BARKING UP THE RIGHT TREE

Once a year the French literary scene goes to the dogs (cats, too)

- SADIE STEIN

Snoopy the therapy dog.

It was the final event of November's crowded literary awards season — French publishing's Oscars, Emmys and Tonys rolled into just a few weeks — and the elegant Salle Goncourt of Paris' storied Restaurant Drouant was filled with creative luminaries, TV cameras and members of the press.

But one of the most anticipated honorees could not be present.

The English setter in question, a therapy dog and the subject of this year's 30 Millions d'Amis prize for nonfiction, was at the bedside birthday party of a hospital-bound two-year-old.

In his absence, Sandra Kollender, the human author of Snoopy, Un Chien Qui Fait Du Bien (Snoopy, A Dog Who Does Good), accepted the €1,000 purse (36,600 baht), which, the prize dictates, must be donated to an animal charity.

"The animal is a vector of humanity," Kollender said in an interview shortly after accepting her medal, alongside representatives from the Institut Curie Paris hospital, Snoopy's place of work, which specialises in cancer treatment.

"We experience extremely strong emotions, sometimes even overwhelming. We need to breathe; we need a gentle, joyful presence. A dog gives us that."

Warm with walnut panelling and punctuated by vitrines showcasing etchings and antique manuscripts, the Salle Goncourt speaks of ceremony. Since 1914 it has played host to the judging of the namesake literary prize, for best French-language books of the year, and, since 1926, to the Prix Renaudot.

For decades, the Prix Littéraire 30 Millions d'Amis has been given here as well. In a country whose love of books, argument and, accordingly, literary prizes is matched only by an affection for pets, the "Animal Goncourt" is certainly the sweetest such rite, but it's no less prestigious for that.