Jean-Michel Guenassia | |
|---|---|
 Jean-Michel Guenassia | |
| Born | 1950 (age 72–73) Algiers |
| Nationality | French |
| Notable works | Le Club des incorrigibles optimistes |
| Notable awards | Prix Goncourt des lycéens |
Jean-Michel Guenassia (born 1950 in Algiers) is a French writer.
His novel Le Club des incorrigibles optimistes won the Prix Goncourt des lycéens in November 2009.
A lawyer for six years, Jean-Michel Guenassia lived from his pen by writing screenplays for television. He published a detective novel in 1986, Pour cent millions at Éditions Liana Levi (prix Michel-Lebrun), then had some theatre plays performed, [1] including Grand, beau, fort, avec des yeux noirs brûlants..., in 2008 at festival d'Avignon.
His publisher Albin Michel nonetheless presented Le Club des incorrigibles optimistes issued in 2009 as the first novel of a 59-year-old unknown. [2]
In 2012, he published a second novel, La Vie rêvée d'Ernesto G.
Le Club des incorrigibles optimistes was published in 2009 by Éditions Albin Michel. [3]
In this almost 800-page book, Jean-Michel Guenassia had the ambition to write both the "novel of a generation" by carefully reconstructing the 1960s (the Cold War), the Algerian question, the appearance of rock and roll etc.) and the "melancholic chronicle of an adolescence". The title is justified by the decisive location of the novel, the back room of a Parisian bistro frequented by Joseph Kessel and Jean-Paul Sartre, where there are men who fled Communism of Eastern countries (Igor, former Russian doctor threatened by the Stalinist purges, Pavel former Czech diplomat ...) but who are all "incorrigible optimists". [4]
The novel was hailed by unanimous acclaim ( Télérama , Le Point , L'Express , Le Nouvel Observateur ...) and found a large audience. It was awarded the Prix Goncourt des lycéens on 9 November 2009 [5] and the 2010 readers Prize of Notre Temps .
The Prix Goncourt is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but results in considerable recognition and book sales for the winning author. Four other prizes are also awarded: prix Goncourt du Premier Roman, prix Goncourt de la Nouvelle, prix Goncourt de la Poésie (poetry) and prix Goncourt de la Biographie (biography). Of the "big six" French literary awards, the Prix Goncourt is the best known and most prestigious. The other major literary prizes include the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, the Prix Femina, the Prix Renaudot, the Prix Interallié and the Prix Médicis.
The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot is a French literary award.
Sylvie Germain is a French author.
Yves Navarre was a French writer. A gay man, most of his work concerned homosexuality and associated issues, such as AIDS. In his romantic works, Navarre was noted for his tendency to emphasize sensuality and "the mystical qualities of love" rather than sexuality or sensationalism. He was awarded the 1980 Prix Goncourt for his novel Le Jardin d'acclimatation.
Nicole Avril is a French academic, actress, model, and writer.
Georges-Emmanuel Clancier was a French poet, novelist, and journalist. He won the Prix Goncourt (poetry), the Grand Prize of the Académie française, and the grand prize of the Société des gens de lettres.
Patrick Grainville is a French novelist.
Agnès Desarthe is a French novelist, children's writer and translator.
Alice Zeniter is a French novelist, translator, scriptwriter, dramatist and director.
The Grand prix des lectrices de Elle is a French literary prize awarded by readers of Elle magazine.
Raymond Jean was a prolific French writer. He published more than 40 books in many genres, and won the Prix Goncourt de la nouvelle in 1983 for his book Un fantasme de Bella B. His novella La lectrice was turned into a hit film by director Michel Deville, starring Miou-Miou. It has been translated in English by Adriana Hunter for publication by Peirene Press, under the title Reader for Hire.
Claire Delannoy is a French writer and literary director. She is the Director of a series at Editions Albin Michel where she published Amélie Nothomb, Assia Djebar, and François Cheng. In 2003, she published her first novel, La Guerre, l'Amérique which was awarded the prix Goncourt du premier roman.
Brigitte Giraud is a French writer, author of novels and short stories. She was awarded the 2022 Prix Goncourt for her autobiographical novel Vivre vite.
Luc Lang is a French writer, born in a working-class family.
Carole Martinez is a French contemporary novelist.
Valentine Goby is a French writer.
Jacques Bens was a French writer and poet.
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr is a Senegalese writer. Raised in Diourbel, Senegal and later studying in France, Sarr is the author of four novels as well as a number of award-winning short stories. He won the 2021 Prix Goncourt for his novel La plus secrète mémoire des hommes, becoming the first Sub-Saharan African to do so.
Grégoire Delacourt is a French advertiser and writer.
Small Country is a novel set in Burundi by the Franco-Rwandan rapper, songwriter and novelist, Gaël Faye. It was first published in France in August 2016 by Grasset, and has since been translated into 36 languages.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
