Tangente Prize: Mathematics in Books | Tangente

Mathematics takes center stage in the books devoted to it through many forms of writing: novels, non-fiction, fiction, comics… To introduce you to these books, Tangente regularly publishes reviews, helping its readers discover the most interesting among them. But for more than ten years, our magazine has gone further, inviting you through the Club Tangente to take part in the selection process for a prize honoring the best of these works among those recently published and written in French. As the rules state, the Tangente Book Prize aims to reward "a book that has inspired a wide audience to learn more about one or more fields of mathematics".

The prize has several aims: to encourage you to share our passion for the intersection of mathematics and literature; to help the best authors gain recognition; and to show that mathematics is an integral part of culture, not merely a tool.

As the icing on the cake, several winners of this prize, as well as of the Best Article Prize, have gone on to contribute to our magazine, bringing with them their own ways of engaging with and sharing mathematical culture.

The 2020 Tangente Book Prize ------------------------------

The shortlisted books (see sidebar) are accessible to everyone, and we very much hope that a wide audience will take part in the vote to determine the "nominees," from which the jury will select the winner. The perspective of a reader whose main interest is not mathematics is just as important as that of an enthusiast, which is why we encourage everyone to vote. The winning book is chosen in two stages:

All of you are invited to vote for one of the ten shortlisted books. Now in its twelfth year, the competition once again presents a remarkably varied selection of ten books for you to choose from.

Who may vote? Anyone, provided they register on one of Tangente's websites (see sidebar). Registration is, of course, completely free.

Voting does not mean having to read every book. Even if you have read and enjoyed only one, do not hesitate to support it with your vote.

The more people take part, the more meaningful the result will be. So spread the word and encourage your friends and family to give their opinion. By doing so, you will be supporting mathematical culture.

To help you decide, you may find it useful to consult the reviews published in our issues; they are all available directly from **tangente-mag.com**.

As a reader of Tangente, you no doubt care that a substantial number of books about mathematics continue to be published. Taking part in our competition helps make that happen.

The five books receiving the most votes are submitted to a jury of experts, most of whom are independent of our editorial team, for the final decision. In particular, Bertrand Hauchecorne, editor-in-chief of Tangente, will not sit on the jury because one of his books has been shortlisted.

Bertrand Hauchecorne for his book Mathematikos (Les Belles Lettres).

The Best Article Prize Pick up your pen! ----------------------------------------------------------

The Tangente Book Prize is not the only award for mathematical literature presented by the Club Tangente. There is also the Tangente High School Students' Prize, which bears the same relationship to the Tangente Book Prize as the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens does to the Prix Goncourt. Its success continues to grow, as you will see in the article devoted to it.

Another competition, open to everyone, has also been held since 2014: the Tangente Prize for Best Article. Its purpose is to reward a non-professional author who submits an engaging, previously unpublished article on a subject related to mathematics or to the role of mathematics in another field.

So if you think you have a talent for writing, do not hesitate—give it a try! This is your chance to showcase mathematical culture. Several winners of this prize are now regular contributors to Tangente, including Fabien Aoustin, Christian Laforest, Léo Gerville-Réache, and the 2019 winner, Antoine Rolland.

The idea is to write the article as though it were intended for publication in Tangente, since seeing it published is one of the most motivating rewards for the winners and any recipients of an honorable mention. The jury will award the prize and, where appropriate, one or more honorable mentions according to the same criteria used by our magazine's editorial team. These range from originality and creativity in the choice of subject to the quality of the writing and style, while ensuring that the article remains accessible to the widest possible audience.

Style is fundamental. It must be lively and interactive. Write for adults, without talking down to them; address the reader when necessary, but never use the first person. Objectivity requires the author to step aside and let the subject take center stage. Personal opinions have no place here. Do not take yourself too seriously. Humor is essential!

Above all, this is not a lesson. "Keep it brief, not a lesson" is the guiding principle. The key is to spark the reader's interest. There are many ways to do this, including historical references and portraits of notable figures…

The challenge is to write for very different audiences at once. The article must be understandable to a high school student or science enthusiast—the prerequisites should barely exceed high school level—while remaining interesting to a teacher or scientist. Approaching subjects from an unconventional angle and highlighting novel problems can overcome this difficulty.

So give it a try: you have until September 30 to submit your article! The sidebar contains some practical information to help you enter and, who knows, perhaps see your work published in Tangente.

Tangente Awards: the prizes ----------------------------

What are the prizes for the Tangente Awards? Works of mathematical art created by artists, often former winners of the Osc'Art Tangente, who combine mathematics and art through a wide range of techniques. Among these artists are Jérémie Brunet (fractal artist), Patrice Jeener (the "engraver of equations"), Scowcza (vector art), Denise Demaret-Pranville, Claudine Cochet, and Sellig Zed (photographers). For the Best Article Prize, one of the main rewards, in addition to the artwork, is publication of the winning article in Tangente.

A Tangente Awards ceremony will be held at the end of the year. As this issue goes to press, we do not yet know exactly where it will be held or what form it will take. Circumstances permitting, the next issue—issue 196 of Tangente—will invite you to attend. The full results will appear in issue 197.