F. Scott Fitzgerald Literary Awards At The French Riviera Hotel Belles Rives

The 13th Annual Prix Fitzgerald Awards were held this week at the famed Hôtel Belles Rives in Juan-les-Pins on the French Riviera. The Prix Fitzgerald is a French literary award created in 2011 by Marianne Estène-Chauvin, the President of the Francis Scott Fitzgerald Academy and owner of Hôtel Belles Rives.

The Fitzgerald Prize is given to an author who evokes the spirit of Great Gatsby author in his or her own prose and published in French during that literary year. Quentin Tarantino, Nick Hornby, Julia Pierport, Jay McEirney, Whit Stillman and Jeffrey Eugenides are just a few of the previous Prix winners.

Recognizing a novel or short story "reflecting the elegance, wit, taste for style, and art of living of the American writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald," this year's nominees for the Prix Fitzgerald included Joyce Carol Oates, Ian McEwan, Manuel Vilas, Christian Kracht, and Caroline O'Donaghue. The winner of this year's prize was Joyce Carol Oates who was honored for her book 48 Clues into the Disappearance of My Sister.

The Prix Fitzgerald winner is selected by a jury of journalists, writers, and film personalities passionate about literature. Journalist Bertrand de Saint Vincent headed up this year's jury, which included writers Bertrand de Saint Vincent, Daphné Roulier-De Caunes, Marie-Dominique Lelièvre, Eric Neuhoff, François Armanet, Fréderic Beigbeder, Christophe Ono dit Biot, and actress Hélène Fillières.

It has been almost 100 years since the Fitzgeralds vacationed in Villa Saint-Louis (owned by Boma and Simone Estène and eventually renamed Hôtel Belles Rives in 1929 when it became a hotel). F. Scott Fitzgerald penned Tender is the Night at the property.

In 1925, following the success of The Great Gatsby, Scott rented the Villa with his wife Zelda and his young daughter Scottie, bragging to his friends in New York that he'd found a house on the shore with a private beach conveniently situated near the casino. Throughout his sojourn in the South of France, Fitzgerald partied with legendary writers such as Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Dorothy Parker, Archibald MacLeish, and Robert Benchley.

In a letter to Hemingway, Fitzgerald expressed his sheer joy and contentment for the area, saying, 'With our return to a beautiful villa on my beloved Riviera (between Nice and Cannes), I am happier than I've been in years. It's one of those rare, precious, and all too fleeting moments when everything in one's life seems to be in perfect harmony.

I sat down with 42-year-old Antoine Chauvin-Estène, who has taken the reigns from his now-retired mother, and he spoke about the legacy of the property and the literary inspiration for the annual celebration. “We are one of the only family-owned and operated hotels in the region. We take pride in not being run by a major hotel chain. While we are a boutique hotel, it feels more like a large villa—just like when Fitzgerald lived here. We want our guests to feel that way too.”

Last year, the hotel renovated the historic Bar Fitzgerald while keeping it authentic to its history. “We completely gutted the place and started from scratch, and yet we maintained the nostalgia by incorporating a mix of original furniture and art,” he adds. “The place is in honor of the writer, showcasing many photos of him and those who were part of The Lost Generation. My favorite room in the hotel is the Zelda suite, named after Fitzgerald’s wife.”

Hôtel Belles Rives has 43 newly renovated rooms and suites and offers the Michelin-starred restaurant La Passagère, led by Chef Aurélien Véquaud. There is also a newly renovated Bar Fitzgerald, the new Valmont Beauty Corner above the hotel’s private beach, and the famed Belles Rives Beach Restaurant, Water Sports Club, and private boat dock where the rich and famous still play.