‘Langues d’après’: take part in the Inalco Multilingual Short Story Competition!

2027 Edition: Langues d'après

For its seventh edition, Inalco’s multilingual writing competition will delve into the intricacies of the ‘Langues d'après’. From political dystopia to climate collapse, from crush to crash, via war or the deluge, life is nothing but a succession of ‘afters’ yet to come, threads stretched between a succession of ‘before’s’ ’. This broad theme, which echoes the genre of speculative fiction but need not be confined to it, invites participants to explore those decisive moments that cause narratives and languages to veer off course, leading us in the footsteps of the poetic and linguistic unknown.

Texts or digital works must be written in French, but must necessarily incorporate, even if only occasionally, a language other than standard French. All languages and linguistic varieties are permitted. Constructed and invented languages are allowed.

The deadline for submissions has been set for 15 February 2027.

Timetable 

• Until 15 February 2027 at 11.59 pm (Paris time): online submission of the short story or digital work.
• Evening of 27 April 2027: announcement of results and awards ceremony at Inalco (Paris).
• Spring 2028: publication of the short stories by Éditions Tangentielles 

How to enter ?

This international competition is open to all French-speaking students aged under 35 who are enrolled at an educational institution for the 2026–2027 academic year in France, the French-speaking world and beyond.

There are two ways to enter the competition:

• An individual short story in standard text format, ranging from 5,000 to : a short story written in French but which must necessarily include, even if only occasionally, one or more languages other than standard French. These must be original, unpublished works, ranging from 5,000 to 15,000 characters.
• Digital work, which may be collaborative (the ‘Digital Writing’ Prize): for multilingual digital texts that make use of the multimodal possibilities offered by technological media.

To enter, you must submit your work online by 15 February 2027, 23:59 (Paris time). To find out more about how to enter and to read the rules, visit the competition website (currently being updated).

Four prizes up for grabs

• Prizes for individual short stories

  First prize: €300. Second prize: €200. Third prize: €100. 
  The best short stories selected by the final jury, ranging from 6 to 12 stories depending on the year, are published by Editions Tangentielles, in partnership with the École Estienne. Editorial support is provided, and authors are invited to take part in a workshop led by a specialist in creative writing, to prepare their texts for editing and publication.

• ‘Digital Writing’ Prize 

  A single prize of €400, as well as the promotion and dissemination of the work, both online and in the book published by Éditions Tangentielles, as well as at the various events linked to the competition.

Composition of the jury

The jury, comprising external figures, teaching and research staff, administrative staff, and students from Inalco, is appointed by the organising committee of the Multilingual Short Story Competition.

An initial jury shortlists the best entries ; the final jury, comprising, amongst others, the writer acting as patron of the competition, as well as figures from the literary world, representatives from Inalco and Éditions Tangentielles, selects the three winners and may award a special mention (the Grand Jury’s ‘favourite’, with no prize other than an honourary one). A dedicated jury awards the ‘digital writing’ prize.