Prix Breizh
# Prix Breizh

The prix Breizh is a French literary award bestowed under this name since 2001, on the initiative of Gwenn-Aël Bolloré. On that date, it succeeded the "Prix Bretagne" created in 1961. It crowns each year an author of Breton origin or friend of Brittany.

## History

The prix Breizh-prix Bretagne was founded in 1961 by Bretons of Paris, around Pascal Pondaven and Charles Le Quintrec, director and editor-in-chief of the weekly La Bretagne à Paris.

## The Prix Bretagne today

The Prix Bretagne, now under the patronage of Vincent Bolloré, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2011. On this occasion, a monograph Prix Bretagne Prix Breizh 50 ans traced its history (list of laureates from 1961 to 2010, texts of the 12 members of the jury).

The spirit that presides over the awarding of the Prix Bretagne could be summed up by the introduction to his thanks by Kenneth White, the 2006 winner:

"I must also say at once that I attach great importance to this prize. In awarding it, here at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, to an extravagant Scotsman of my species, a Frenchman of adoption, a European of wit, the jury of the Brittany Prize clearly shows in my eyes his intention to remove Brittany from all the confinements with which it has suffered, and to extricate Celtic culture from all the ignoble or malicious caricatures of which it has been the victim."

In 2013, the Prix Bretagne was awarded a sum of 6100 €.

## Jury

In its early days, the Prix Breizh-Prix Bretagne included writers such as Roger Nimier, Hervé Bazin, Paul Guimard, Henri Queffélec, Jean Marin.

Composition of the 2012 jury:

* President, Philippe Le Guillou
* General secretary, Jean Bothorel
* Members : Annick Cojean, Stéphanie Janicot, Georges-Olivier Châteaureynaud, Jean-François Coatmeur, Georges Guitton, Sébastien Le Fol, Patrick Mahé, Gilles Martin-Chauffier, Jean Picollec, Patrick Poivre d’Arvor.

### Laureates

| Year | Author | Work | Publisher |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1961 | Yves Le Scal | Le novice du 'Tamaris' | Éditions André Bonne |
| 1962 | Louis Martin-Chauffier | for all his body of work | |
| 1963 | Georges Bordonove | Chien de feu | Julliard |
| 1964 | Pierre-Jakez Hélias | Maner Kuz (manoir secret) | André Silvaire [fr] |
| 1965 | Jean David | Assassin | Éditions du Seuil |
| 1966 | Yann Brekilien | La Vie quotidienne des paysans en Bretagne au XIX°siècle | Hachette |
| 1967 | Xavier de Langlais | Le Roman du roi Arthur | Éditions Piazza |
| 1968 | Jean-Claude Andro | La Mer des Sargasses | Éditions Denoël |
| 1969 | Georges Guérin | Virgo et Argo | Éditions du Seuil |
| 1970 | Yvonne Chauffin | La Cellule | Plon |
| 1971 | Jean-François Chiappe | Georges Cadoudal ou la liberté | Éditions Perrin [fr] |
| 1972 | Xavier Grall | La fête de nuit | Kelenn [fr] |
| 1973 | Gérard Le Gouic | Poèmes de mon vivant | Telen Arvor |
| 1974 | Georges Perros | Papiers collés | Gallimard |
| 1975 | Eugène Guillevic | "for all his work" | |
| 1976 | Jean Sulivan | Matinales | Gallimard |
| 1977 | Jean-Edern Hallier | Le premier qui dort réveille l'autre | Le Sagittaire [fr] |
| 1978 | Louis Guilloux | "for all his work and for Carnets" | Gallimard |
| 1979 | Maurice Le Lannou | Un Bleu de Bretagne | Hachette |
| 1980 | Michel Mohrt | "for all his work" | |
| 1981 | Alain Lemoigne | L'année de passage | La Table Ronde |
| 1982 | Cathy Stephan | L'Homme-privilège | La Table Ronde |
| 1983 | Bernard Simiot | Ces messieurs de Saint-Malo | Albin Michel |
| 1984 | Hervé Le Boterf | Le brave général Cambronne | Éditions France-Empire |
| 1985 | Antony Lhéritier | "for all his work" | |
| 1986 | Jean Laugier | "for all his work" | |
| 1987 | Philippe Le Guillou | Le Dieu noir | Mercure de France |
| 1988 | Maurice Polard | Le Naufrageur | Gallimard |
| 1989 | Yves La Prairie | "for all his work" | |
| 1990 | André Le Gal | Le Roi des chiens | JC Lattès |
| 1991 | Yak Rivais | Le géant de la mer | Jean Picollec [fr] |
| 1992 | Jean-François Coatmeur | Des croix sur la mer | Albin Michel |
| 1993 | Hervé Roy | L'horizon des évènements | Le Cherche midi [fr] |
| 1994 | Georges-Olivier Chateaureynaud | Le Château de verre | Julliard |
| 1995 | Margot Bruyère | L'Enfant d'outre-tombe | Aléas |
| 1996 | Not awarded | | |
| 1997 | Yann Apperry | Qui vive | Les Editions de Minuit |
| 1998 | Colette Vlérick | La fille du goémonier | Presses de la Cité |
| 1999 | Anne-Marie Castelain | Un été bigouden | Liv'édition |
| 2000 | Not awarded |
| Year | Author | Work | Publisher |
| 2001 | Marie Le Drian. | La cabane d'Hippolyte | Julliard |
| 2002 | Jean-Luc Coatalem | Je suis dans les mers du sud sur les traces de Gauguin | Grasset |
| 2003 | Yann Queffélec | Boris après l'amour | Fayard |
| 2004 | Michel Chaillou. | 1945 | Éditions du Seuil |
| 2005 | Charles Le Quintrec. | pour l'ensemble de son œuvre | |
| 2006 | Kenneth White. | La maison des marées | Albin Michel |
| 2007 | Jean-Paul Kauffmann. | La maison du retour | NiL Éditions |
| 2008 | Stéphane Hoffmann. | Des filles qui dansent | Albin Michel |
| 2009 | Mona Ozouf. | Composition française : retour sur une enfance bretonne | Gallimard |
| 2010 | Marie Le Gall | La peine du menuisier | Éditions Phébus |
| 2011 | Anthony Palou | Fruits et Légumes | Albin Michel |
| 2012 | Claire Fourier | Les silences de la guerre | Éditions Dialogues |
| 2013 | Olivier Adam. | Les Lisières | Flammarion |
| 2014 | Irène Frain | Sorti de rien | Éditions du Seuil |
| 2015 | Cédric Morgan. | Une femme simple | Grasset |
| 2016 | Lorraine Fouchet. | Entre ciel et Lou | Héloïse d'Ormesson [fr] |
