To many people, "mathematical literature" sounds like an oxymoron. But as you will have gathered, dear readers, the Tangente team firmly rejects any divide between the arts and sciences. Our features and special issues often explore themes that span both fields, but for the past ten years or so we have sought to take this commitment further, notably by awarding the Tangente Book Prize under the auspices of the Club Tangente, in partnership with APMEP and the Culture Math website.
More and more authors—some from mathematical circles, others initially complete outsiders—have taken up the pen to produce novels, essays, graphic novels and plays that are connected with mathematics yet belong firmly to the realm of literature. The late Denis Guedj was one of the best-known among them, with his novel Le Théorème du perroquet (Le Seuil, 1998).
Created in 2009, the Tangente Book Prize aims to showcase works of this kind, many of which appear each year. Since then, with your help, we have been able to honor a high-quality book every year—one that, as the rules put it, "makes a wide readership eager to learn more about mathematics". The proof is now beyond doubt: literature and mathematics can make excellent companions.
Vote for the 2018 Book Prize ------------------------
The Tangente Book Prize is awarded in three stages.
Stage one: a number of books published during the previous eighteen months—between January 1, 2017 and June 30, 2018 for the 2018 prize—are awarded the "Tangente label" by the editorial team when they are reviewed in Tangente, one of its special issues or Tangente Éducation, making them eligible for the prize. This year, twelve books were selected.
Stage two: throughout the summer, the choice is yours: you can vote for one of the twelve books on our shortlist. You do not need to have read them all, or even to subscribe to Tangente: the reviews published in our pages, available online at tangente-mag.com/les\_ndl.php, will help you decide. Furthermore, even if you have read only one or two of these books and enjoyed one of them, do not hesitate to give it your vote. The five books receiving the most votes—the "nominees"—will advance to the final stage.
As you can see, your vote is crucial. By voting, you lend weight to this now prestigious award and thus raise the profile of mathematical literature. So vote—and encourage your friends to do the same!
Stage three: a five-member jury, including the previous winner—Mickaël Launay for the 2018 prize—meets to choose from the five books selected by online voters.
An awards ceremony open to the public -------------------------------------
But there is also a fourth stage, new for 2018: the awards ceremony will be open to the public! In previous years, for understandable security reasons, only invited guests were admitted to the Palais du Luxembourg, where the Tangente Awards were presented. This year, however, all our readers will be invited to the event, which is expected to take place on Sunday, December 2 at the Musée des arts et métiers.
As usual, the prizes will be works of mathematical art. They will be presented to the winners of the various awards: the Tangente Book Prize, as well as the others described on the following pages—the Best Article Prize, the Novelli Prize and the Tangente High School Students' Prize.
You will also be able to meet the nominated authors, who will be invited to give talks and, if you wish, sign your copy. (Opposite: Mickaël Launay signs one of his books during Tangente's 30th-anniversary celebrations at the Musée des arts et métiers.)
The artists who created the works presented to the winners have themselves received recognition in previous years through another award, the Osc'Art Tangente. Jérémie Brunet, the "fractal artist," wrote the magnificent book on fractal art published by Éditions POLE; Patrice Jenner, the "equation engraver," was recently showcased in exhibitions held notably at the IHP; and photographer Denise Demarest-Pranville has won the Osc'Art twice. Together with the duo Scowcza and Sellig Zed, they will be invited to present their creations at the awards ceremony.
Why not showcase your writing talents? -----------------------------------------------------
Appreciating the connection between mathematics and literature means reading, of course—but also writing. Through the Best Article Prize, Tangente gives you the opportunity to put your enthusiasm—and talent—for popularizing mathematics to good use.
Open to all amateur writers keen to try their hand at writing about mathematics, this prize is an opportunity to showcase new talent in mathematical writing. The winners will have the chance to see their work published in Tangente. For some, it may mark the beginning of a regular association with Tangente, as it did for 2014 winner Fabien Aoustin, whose work now appears regularly in our pages. Subsequent winners Christian Laforest and Léo Gerville-Reache also had the opportunity to publish their first books. So why not you? The ideal: an article that would be accepted by Tangente. A mathematical topic, a narrative style—and definitely not a textbook lesson—plus one or more sidebars and suggestions for illustrations... To enter, visit the awards website (**www.tropheestangente.com**).
Two other awards involving middle and high school students will also be presented. One is the 2018 Tangente High School Students' Prize, held during the 2017–2018 school year, whose results are already known.
The other is the Bernard Novelli Prize, which honors a young middle or high school student who creates a mathematics-related computer game (see sidebar). We invite you to encourage young people you know to enter the 2018 competition. The rules will change for next year's edition, when the competition will be aligned with the school calendar.
A natural step, given that mathematical games will be the theme of Mathematics Week 2019!