Maurice Casey wins the Michel Déon Prize 2026

Maurice J Casey has been announced as joint winner (with John Waddell) of the 2026 Michel Déon Prize for non-fiction, the first joint-awarding of the prestigious prize, announced at a prize ceremony in the Royal Irish Academy. HOTEL LUX: An Intimate History of Communism’s Forgotten Radicals was published by Footnote Press.

The prize was presented by Prof Daniel Carey, president of the Royal Irish Academy, and by Eugene Downes, cultural director with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The ceremony was attended by the French ambassador to Ireland, Céline Place, and featured a lecture by the winner of the 2025 Académie française Michel Déon Prize, Fabrice Humbert.

Prof Hastings Donnan, chair of the judging panel, said: “For the first time in its history, the Michel Déon Book Prize has been awarded jointly in 2026 – a compelling testament to the growing strength and vitality of Irish non-fiction…Maurice Casey’s HOTEL LUX offers a gripping and intriguing account of the personal lives of communism’s forgotten radicals.’