On November, 27, AFFDU, the French Association of Women Graduates celebrated its centenary at the Women’s book Fair “Essay Authors’ Fair”, at the town hall of the 6th arrondissement of Paris.

“In spite of the restrictions linked to the COVID, limiting the number of authors, we had quality books, known authors too, and unknown ones like me with my book just printed “L’Histoire des Inégalités entre les Femmes et les Hommes”. Luckily I sold all the books present, and the Librairie des Femmes partners were satisfied with the  global sales” Anne Nègre, President UWE. At this edition, many women authors of essays published during the year were welcomed, the Mayor wishes that this event created 26 years ago, every two years, becomes annual.

This year the event was focused on the AFFDU-UWE Award “Women’s Biographies by Women”. Anna Cabanel, the winner of the 1st edition, received the prize in the presence of the Mayor, Anne Nègre President of UWE, the First Secretary of the Hungarian Embassy and her editor Eric Peyrard of the Ampelos Publishing House. The book “Sur le glaciers en fleur” written by Anna is a biography of a Hungarian scientist, Erzsébet Kol (1897-1980), botanist and explorer. “It was during the search of the American archives Association of University Women (AAUW) in 2015 that I discovered, among the files of scholarship holders of the International Federation of University Women (in French the International Federation of Women Graduates of universities), the journey of a Hungarian botanist: Erzsébet Kol. His unusual subject of study – the snow and ice algae -, his epic scientist across North America in the middle of the 1930s and his university career outside common for a Hungarian woman at that time caught my attention.”

Anne Nègre recalled the genesis of the contest, the renewed support of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe and officially announced that UWE together with AFFDU are launching the second edition of the contest.  The aim will be to make visible all these invisible people who have worked throughout history for scientific, legislative, sports, etc. 

The prize is awarded in November next year for a biography in French of an author on the life of women who have lived in France or abroad. The biography must be made available to the AFFDU/UWE Jury on 30 August 2022.

The prize money is the publication of the Biography in French by Editions Ampelos. The laureate undertakes to rework her biography for publication if necessary.

Biographies should be sent before August 30, 2020 to the following e-mail address: bio@affdu.fr.

More information here: Prix AFFDU-UWE des Biographies de Femmes