I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 427 Harvest Season
"Amos? Amos doesn't know."

As far as I know, he hasn't been paying much attention to outside affairs lately, and is focusing on creating a work.

Haha, this is just a little bit of my personal quirk. I stumbled upon the book "The Disappearing Man" in Mela's office. I loved it!!! So, I found Mela and bought the rights.

"Yes, that's a good book."

"Personally, I think sales will be excellent."

"What? You're saying Amos's works this year didn't do very well?"

"Oh my, I don't know how to evaluate your question."

As far as I know, "Before Sunrise" has sold over 1.2 million copies and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival; "About Time" has finished filming and is currently in post-production; "Million Dollar Baby" has caught the eye of director Clint Eastwood, who has already purchased the adaptation rights; and "50 First Dates" has, as far as I know, been sold.

How dare you say sales are bad?

"These books have already sold over a million copies or are on the verge of selling over a million copies."

As for *The Hunchback of Notre Dame*, it sold 764 million copies worldwide in 48 hours. How dare you say it didn't sell well?

"Let's make a bet: this year's Forbes list of highest-paid authors will only have one winner between Amos and J.K. Rowling."

"..."

Elena is going all out lately.

He makes statements in the media every day.

It seems she truly hates Guillaume Miso... In fact, it's also Guillaume Miso's fault.

Having lived in America for so long, they probably forgot some of the most basic etiquette.

If you don't want to give the manuscript to Midnight Publishing, that's fine.

You can choose another publisher, that's fine too.

But you shouldn't be negotiating with Midnight Publishing House on one hand, while simultaneously signing a contract with XO on the other.

You should know that Elena highly values ​​his work. Although the two sides had disagreements over royalties and other issues, you should at least have told her in advance.

Elena is still trying to persuade the shareholders to support her.

Then I heard that you signed with XO.

Any publishing house would probably feel uncomfortable in this situation.

If it were Mela, she might have already taken action and caused you trouble...

However, Irene Landon's statement also effectively absolved Liu Jin of any responsibility.

To Liu Jin, Guillaume was like an ant now, not worth even a second glance. Any comment he made about Guillaume would be seen as an attempt to elevate Guillaume's status. Now, with Elena as his mouthpiece, he could relax and watch the show.

……

"Mr. Miso is not imitating; we are truly in love."

After Irene exposed their marketing tactics, XO was thrown into disarray.

But Jennifer remains steadfast in her support of Guillaume.

What a silly girl!

Liu Jin offered his evaluation.

Guillaume's side was definitely just putting on an act.

But Jennifer Bartoli may not be like that.

She is still speaking up for Guillaume and still supporting him.

However, Guillaume has disappeared!

It's not exactly disappearance, but rather a sudden silence.

In this situation, shouldn't you stand up and show your true love?
The girls all bravely stepped forward, but you remained silent… Perhaps the publisher realized the seriousness of the situation and forbade him to speak; perhaps he was a bit tired of it and didn't want to continue this game. Anyway, he chickened out!

This disappointed Liu Jin somewhat.

He's still waiting to see what happens!
As a result, this is it?
Not interesting!
……

November 7th was a sunny day.

Because it was Friday, Liu Jin arrived at school a little late today.

I was a bit tired from writing yesterday, so I slept in this morning.

I don't have classes in the morning, can't I take a break?
He slept until nine o'clock before lazily getting out of bed.

First, I made breakfast for the two big ones, and then I cooked a bowl of mixed fish rice, which is Eva's favorite dish.

After finishing his work, he went out and drove Alizee's Renault to school.

Today, he didn't bring his three big ones out.

Tomorrow is the weekend, and he'll definitely be going home tonight. There's no need to drag those three little devils to school and cause trouble.

There's a dinner party tonight, so I need to go home early.

Liu Jin made arrangements in his mind and soon arrived at the school.

"Hey Amos, congratulations!"

As Liu Jin exited the parking lot, he was greeted by a school teacher who smiled and said hello.

"Joy and rejoice together!"

Liu Jin responded with a grin.

But after walking a dozen steps, he suddenly stopped.

Congratulations?

Congratulations for what?
Just then, two students from the Faculty of Arts ran past him.

"Congratulations, senior!"

"Uh-huh-huh!"

Liu Jin nodded quickly.

What exactly are they congratulating me on?!

He walked into the school, completely bewildered, and kept running into acquaintances who would congratulate him.

This struck Liu Jin as extremely strange.

Just as they reached the teaching building and were about to go to their classrooms, Xia Er stopped them.

"Amos, the professor is looking for you."

"Um, I'll be right there."

"Amos, congratulations."

"Senior Xia Er, what's wrong with everyone today? What's with all the congratulations?! I haven't stopped getting congratulations from people all the way here..."

"You do not know?"

Xia Er suddenly stopped and almost bumped into Liu Jin behind him.

"I do not know!"

Liu Jin looked completely bewildered.

Charles looked at him carefully for a moment, and after confirming that Liu Jin was not acting, he shook his head with a wry smile.

Didn't you watch the press conference this morning?

"What press conference?" "The Goncourt Prize was awarded!"

"I won an award?"

"no!"

You're just talking nonsense to me.

In fact, Liu Jin had been prepared for this for a long time.

Shortly after the start of the semester, Professor Michel approached him and discussed this year's Goncourt Prize with him.

Michel told him with certainty, "You're not going to win the Goncourt Prize this year."

"what?"

"The Goncourt Prize was established in 1903, and this year marks its 100th anniversary. Do you understand now?"

Understood!
It's the centenary.

The Goncourt Prize, given at such a momentous occasion, is absolutely not to be awarded to a foreigner.

Even if this foreigner studied in France and wrote about French stories, it's still highly unlikely...

"So who will win this year's award?"

"It's most likely Jacques Pierre-Amette."

"Who?"

"The author of Brecht's Lover".

I've read the book, but I don't know the person.

Michelle sighed and said, "If Notre Dame had been published last year, I would have definitely tried to get it for you."

but……

It's not that *The Old Man and the Sea* isn't great, but... you know.

Understand!
It's an unspoken rule.

After that conversation, Liu Jin didn't pay much attention to the award anymore.

Anyway, he'd already won the Pulitzer Prize and the Katz Prize... well, the Katz Prize isn't quite as prestigious as the five major French awards, but it's still a major French award. Liu Jin didn't seem to care; if not this year, he'd try again next year.

Therefore, Liu Jin remained calm when Charles mentioned his failure to be nominated for the Goncourt Prize.

"But you won the Théophila Renaudot Prize!"

"what?"

Envy was evident in Charles's eyes.

"Yes, Amos, you've won the Prix Renaudot. Congratulations."

Liu Jin was stunned.

He walked into Michelle's office somewhat dazed.

The professor was drinking coffee when he saw Liu Jin come in. He smiled, got up, walked around the desk, and gave Liu Jin a big hug.

"Congratulations, my child, the first Chinese recipient of the Renaudot Prize for Literature."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Liu Jin sat down.

This feeling is amazing.

He wasn't without awards, it's just...

He had never been this out of sorts when the Pulitzer Prize for Literature was announced.

Perhaps it's because he has always lived in France.

Deep down, his feelings for France were clearly stronger than for America.

Professor Michel Ranke pulled him aside and went on and on for quite a while.

Liu Jin gradually realized what was going on.

At 10:00 AM this morning, the winners of the 2003 Goncourt Prize were announced.

In fact, the winners received the notification well in advance.

At 10 a.m., Amette received the ten-euro prize money, a symbol of the Goncourt Prize, at a restaurant on the banks of the Seine.

In addition to Amet and the ten judges, news media also broadcast the event live.

The Renaudot Prize, on the other hand, is announced at a luncheon by the previous year's winner of the Prix Goncourt, after a group photo of the Goncourt laureate and the judges. The award ceremony takes place at the following year's luncheon, where the winners are announced again.

Anyway, each prize has its own rules for playing.

Liu Jin felt it was quite interesting.

"Amos, don't be discouraged. Next year, I will definitely find a way to win the Goncourt Prize for you."

Michel Ranke was clearly unhappy that Liu Jin did not receive this year's Goncourt Prize.

What works did Brecht's Lover produce?
Can it be compared to The Old Man and the Sea?
In fact, the debate surrounding this year's Goncourt Prize was also quite intense.

More than half of the judges voted for Liu Jin's "The Old Man and the Sea," but it was ultimately rejected by the chairman of the Goncourt Prize.

As I said before: this year marks the centenary of the Goncourt Prize.

At this time, it is inappropriate to award such an award to a Chinese person.

Rough words are not rough.

Ultimately, the judges chose Amet's "Brecht's Lover".

But one thing is certain: the controversy that follows will be enormous.

After all, "The Old Man and the Sea" not only set a sales record in 2002, with 873 million copies sold that year.

The works have received high praise and are highly regarded by countless people.

This work, however, failed to win the Goncourt Prize...

It's not that Brecht's Lover is bad, but in terms of its reputation and influence, it is far inferior to The Old Man and the Sea.

One can imagine the pressure the judges will face next.

But that's just how the rules are!
The Goncourt Prize has been established to promote and encourage French writers since its inception.

It targets French-language novels published in France, excluding translations.

Such a prestigious award for purely French-language works is not unacceptable to foreigners, but time must be considered.

At a moment like the centenary celebration...

Liu Jin is very open-minded.

He didn't care about the award or not.

What he cares about is how much benefit he can get.

Anyway, I've already received the benefits. As for the award, I'm lucky to have it, and I'm just accepting my fate if I lose it.

If you don't give it to me this year, what if Notre Dame is selected next year? Will you still not give it to me then?

If you don't give it to me, I'll release another Les Misérables...

I don't believe you can withstand it!

(End of this chapter)