Nathacha Appanah’s novel La nuit au cœur was announced the winner of Prix Femina 2025 in Paris, France, on Monday, November 3, 2025.
The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created by 22 writers for the magazine La Vie heureuse (today known as Femina) in 1904. Decided annually by an exclusively female jury, they reward French-language prose and verse works by both women and men.
The 2025 jury comprises Nathalie Azoulai (president), Christine Jordis (vice-president), Evelyne Bloch-Dano, Brigitte Giraud, Paula Jacques, Mona Ozouf, Patricia Reznikov, Josyane Savigneau, and Julie Wolkenstein. Isabelle Desesquelles and Oriane Jeancourt Galignani. The premier selection (first selection), divided into French and foreign titles translated from different languages, was announced on Tuesday, September 9, the second selection on September 30; and the finalists on October 21, 2025.
Nathacha Appanah’s Gallimard-published La nuit au cœur was declared the winner in a ceremony in Paris on Monday, November 3. The novel interweaves three stories of women who are victims of violence at the hands of their partners. Walking the fine line between strength and humility, it examines the unbearable enigma of marital femicide, when the dark night takes the place of love.
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