Following three days of deliberations, the 20 jurors of the Brive City Readers' Prize have selected their winner. Within the Brive media library, the choice fell upon debut novelist Christopher Laquieze for his captivating work La Rosa Perdida, published by JC Lattès.
This award, organized by the Brive media library and presented as part of the Brive Book Fair, aims to highlight emerging literary voices. The selection, curated by librarians, is consistently praised by jurors for its quality, diversity, and richness. The 2026 cohort was no exception, featuring numerous first-time novelists, and it was one of them who ultimately captivated the jury.
The prize, endowed with €1,500 by the City of Brive, will be presented to Christopher Laquieze on Sunday, November 8th at 2:30 PM at the Readers' Forum. He will be joined by students from the cabinetmaking program at Lycée Lavoisier in Brive, who are crafting the trophy. This award also includes an invitation for a one-month writing residency in Brive.
Born in 1996 in Arcachon, Christopher Laquieze is also an essayist and literary critic, specializing in Latin American literature. La Rosa Perdida is his first novel.
The novel is set in a fictional Latin American city and opens with the hanging of Sofia Ordoñez, denounced by her own son, Matías. Stories of love and vengeance, hope and betrayal intertwine in this sensual and cruel fresco with a rich style. Steeped in the South American magical realism cherished by readers of Miguel Bonnefoy or Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Laquieze's universe is described as enchanting and disorienting, conveying a fierce call for freedom and paying homage to those who, sometimes quietly, disrupt the established order.
