The Haitian writer wins the 5th edition of the Méduse Prize for his first novel, ‘It Was That or Die,’ which focuses on a Haitian migrant. He opens up to Le Nouvelliste.
Haitian novelist Thélyson Orélien won the 2026 Méduse Prize for his debut novel, C’était ça ou mourir, which will be published on August 19 by Grasset. Created in 2022, this award traditionally kicks off the French literary season and highlights a newcomer expected to make an impact.
Speaking to Le Nouvelliste, Thélyson Orélien shared his first reaction, showing his excitement about the honor: “Receiving the Méduse Prize, which launches the French literary season and spotlights a novel expected to matter this season, is a great honor and immense joy.”The writer sees it above all as recognition that goes beyond just his own person. “I mainly see it as a great recognition for ‘C’était ça ou mourir’ and for the Haitian story that this novel carries,” he told Le Nouvelliste. He hopes that this award will give the book a wider audience and more broadly contribute to the visibility of Haitian literature. “I hope this honor will allow the book to reach more readers in Quebec, France, Haiti, and elsewhere, and that it will also help shine a light on our literature,” he added.
Thélyson Orélien won over two other debut novelist finalists: Jean-Philippe Louis, for Les fils du Kapokier (Gallimard), and Iman Ahmed, selected for Abdallah Superstar (Actes Sud). The prize comes with €5,000 and a work by the artist Nicolas Lefebvre. The permanent jury, chaired by David Frèche, includes Anne Berest, Marc Lambron, Simon Liberati, Thibault de Montaigu, Vanessa Schneider, Bruno de Stabenrath, and Gaël Tchakaloff. For this fifth edition, four guests joined them: Mokhtar Amoudi, Clara Dupont-Monod, Esther Teillard, and Adèle Van Reeth.Born in Haiti in 1988, Thélyson Orélien began studying law in his home country before moving to Quebec, where he notably studied at the University of Montreal. “C’était ça ou mourir” is his first novel. The story follows Jonas Dorléon, a history teacher forced into exile after his neighborhood is set on fire, who leaves Haiti for Quebec with only a diploma, some poems, and a photo of his mother. The character travels through hostile territories, from the Dominican Republic to Mexico, alongside fellow unlucky travelers, before encountering, in the United States, the brutality of the American immigration services (ICE), which is portrayed in the novel as a symbol of a system hostile to migrants.This award crowns a work that critics have described as both a poetic and dramatic odyssey, rooted in contemporary Haitian migratory experience. Following Raphaël Sigal, who was honored last year for Géographie de l’oubli (Robert Laffont), Thélyson Orélien in turn places a Haitian story at the heart of the French literary season.
For the author, the significance of the Méduse Prize goes beyond personal recognition: it touches on the place of Haitian literature in the Francophone world. In remarks he gave to Le Nouvelliste, he expressed this awareness of writing from and for Haiti, while also reaching out to a wider audience across Quebec, France, and his homeland.Thélyson Orélien, a Haitian writer based in Montreal, is experiencing a meteoric rise with this novel, published by Éditions du Boréal in Quebec and set to come out with Grasset in France on August 19. Even before its official release in Quebec, the rights to the work had already been sold in 22 countries, a number that has since risen to 23 with a new deal recently made. The American publishing house Scribner plans to release the English translation of the book in 2028.
