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‘Langues d’après’: take part in the Inalco Multilingual Short Story Contest!
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 great flood, life is nothing but a succession of ‘aftermaths’ 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 divert narratives and languages from their course, leading us in the footsteps of the poetic and linguistic unknown.
Texts or digital creations 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 accepted. Constructed and invented languages are permitted.
The deadline for submissions has been set for 15 February 2027.
Timetable
- Until 15 February 2027 at 23:59 (Paris time): online submission of the short story or digital work.
- Evening of 29 April 2027: announcement of results and awards ceremony at Inalco (Paris).
- Spring 2028: publication of the short stories by Éditions Tangentielles.
Multilingual writing workshops
All students interested in multilingual writing are invited to attend writing workshops, organised both online and in person at Inalco. These creative workshops, designed as invitations to write across languages, will provide an opportunity to reflect on what gives meaning to multilingualism in a narrative text, what makes it credible and poetic, and to share a convivial writing experience. They will be led by two of the organisers of the Inalco Multilingual Short Story Contest: Simon Lhéritier, a professional writing workshop facilitator, and Florian Targa, a cultural and scientific mediator at Inalco.
Dates of the online workshops: Thursday 3 December and Thursday 17 December, from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm.
Dates of in-person workshops: Wednesday 9 December, Thursday 21 January and Wednesday 3 February, from 4.30 pm to 7.00 pm (at Inalco, rue des Grands Moulins).
To register, please send an email to View e-mail, specifying whether you wish to take part in the online workshops, the in-person workshops (maximum 10 places), or both.
Ketty Steward, patron of the 7th edition of the contest
A message from the patron
As a science fiction writer, I specialise in the short story – which is neither a draft, nor a summary, nor the beginning of a novel. In my work, I also explore what can be achieved by playing with languages, whether real or invented, such as ‘La Française’ by Roberte Larousse, the gourmet French of ‘Foodistan’ with its stories translated into menus, and the essence of Martinican Creole that seeps through when one gets close enough to the legends of the West Indies. It is important to me, however, to remain intelligible and accessible to as many people as possible, so that reading remains a pleasure and writing remains an encounter.
Ketty Steward
I look forward to discovering what the students will come up with for this multilingual short story competition.
Biography
Ketty Steward (ktsteward.net) is the author of around a hundred short stories – mainly science fiction – as well as novels, poems, an essay and a radio drama. A Doctor of Psychology, she researches the role of storytelling in healthcare. She chairs the association Réseau Université de la Pluralité, which explores alternative visions of the future. She has recently published La meilleure version de toi et autres impostures (Goater), Le nouvel Évangile de Myriam (Mnémos), and Foodistan. Après la faim du monde (published by Argyll), as well as the essay Le Futur au pluriel : réparer la science-fiction (published by Éditions de l’Inframonde).
How can I take part?
This international contest 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 original 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 (‘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
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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 Contest.
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 publishing 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.
