On Monday 27 April 2026, the Fondation Servais (Servais Foundation) announced it had awarded the Servais Prize 2026 to Ian De Toffoli for his book Léa or the Theory of Complex Systems.
Chosen from a shortlist of five works, the Servais Foundation jury noted that Léa or the Theory of Complex Systems, published in 2025 by Actes Sud, weaves together two narrative strands set in different timeframes: the coming-of-age journey of Léa, a young woman committed to the environmental cause, who shifts from activism to violence, and the genealogy of the Koch family, at the head of a sprawling oil multinational that dominates politics and establishes an ideology of exploitation. From Luxembourg to the United States and then on a global scale, the narrative interweaves past and present to expose the excesses of relentless systems of logic.
The Servais Foundation said: “Through strong narrative and stylistic choices, this contemporary epic draws on documentary, theatre, the novel, poetry and oral storytelling. The author’s research into the powers and counterpowers operating within capitalist societies, as well as current issues in political ecology, forms the foundation of a powerful text. From the opening pages, the tension of the discourse, the cascade of events, the alternation of perspectives, and a style that is at times incantatory and at times stripped back, draw the reader into the heart of inescapable destinies. Faced with the vertigo of these complex systems’ opacity, the emphasis placed on the narrative and poetic materiality of the text invites readers to become vigilant observers, with consciences sharpened by empathy and critical lucidity.”
It added: “In this way, the author reactivates the mechanisms of an ancient literary tradition: presenting heroes who crystallise the ambivalence of human aspirations and allowing incompatible trajectories to coexist within a single fictional space.”
The jury of the Servais Prize 2026 is chaired by Sébastian Thiltges and composed of Fabienne Gilbertz, Danielle Igniti, Ludivine Jehin, Henning Marmulla, Diane Neises, Jérôme Netgen, Aimée Schultz and Tamara Sondag.
The official award ceremony of the Servais Prize will take place at the National Literature Centre in Mersch.
Since 1992, the Servais Prize has recognised the most significant literary work published during the previous year. It is awarded annually on the recommendation of an independent jury. The Servais Prize is endowed with €7,500.
