You are student at one of the seven UniGR partner universities and passionate about literature and writing? Take part in the short story competition, join the jury or create artwork for the printed collection!
The Literary Prize "Frontières", established in 2021 by the Université de Lorraine and the University of the Greater Region (UniGR), honors each year an outstanding French-language novel that explores the theme of “borders” in its various dimensions - geographical, social, symbolic, or imaginary.
Since the prize’s sixth edition, the student short story competition Écrire aux frontières has also given students from the UniGR community the opportunity to showcase their literary talent. With separate categories for stories written with and without generative AI, the competition encourages students to write their own short stories in French and reflect on the role of artificial intelligence in creative writing. It is open to students at all seven UniGR partner universities.
For the 2026–2027 edition, there are three ways to get involved: submit your own short story, join the jury or create artwork for the printed collection.
1. WRITE
The Écrire aux frontières short story competition is open until midnight on 5 January 2027.
To enter, submit an original, previously unpublished short story in French, between 8,000 and 15,000 characters including 
spaces, inspired by the theme of borders — geographical, social, symbolic or imaginary.
Two prizes of €1,000 are up for grabs: one for a story written without generative AI and one for a story written with it.
Submit your story: u2l.fr/concours
The two winning stories, along with the next 20 highest-ranked entries, will be published in a printed collection that will also be freely available online. The competition is open to students at universities across the Greater Region.
2. READ AND HELP PICK THE WINNER
Novel jury (4 places): Read ten novels between December and the end of March, discuss them with the other jury members and help select the winning novel. Its author will receive €5,000.
Short story jury (4 places): Read the entries in January and February, then join the other jury members for the final discussions in early March.
Apply by 8 November 2026.
Apply to join one of the jurys: u2l.fr/jury
3. GET CREATIVE
The cover of the 2026 collection was AI-generated. For the 2027 edition, we’re looking for student artwork created entirely without AI, inspired by the theme of borders. The selected work may feature on the cover or inside the collection, and its creator will receive a prize.
Deadline for submissions: 5 January 2027.
Submit your artwork: u2l.fr/illustration-frontieres
Want to work on your story? Join a writing workshop
Three writing workshops will take place in December to guide you in your writing process.
All workshops run from 12 noon to 2 pm and are open to everyone, whether you’re an experienced writer or just starting out.
- Tuesday 1 December: Saulcy University Library, Metz. Register here
- Wednesday 2 December: Faculty of Arts Library, Nancy. Register here
- Monday 7 December: IUT Nancy-Charlemagne Library, Nancy. Register here
Places are limited, so advance registration is required.
Special event: meet Marie Semelin
Join Marie Semelin, winner of the 2026 prize and patron of this year’s edition, for a literary event on Wednesday 27 January 2027 at 5:30 pm at the BU Lettres in Nancy.
Prize ceremony
The Frontières Literary Prize ceremony will take place on 18 May 2027 at 5:30 pm in the salle d’honneur at the Université de Lorraine in Nancy.
Key dates
- 8 November 2026: Deadline to apply to join a judging panel.
- 1, 2 and 7 December 2026: Writing workshops.
- 5 January 2027: Deadline for short story and artwork submissions.
- 27 January 2027: Literary event with Marie Semelin.
- 18 May 2027: Prize ceremony.
Questions? Get in touch at concours-frontieres@univ-lorraine.fr.