Author Sandra Dussault has won the Prix Jeunesse Des Univers Parallèles 2020 (Youth Prize for Parallel Universes) for her science fiction novel Le Programme (Éditions Québec Amérique).

Gradually lifting the veil on the challenges of the Special Program for Mineurs Meurtriers (PSMM), the novel exposes the extent of the moral drift of a dehumanized society.Subjects such as ethics and the application of justice constitute the backdrop on which unfolds a moving story of survival, resilience and friendship.

The award is given to the best children’s sff novel by vote of high school students in Quebec. Two hundred twenty-seven lower secondary students who wished to participate in choosing the winner read these novels during the 2019-2020 school year as part of the French course or as members of their library’s book club.

The other finalists were Nozophobia by Mathieu Fortin (Bayard Canada) and Anna Caritas tome 1: Le Sacrilège by Patrick Isabelle (Les Malins). 

Dussault’s novel previously won the 2019 City of Quebec Literary Prize / Quebec International Book Fair.