Nourissier was the secretary-general of Éditions Denoël (1952–1955), editor of the review La Parisienne (1955–1958), and an adviser with the Éditions Grasset Paris publishing house (1958–1996).
In 1970, he won the Prix Femina for his book La crève. Several of his novels have been made into films and in 1973 he was a member of the Jury at the Cannes Film Festival.
François Nourissier was elected to the Académie Goncourt in 1977. He served as the literary organization's Secretary-General in 1983 and was its president from 1996 to 2002.