French Literary Awards
- Prix GoncourtOne of France's most important literary awards. Presented by the Académie Goncourt
- Grand Prix de l'ImaginaireThe awards for speculative fiction published in French; both originally in French and in translation.
- Grand Prix de Littérature PolicièreFrance's most important award for works of crime fiction.
- Prix AngoulêmeA series of awards for comics and graphic novels published in French.
Social Media Links
- BabelioA French bookish social media site similar to Goodreads or Storygraph. You can add books to your lists, add tags, reviews, etc. The site has articles and author interviews and you can look through lists to see what's currently popular among users.
- LivromancienneA Youtuber/Booktuber from France. I can't speak to the literary quality of the books talked about here, but Booktube videos can be a fun way to see what's popular in the book world and potentially find new things to read.
Databases & Journals
- ARTFL project, University of Chicago This link opens in a new windowFull-text retrieval databases of classical French writings, reference resources, bibliographies, dictionaries, encyclopedias, periodicals, pamphlets, and ARTFL newsletters. Databases include literary works, political tracts, philosophical writings, and technical treatises. Coverage starts with 12th century.
- Gallica This link opens in a new windowPublished by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Gallica is the library's virtual version. The site is available in both French and English. Here you will find full texts of works in the public domain, as well as many other types of documents and items. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIeX_XS6KHk) from their YouTube channel gives a good overview of what they have available.
Yale French StudiesISBN: 00440078Publication Date: 1948-2019A Francophone literature and culture journal published by Yale. Available on JSTOR up to 2019.
- Hathi TrustHathi Trust provides access to digitized works, including many works in French.
Fairy Tales (Contes de Fée)
D'aulnoy's Fairy Tales by
An English translation of the 17th century writer Mme d'Aulnoy's fairytales. The term "contes de fée" comes from d'Aulnoy. Her work is not available in French either at WSU or on Melcat, but is freely available on Project Gutenberg.
Intégrale des œuvres by ISBN: 9782807400122Publication Date: 2016The complete works in French of Fontaine's fairy tales available online through WSU's catalogue.
The Complete Fables of Jean de la Fontaine by ISBN: 9780252031441Publication Date: 2007-10-15From the catalogue: "Inspired new translations of the work of one of the world's greatest fabulists Told in an elegant style, Jean de la Fontaine's (1621-95) charming animal fables depict sly foxes and scheming cats, vain birds and greedy wolves, all of which subtly express his penetrating insights into French society and the beasts found in all of us. Norman R. Shapiro has been translating La Fontaine's fables for over twenty years, capturing the original work's lively mix of plain and archaic language. This newly complete translation is destined to set the English standard for this work. Awarded the Lewis Galantière Prize by the American Translators Association, 2008."
- Charles Perrault SimplifiéA site with stories simplified for children. Here is a page for stories by Charles Perrault; including Cendrillon, Barbe Bleue, Le Chat Botté, and others.
FéeriesPublication Date: 2003-presentA French journal devoted to fairy tales from the 18th and 19th centuries. Available free online.
Libraries in France and North America
- Library of Congress: Reading in French GuideFor even more information, check out this research guide from the Library of Congress. This guide has especially thorough sections on graphic novels and more recent literature.
- Bibliothèque National de France (BNF)The website for France's national library.
- Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du QuébecQuébec's national library and archives. Here you can find lists with book recommendations from a certain topic (such as this list with suggestions on Afrofuturist novels: https://www.banq.qc.ca/explorer/articles/lafrofuturisme-imaginer-le-futur-autrement/)
- Bibliothèques BordeauxBordeaux's main library. They provide a number of collections where one can find book suggestions (such as this collection of easy to read books: https://bibliotheque.bordeaux.fr/collections/lire/facile-a-lire). They also have a section of their website called PremierChapitre, where you can read the first chapter of some books online: https://bibliotheque.bordeaux.fr/numerique/premierchapitre)
- Bibliothèque de MarseilleMarseille's public library. For some of the books in their catalogue, you can read books online (depending on the book, this can be anything from a few chapters or the whole book).
SPECIAL NOTE
This Research Guide was designed and authored by Rachel Brow, as part of her School of Information Sciences Masters Program. The WSU Libraries gratefully acknowledge her sharing her expertise for the benefit of all WSU students. Thank you, Rachel, for your excellent work!
Philosophy of Literature
Les règles de l'art : genèse et structure du champ littéraire by Call Number: PK Stacks: PN 45 .B575 1992ISBN: 2020181592Publication Date: 1992 (Paris : Editions du Seuil)L'original, en français.
The Rules of Art: Gensis and Structure of the Literary Field by Call Number: PK Stacks: PN 45 .B57513 1996ISBN: 0804725683Publication Date: 1996 (Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press)This is the long-awaited study of Flaubert and the modern literary field that constitutes the definitive work on the sociology of art by one of the world's leading social theorists. The literary universe as we know it today took shape in the nineteenth century as a space set apart from the approved academies of the state. No one could any longer dictate what ought to be written or decree the canons of good taste. Recognition and consecration were produced in and through the struggle in which writers, critics, and publishers confronted one another.
Graphic Novels (Bandes desinée)
Persepolis by Call Number: PN 6747 .S245 P4713 2003ISBN: 9780375422300Publication Date: 2003-04-29The English translation of Persepolis. The publisher describes it: "Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi's acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution."
PersepolisPublication Date: 2007The Persépolis animated film. Available in French with English subtitles.
Asterix Omnibus #1 by ISBN: 9781545805657Publication Date: 2020-07-14A long running French comic series, Astérix began in 1959 and is still running today. It follows the adventures of Astérix and his fellow Gaulish warriors as they fight Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire. This volume is an English translation.
Asterix le Gaulois by Call Number: G676aISBN: 9782205000962Publication Date: 1985-01-01French edition of Astérix.
The Adventures of Tintin by Call Number: R289tISBN: 9780316006682Publication Date: 2008-11-01Les Aventures de Tintin is another long running Francophone comic series. It is a Belgian series which ran from 1929 until 1983 and follows the adventures of the titular Tintin. This set is translated into English.
Miscellaneous Links
- Project Gutenberg
Another site to try if you're looking for free e-copies of works in the public domain. There are many classic French authors available here, either in the original French or in English translation. - Numelyo
La bibliothèque numérique de Lyon (Lyon eLibrary). - Littératures du Maghreb
A hub for information on Francophone literature from the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia). Here you can find links to journals, books, author bibliographies, and a searchable database - among many other things. Be warned though that the site has not been updated since c.2015 and some links may be broken. - ABU : la Bibliothèque UniverselleA site providing digitized versions of literature in the public domain.
- Giga PresseA site that offers links to the websites of 800+ Francophone magazines (though it doesn't seem to have scholarly journals).
- AthenaHosted by the University of Geneva, Athena provides access to at least 500 Francophone texts; including works by Maupassant, Baudelaire, Hugo, Rousseau, Voltaire, etc.
- Femmes de Lettres
A resource from Gallica dedicated to French women writers.