Writer Didier Decoin dies at the age of 81

Paris – 05 August 2026: French writer, screenwriter and journalist Didier Decoin has died at the age of 81. Franceinfo reported this on Wednesday. For decades, Decoin was one of the influential figures in the French literary world. He wrote novels and screenplays, worked for newspapers and radio, and shaped the Académie Goncourt as a member and later as its president.

Decoin received his most important literary award in 1977 for the novel “John l’Enfer”. The book won him the Prix Goncourt, France’s most prestigious fiction prize. According to the Académie Goncourt, he published around twenty books. His debut, “Le Procès à l’amour”, appeared when he was just 20 years old. In his work, Decoin combined narrative ambition with the technical versatility that also defined his work for film and television.

His professional career began in print journalism. Decoin initially worked for France-Soir and later wrote for Le Figaro and the literary magazine Les Nouvelles littéraires, among others. He also contributed to the radio station Europe 1. In addition, he was involved in founding the news magazine VSD. For him, journalistic work remained closely connected to literary writing.

As a screenwriter, Decoin wrote numerous original works and adaptations for cinema and television. Alongside his books, this activity formed a second professional pillar. The Académie Goncourt described it as a way of securing his financial and artistic independence as a writer. At the same time, Decoin was involved in professional organizations for French authors and assumed institutional responsibilities.

He had been a member of the Académie Goncourt since 1995. From January 2020 to May 2024, he served as president of the ten-member body. He remained active there even after his term ended; on 6 May 2025, he was elected treasurer. Founded in 1903, the academy awards the Prix Goncourt and other literary prizes each year. Its decisions carry considerable weight in the French book market and can strongly influence the print runs and international translations of an awarded novel.

Decoin’s career spanned nearly every area of literary life: publishing, editorial work, broadcasting, audiovisual production and prize juries. As an author, he was associated above all with “John l’Enfer”; as an officeholder, with his long-standing work for the Académie Goncourt. There, he helped shape for more than three decades an institution whose most important prize he had himself received in 1977.