Molasses of fantasy, the first novel by Francis Ouellette, is the winner of the 20th Literary Prize for college students. nes (this is how the name of the award is now spelled), awarded each year to a work in French by a Canadian author.

The 62 CEGEP students who are members of the national jury revealed their choices during the Salon du livre de Québec. Some 800 students had read and discussed the five finalist books: Morel by Maxime Raymond Bock, Sailors don’t know how to swim by Dominique Scali, Le fil du vivant by Élisa Pépin, Enlève la nuit by Monique Proulx and the grand prize-winner, Mélasse by imagination of Francis Ouellette.

The writer thus receives a scholarship of $5,000 in addition to his prestigious distinction. The Literary Prize allows thousands of young people across the province to discover contemporary Quebec works, thanks in particular to the work of dozens of teachers.

“It is an immense privilege to be able to speak to the college student population. After all, it is the future generation of readers who will be responsible for keeping Quebec’s literary health alive. That these students choose my book is a disproportionate honor, “he said in a press release from the Intercollegiate Network of Sociocultural Activities of Quebec, which oversees the Prize.