Marie Ndiaye meets the press after receiving the 2009 edition of France's top book Goncourt prize for her novel "Trois Femmes Puissantes" ("Three Powerful Women") in Paris. Ndiaye makes history as the first Black women to receive the country's top literary prize, according to the Los Angeles Times.com. "I am very happy to be a woman receiving the Goncourt," says the French novelist and playwright. "This prize is an unexpected reward for 25 years of persistence." The Prix Goncourt's distinction helps books get on or remain on the bestseller lists.