French prize seeks AI-assisted fiction
New prize launches for books co-written with AI
Wednesday, 21 October 2026
Photo by Daniele Levis Pelusi on Unsplash
Warm-up
- Have you ever tried an AI writing tool? What did you do with it?
- What makes a good fiction story for you?
- Should prizes allow technology to help writers? Why or why not?
Vocabulary
- manuscript
- a writer’s text before it is published as a book
- submit
- to send something for a prize, job or decision
- shortlist
- a final, smaller list of candidates chosen from many
- jury
- a group that judges entries and chooses a winner
- entrepreneur
- a person who starts and runs businesses
- model
- in AI, a system like ChatGPT that produces text
- prompt
- the words you type to tell an AI what to write
- ethical
- related to right and wrong behaviour
Reading
Listen to this story
British EnglishFrance has launched the Prix Pascal de Littérature IA, a prize for fiction co-written with AI. Writers are invited to submit an unpublished manuscript of 10,000 to 50,000 words. Each entry must explain which AI model and prompt were used. All major models are allowed, including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and LLaMA. Entrants can live anywhere, but manuscripts must be in French.
It was founded by technology entrepreneurs Philippe Rodriguez, Albin Serviant and Gilles Mentré.
Organisers say entries should also point to an ethical, social or ecological problem facing humanity. Applications are open on the prize website and will close at the end of November. A shortlist of 10 will be made before the winner is announced in early December. A jury of five or six writers, critics, journalists, philosophers and publishers will be confirmed in early November.
Comprehension
- What type of writing does the new prize reward?
- What language must the manuscripts be written in?
- What details about AI use must entrants include?
- When do applications close for the prize?
- How many entries will appear on the shortlist?
Grammar focus
Modals for past deduction
Use these to guess about a past action from evidence: must have + past participle = sure; might/could have + past participle = possible; can’t have + past participle = sure it didn’t happen. (Examples constructed.)
- Only 10 names are posted; judges must have selected a shortlist.
- No prompt is attached; the entrant might have missed that step.
Grammar exercise
Complete each gap with must have / might have / could have / can't have + past participle.
- The stamp reads 1 Dec; that entry (arrive) ___ late.
- No prompt is attached; the writer (follow) ___ the rule.
- The file lists 'Claude'; they (use) ___ that model.
- The email bounced; the entrant (mistype) ___ their address.
- It says 'I live in Peru'; the entrant (live) ___ in France.
Discussion
- Should co-written AI fiction compete with human-only books? Why?
- Is asking for the model and prompt a fair rule? Explain.
- What problems could AI fiction help readers think about?
- Would you enter this prize? What idea might you submit?
Vocabulary, reading, and exercises with instant feedback
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