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The Haitian poet is being awarded for his collection Paons, becoming the first author from the Caribbean diaspora to receive one of the most prestigious awards in French-language poetry.
Haitian writer and poet James Noël won the 2026 Mallarmé Prize for his collection Paons, published by Au Diable Vauvert.
The announcement, made public on June 16, marks a historic moment for Haitian and Caribbean literature. James Noël is indeed the first poet from the Caribbean diasporas to receive this prestigious award dedicated to French-language poetry.The jury, chaired by Sylvestre Clancier and made up of the twenty-eight members of the Mallarmé Academy, selected Paons from five finalist books.
The other titles in the running were Semences de l’aube by Gérard Bocholier, Le nuage et la rivière by Éric Brogniet, Le bec de la mésange by Arnoldo Feuer, and Mamie raciste by Baptiste Pizzinat.Born in Hinche in 1978, James Noël is one of the major voices in contemporary Haitian literature.
His work includes thirteen poetry collections, including Le sang visible du vitrier, Le Pyromane adolescent, Des poings chauffés à blanc, and Brexit followed by La Migration des murs.
The author has also made his mark in the field of novels with Belle merveille, published in 2017 and awarded the Grand Prix de littérature de Berlin in 2020.
He is also behind an anthology dedicated to contemporary Haitian poetry and edits the literary magazine IntranQu’illités.
Throughout his career, James Noël has received numerous international recognitions.
A former resident of the Villa Médicis, he is currently in residence at the DAAD Künstlerprogramm in Berlin.He also served as honorary president of the Paris Poetry Market 2024.
This new award comes on top of the Sirène Lapérouse Prize he won a few months earlier.
Created in 1937, the Mallarmé Prize is awarded each year to a French-speaking author for a collection of poems or for their entire body of work.
Considered one of the most important distinctions in Francophone poetry, it comes with 3,800 euros funded by the City of Brive and also includes a one-month poetry residency.
The official award ceremony will take place on November 7, 2026, as part of the 44th Brive Book Fair, held from November 6 to 8.
For Haitian literature, this recognition represents a new international acknowledgment and confirms the growing presence of Haitian authors in major cultural events of the Francophonie.
