The National Phonographic Publishing Union creates the La Stilla Prize, an annual award intended to distinguish a book exploring the links between literature and music. Chaired by Bertrand Burgalat, the jury will decide between eight works on November 20, 2026, at the restaurant Le Jules Verne, on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower.
Record producers now have their literary prize. THE Snepwhich represents producers, publishers and distributors of recorded music, announced Thursday, November 5, the creation of the La Stilla Prize. Each year, this new distinction will reward a work devoted to the links between literature and music, whether it is a novel, an essay, a biography or a story.
With this initiative, the union wishes to highlight the way writers view music and its place in society. A way of bringing together two forms of expression which bear witness, each in their own way, to the cultural and social developments of their time.
Eight books in the running for the La Stilla Prize
For this first edition, a reading committee selected eight works, now submitted to the jury for assessment:
- Every corner of the nightby Frank Darcel (Séguier)
- Abdallah superstarby Iman Ahmed (Actes Sud)
- Bastardsby Jean-Baptiste Hanak (The Word and the Rest)
- Rock Brothersby Patrice and Dominique Blanc-Francard (Calmann-Lévy)
- Keith Jarrett, Japan 1976by Philippe Séclier (Arléa)
- The Sorcerers’ Crucibleby Paul Greveillac (Gallimard)
- Nico who is afraid of being in the darkby Clémentine Boulard (Le Boulon)
- Black vinylby Christophe Piot (Le Cherche Midi)
This selection demonstrates the diversity of approaches to music in literature, between fiction, personal stories and musical history. From rock told by the Blanc-Francard brothers to the world of pianist Keith Jarrett, the eight works explore different eras, genres and perspectives.
Bertrand Burgalat as president of the jury
The presidency of this first edition was entrusted to Bertrand Burgalat. Musician, composer and producer, in 1995 he founded the label Tricatel. He also chaired Snep from 2020 to September 2026, when Alain Veille succeeded him.
Around him, the jury brings together personalities from music, literature, media and cultural institutions:
- Alexandra Bensamoun, professor of law at Paris-Saclay University
- Laure Darcos, senator
- Alexandre Lasch, general director of Snep
- Marie-Dominique Lelièvre, journalist and writer
- Philippe Maneuverjournalist, writer and music critic
- Florence Philbert, Director General of Media and Cultural Industries at the Ministry of Culture
- Bérénice Ravache, deputy director of the National Music Center (CNM)
- Alma Rotaeditor of WECB France
- Franck Vergeade, music editor-in-chief of Inrockuptibles
A first winner chosen on November 20 at the Eiffel Tower
The jury will meet on November 20, 2026 at Jules Verne, the restaurant located on the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. The name of the first winner will be revealed at the end of the deliberations, in the presence of the media.
The choice of location was not a coincidence. The prize takes its name from La Stilla, a singer imagined by Jules Verne in The Carpathian Castlea gothic novel published in 1892 and set in Transylvania. In this story, the singer’s voice continues to resonate after her disappearance thanks to a sound recording device.
Snep presents La Stilla as the first fictional artist whose voice was the subject of a recording. A symbol which directly refers to the vocation of the union, representing producers of recorded music.
By choosing the restaurant Le Jules Verne to award its first literary prize, Snep extends the nod to the writer even in the place of its deliberations.
The editorial staff.
