Bruno Nassim Aboudrar • Ysiaka Anam • Catherine Baldisserri • Elise Costa • Blandine Costaz • Aurélien Cressely • Benoît Coquil • Khadija Delaval • Nicolas Deleau • Louise Devise • David Diop • Adeline Fleury • Nathalie Fraser • Anne-Claire Jaulin • Jennifer Kerner • Yamen Manai • Nadine Laporte • Garance Meillon • Chiara Mezzalama • Raozy Pellerin • Anne Révah • Félix Terrones
BRUNO NASSIM ABOUDRAR
Former student of the École Normale Supérieure, and former resident of the Académie de France in Rome (Villa Médicis), Bruno Nassim Aboudrar is a Professor in History and Theory of the Arts at the Parisian University Sorbonne Nouvelle. He is the head to the International Laboratory for Research in the Arts (LIRA).
Author of the novel Ici-bas, Gallimard, 2009, he also wrote several essays, among which Voir les fous, PUF, 1999, Nous n'irons plus au musée, Aubier, 2000) or Comment le voile est devenu musulman, Flammarion, 2014. He recently published Qui veut la peau de Vénus ? Flammarion, 2016 and Les Dessins de la colère, Flammarion, 2021.
Les Week-ends, his come-back to fiction, will be released in January 2025 by editions Plon.
“A profuse but never suffocating writing, sometimes baroque but always mastered.” – LE MONDE
YSIAKA ANAM
grew up near Paris and now lives on the South-West coast of France. Committed French Afro-descendant author, the questions of transmission constitute the heart of her artistic and professional career. On a daily basis, she interweaves literature with different practices including clinical psychology, urban socio-anthropology and translation.
In 2018, the release of her first novel, Et ma langue se mit à danser, La Cheminante editions, gave her the opportunity to exchange with different audiences on exile and collective memory. In 2024, Atlantiques Déchaînés editions published Ysiaka Anam’s poetic collection, Nos peaux en portent les sillons..
"A travel diary exploring fundamental topics: childhood and exile, shame and silence, what prevents us from growing but also what allows us to grow” – RFI
CATHERINE BALDISSERRI
is a French translator and writer from Italian lineage. Obsessed with words and transmission she is as fluent in English, Spanish, Italian and in German as she is her mother tongue. She is based in the coastal harbour town of Pornic since 2016 where she teaches foreign languages and hosts writing workshops.
Her debut novel La Voix de Cabo was published in 2017 by éditions Intervalles. Les Grandes nacres was a lead title of the French rentrée littéraire 2023 with éditions Julliard and will be published in 2024 by Pocket. The novel was selected by Cultura as one of the gems of the 2023.
"A lovely first novel with a flowing style” – L’EXPRESS
BENOÎT COQUIL
was born in Brest, Brittany, in 1989. He is a Professor of Latin American literature at the University of Picardy.
He is the author of a literary story around the figure of the artist Marcel Duchamp, Buenos Aires n'existe pas published in 2021 by Flammarion.
His latest novel Petites Choses, is a work of fiction about an extra special mushroom, the ‘flesh of the gods’ from Central America which became the psychedelic candy of the West in the 70s. Revolving around the figures of singular banker, Gordon Wasson, his wife, the no less singular Valentina Wasson, and the fascinating priestess María Sabina. The novel was published in August 2023 by éditions Rivages and long listed for the prix Femina and prix Castel. On going translations in Spanish, German and Italian, movie rights under option.
“A bubbling novel – between a picaresque story and an historical document – which grabs and enchants us.” – BIBA
ELISE COSTA
was born in Paris in 1982. French journalist, she is specialised in legal affairs. Her signature tone and insight on social media and work as a podcast host and writer gathered her much attention.
Les nuits que l’on choisit, inspired by the life as a court reporter, was published in March 2023 by éditions Marchialy and will be released in pocket edition by Folio in 2024.
“There is no morality in criminal cases, no more than saints or demons, heroes or monsters. As always, this is a story about ordinary people.”
BLANDINE COSTAZ
is a French author and actress. She has a long time lived and worked in Berlin before settling in Villeurbanne near Lyon in France. Some plays and performances led her in Italy and Switzerland, others in Finland. As long as there is a river and a border nearby, everything is fine for her.
Her first play Revenez demain was published by editions Les Cygnes in 2016 while her debut novel, De l’autre côté du songe, was published in 2022 by Anne Carrière editions calling her the French heir of Lewis Carroll.
“A dreamlike first novel with an original atmosphere, an author to follow. This story is refreshing and plunges us into a complex universe where nature and shamanism meet.” – SCIENCE-FI UNIVERSE
AURÉLIEN CRESSELY
Born in France in 1988, Aurélien Cressely grew up in Parisian suburbs and now lives in Paris.
After a degree in history and political science, he successfully evolves in the insurances industry. Keen on all arts, he devotes his free time to wander museums’ exhibitions, see plays, watch movies and, above all, read. In his literary works Aurélien Cressely intertwines history, memory and fiction.
His debut novel, Par-delà l’oubli, inspired by the life of René Blum, was published in August 2023 by éditions Gallimard.
“An ardent and salutary debut novel.” – L’OBS
KHADIJA DELAVAL
was born in Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia, in 1973. Having travelled widely throughout her childhood and professional career, she now calls Geneva home.
After studying law, she found her academic happiness with ethnology, while exploring English literature and journalism.
Although writing has always been an essential part of her life, La Nièce du taxidermiste is her first work of fiction. This debut novel was the runner-up for the Georges Nicole literary prize which rewards new, yet-to-be-published voices of Swiss-French literature.
The novel was published in 2022 by Calmann-Lévy as part of the French rentrée littéraire.
“Khadija Delaval depicts a seemingly ideal world, where the wind smells of jasmine, where the aunts are free – they wish –, but where the brutality of men is taboo, killing from generation to generation.” – LE FIGARO
NICOLAS DELEAU
Nicolas Deleau was born in 1974 in France where he graduated from the École Normale Supérieure in literature. He spent 15 months on the Kerguelen Islands, then pursued his journey to Angola, Ethiopia and more recently, India. He now lives and teaches in Prague, Czech Republic.
His first novel Les Rois d’ailleurs, Rivages, 2012, garnered him much respect in France. Close contributor to Indianostrum Theatre, theatre company located at Pondicherry, Nicolas Deleau writes plays and directed haunting ephemeral creations. He is the author of the children story Maskime et les petites choses, published in France by éditions des Éléphants in 2019 and translated in Chinese and Russian.
His novel, Des Rêves à tenir, éditions Grasset, 2020, won the literary prize “Habiter le monde". He signed with author Anne Douaire-Banny and illustrator Claire Malary a literary project around the figure of Aimé Césaire for éditions Flammarion, Aimé Césaire, Vivre debout. Nicolas Deleau new literary projects are to be published in 2024 by Klincksieck editions and Gallimard Jeunesse.
LOUISE DEVISE
Born in France in 1959, Louise Devise has written and directed arthouse documentaries for more than thirty years. The time has now come for her to open another door, to allow herself other forms of storytelling, and to venture into the field of literature.
Although she lived most of the time near Paris, long stays in Africa and the United States deeply transformed her. She now lives in the light of Marseille in the south of France.
Her first novel, La rose de Jéricho will be published in 2025 by Editions Maurice Nadeau.
DAVID DIOP
Paris-born, Senegalese-raised David Diop is a Professor at the University of Pau, France. He is the first French writer who won the International Booker Prize.
Before this recognition with his second novel, Frère d’âme, the book was shortlisted for ten major prizes in France and won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens. It has so far been translated into more than 35 languages, winning the LA Times Book Prize for fiction, the Italian Premio Strega Europeo, the Dutch Student Europese Literatuurprijs and the Swiss Ahmadou Kourouma Prize.
David Diop’s latest novel La porte du voyage sans retour has been praised by critics and sold more than 200.000 copies in France. Currently in translation in 13 countries, the novel was among the Finalists of the National Books Awards for its American translation.
“Remarkable. Diop combines the ardor of romance with the wounds of history to transports us to the edge of human reason.” – LIRE
ADELINE FLEURY
Journalist, novelist and editor, Adeline Fleury often helped others tell their stories.
Long-time reporter for the society pages of the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche, she was then the head of the culture department for the magazine Parisien Week-end. Because desire and literature are intimately linked for her, Adeline Fleury started her work as an author with the publication of Petit éloge de la jouissance féminine (François Bourin, 2015, La Musardine, 2018, augmented version Les Pérégrines, February 2022) before continuing her reflection on the female body with the essay Femme Absolument (JC Lattès, 2017, Marabout 2018).
She explored once again the question of desire with Je, tu, elle published by François Bourin in 2018, which was finalist for the Anaïs Nin 2019 award. She then dived into motherhood with the fiction Ida, n'existe pas published by François Bourin in 2020. Her novel Les Frénétiques was released in March 2022 by Julliard.
Her latest novel Le Ciel en sa fureur was released wit great success in January 2023 by éditions de L’Observatoire.
”A vivid and incisive writing.” – EUROPE 1
NATHALIE FRASER
was born in Geneva to British parents. She grew up on the Franco-Swiss border, attending both French and English-speaking schools.
After a degree in Philosophy and Modern Languages at Oxford, she began a career as a journalist, first in London (writing for the TLS, Dazed & Confused…) then in Paris, specializing in fashion, first at Numéro magazine, then at Mixte, where she became Editor-in-Chief in 2010, also writing for a number of international publications including Le Figaro, British Vogue, Another Magazine…
In 2019, she switched paths, becoming an indoor cycling instructor, whilst still continuing to work as a freelance writer and editor. Married, with one daughter, Nathalie is still based in Paris.
Using powerful language and an intense rhythm, Nathalie Fraser’s debut novel Cycling provides an amused yet critical eye on maternity, the birth of an obsession, life choices and personal shifts.
.
ANNE-CLAIRE JAULIN
has lived in Paris for ten years where she works as a screenwriter and director for cinema, television and radio.
She has written and directed several short films which are broadcasted in festivals and on Netflix, OCS, France Television.. She took part on various film and series projects, including the film Fils de, winner of the Emergence Cinéma prize and finalist for the Prix du Scénario.
She also writes radio plays for France Inter.
Her debut novel, La femme en spectacle, is currently introduced to French publishers.
JENNIFER KERNER
behold a PhD in archeology and is associate researcher at the Musée de l'Homme. She is also a cultural mediator on her YouTube channel and her Instagram account which gathers more than 78,000 followers. Jennifer Kerner is the author of several essays, including Le Mari de Nuit, published by Gallimard in 2023, and which had an amazing critical reception.
Her first novel, Le tissu de crin, was released in April 2024 by editions du Mercure de France..
”A fluid and eminently literary writing.” – LE FIGARO
”Madly talented.” – TÉLÉRAMA
NADINE LAPORTE
Born in 1960 in Cambrai, Nadine Laporte lives in Bordeaux and teaches French literature at the University of Pau. She is the author of novels, stories, dialogues and essays, many of which devoted to the Swiss traveler-writer Nicolas Bouvier.
A curious and lively spirit, observer of the world and of men, Nadine Laporte divides her time between teaching, theater and conducting writing workshops. She was a resident of the villa Marguerite Yourcenar in 2016. Her “precise, touching and delicate” writing has already won over many readers, she was notably rewarded in 1998 by the Femina Prize for the First Novel for Cent vues de Shanghai, editions Gallimard.
She received this year the prix Yolande Legrand distinguishing authors on the rise.
YAMEN MANAI
Born in Tunis in 1980, Yamen Manai lives in Paris. Engineer by training, he is considered as one of the most talented authors in the contemporary Maghrebi literary landscape. He builds his works like modern tales inspired by both current events and new technologies.
Following La marche de l’incertitude, La sérénade d’Ibrahim Santos and the critically acclaimed L’amas ardent, which won numerous literary prizes including the coveted Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie, Yamen Manai’s latest novel, Bel Abîme, was published by Franco-Tunisian publisher Elyzad in September 2021. The novel received among many other awards the Prix Orange du Livre en Afrique, and the Prix de la littérature arabe.
Yamen Manai makes a point of challenging stereotypes using a sparse but elegant style, its sober themes lightened by moments of dark humor.
"(Yamen Manai speaks) with the reserve and exactitude of a scientist and, at the same time, with the fire of a poet and the imagination of a novelist” – J.-M.G. LE CLÉZIO
GARANCE MEILLON
Screenwriter, director and author, Garance Meillon has published three novels. She lives and works in Paris.
Resident of the villa Marguerite Yourcenar and winner in 2021 of the Fondation des Treilles’s allowance and residency for fiction, she also received the Support award Simone & Cino Del Duca Foundation for her debut novel, Une famille normale, Fayard 2016.
She currently has independent film projects in the development stages and collaborates on several tv-series for which she has won the Innovation Assistance Fund of the CNC.
Garance Meillon’s latest novel La Langue de l’ennemi was published by L’Arpenteur/Gallimard in March 2023.
“This young novelist knows a lot about denial and pretenses. She sees dysfunction as a sign of life. Her quartet rings true, and her way of suggesting that salvation can come from the explosion promises a bright literary future.” – ELLE
CHIARA MEZZALAMA
Chiara Mezzalama was born in Rome in 1972, she currently lives in Paris. Writer, translator and psychotherapist, she published two novels, Avrò cura di te and Il Giardino persiano, with italian publisher edizioni e/o. She is the author of successful children’s stories, among which the awarded and translated in several languages Le Jardin du dedans-dehors, éditions des Éléphants, 2017. She also collaborates with several Italian magazines.
Her novel Dopo la pioggia, 2021, edizioni e/o, was submitted to the Premio Strega 2021 by Jhumpa Lahiri. The translation of the novel was published in May 2022 by éditions du Mercure de France. Her latest work Le nostre perdute foreste was released in Italy in October 2023.
“Her writing speaks to your mind and heart, bringing you deep into the emotions of the story.” – LEGGENDARIA
FÉLIX TERRONES
was born in Lima, Peru in 1980. He has published two novels among which Ríos de ceniza, voted the second best publication of 2015 by readers of La República. He is the author of short stories collections, published in Peruvian and international anthologies. Some of his stories have already been translated to French and English such as “Valientes Muchachos” published in Nouvelles du Pérou, Magellan et Cie, 2018. He is also the editor of a work on Peruvian author Sebastián Salazar Bondy.
Doctor of literature, Félix Terrones graduated with a thesis addressing brothels in the Latin American literature. He used to teach at the Ecole Normale Supérieure and run a creative writing workshop in Spanish at SciencesPo Paris. He has been living in France since 2004. He is currently Professor Assistant at the University of Bern, Switzerland.
RAOZY PELLERIN
Raozy Pellerin was born in Marseille in 1982 and raised on the Réunion island. She studied international law and human rights in France, Italy and Sweden before becoming a lawyer. After several years in the Netherlands, she now lives with her family in Lyon where she is working for an NGO in Geneva.
Her debut novel, Bibiche was published in August 2022 by Plon as part of the French rentrée littéraire, introducing Raozy Pellerin as a promising new voice.
“We laugh, we cry and we only have one wish: to hug Bibiche. A true coup de coeur!.” – PSYCHOLOGIE MAGAZINE
ANNE RÉVAH
Anne Révah was born in 1967. She is a child psychiatrist in Paris. As a novelist she was noticed early on by journalist Jérôme Garcin for the "painful beauty" of her phrasing. She is now the author of five novels including Quitter Venise, 2014, and Le pays dont je me souviens, 2017, both published by éditions Mercure de France.
With the literary work, L’Intime étrangère, Anne Révah invited the readers into an intimate and powerful journey by her side into madness and sickness. Her latest novel, A ma reine was published in March 2022 by éditions Mercure de France.
“Reading her novel seems physical.” – L’OBS
“Coup de cœur. Unexpected success of this beginning of summer, a painful, a little wonky, but overwhelming, short book that will shake your certainties and make your tears flow.” – ELLE