The Haitian writer wins the 5th edition of the M\u00e9duse Prize for his first novel, ‘It Was That or Die,’ which focuses on a Haitian migrant. He opens up to Le Nouvelliste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Haitian novelist Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien won the 2026 M\u00e9duse Prize for his debut novel, C’\u00e9tait \u00e7a ou mourir<\/em>, 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Speaking to Le Nouvelliste<\/em>, Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien shared his first reaction, showing his excitement about the honor: \u201cReceiving the M\u00e9duse Prize, which launches the French literary season and spotlights a novel expected to matter this season, is a great honor and immense joy.\u201dThe writer sees it above all as recognition that goes beyond just his own person. “I mainly see it as a great recognition for ‘C’\u00e9tait \u00e7a 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien won over two other debut novelist finalists: Jean-Philippe Louis, for Les fils du Kapokier<\/em> (Gallimard), and Iman Ahmed, selected for Abdallah Superstar<\/em> (Actes Sud). The prize comes with \u20ac5,000 and a work by the artist Nicolas Lefebvre. The permanent jury, chaired by David Fr\u00e8che, includes Anne Berest, Marc Lambron, Simon Liberati, Thibault de Montaigu, Vanessa Schneider, Bruno de Stabenrath, and Ga\u00ebl Tchakaloff. For this fifth edition, four guests joined them: Mokhtar Amoudi, Clara Dupont-Monod, Esther Teillard, and Ad\u00e8le Van Reeth.Born in Haiti in 1988, Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien began studying law in his home country before moving to Quebec, where he notably studied at the University of Montreal. “C’\u00e9tait \u00e7a ou mourir” is his first novel. The story follows Jonas Dorl\u00e9on, 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 Rapha\u00ebl Sigal, who was honored last year for G\u00e9ographie de l’oubli<\/em> (Robert Laffont), Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien in turn places a Haitian story at the heart of the French literary season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For the author, the significance of the M\u00e9duse Prize goes beyond personal recognition: it touches on the place of Haitian literature in the Francophone world. In remarks he gave to Le Nouvelliste<\/em>, he expressed this awareness of writing from and for Haiti, while also reaching out to a wider audience across Quebec, France, and his homeland.Th\u00e9lyson Or\u00e9lien, a Haitian writer based in Montreal, is experiencing a meteoric rise with this novel, published by \u00c9ditions du Bor\u00e9al 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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Haitian writer wins the 5th edition of the M\u00e9duse Prize for his first novel, ‘It Was That or Die,’ which focuses on a Haitian migrant. 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