published by Sarbacane.
Discover the winners of the 2023 Environment Book Prize on September 9th at the "Le Livre sur la Place" literary season fair in Nancy.