for four days, from Thursday 21 march to Sunday 24 march, Aix-en-Provence will be the capital of literature. The theme of this edition 2019 is fascinating. It bears the imprint of Paule Constant, the Prix Goncourt in 1998 and a member of the prestigious jury: “Why write? How to write?” It is she who has created The Days of the writers of the South, which had now become the festival. In the course of the various editions, it has never ceased to try to unravel the mystery – the mysteries of literary creation. During multiple round tables and conferences, the guest authors will have their words to say. The festival will open on Thursday evening, the City of the book, with a reading of the actor Christophe Malavoy. The title of the text? A brief history of writing , of course. A wonderful opportunity to listen to the music of the sentences of Flaubert, Balzac, Proust, Camus, Saint-Exupéry and Gary.
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here is a Small overview of the novelists present at this new edition (the list is far from exhaustive). With a small biographical sketch provided by the Festival team.
● Paule Constant, of the académie Goncourt, president of the writers ‘Centre in the south-Jean Giono
Founder and president of the writers’ centre in the south – Jean Giono” and Days of the Writers of the South (2000). Doctor of letters and human sciences (Paris Sorbonne), university Professor. Grand Prix du roman of the French Academy for White spirit (1989), Grand Prize of the trial of the French Academy for A world to the use of young Ladies (1987), the Prix Goncourt for Confidence for confidence (1998). A member of the académie Goncourt since 2013. His last novel, bats, monkeys and men (2016) has also been published in audio book, read by Marie-Christine Barrault (2017) and BD (Gallimard Jeunesse, 2018) in collaboration with Stéphane Barroux. All his books have been published by Gallimard. Over the history of the Writers of the south, Paule Constant has created its various prizes, including the Prize of the novel, and the Price of the drives. She is a member of the jury of the Prize of Writers of the South.
Paule Constant has also just published My Africa , a remarkable “Quarto” (Gallimard, bringing together six of his novels in which she has built and evolve from one work to the other group of characters whose tragic lives are linked to the disease and to Africa, where she spent her childhood and many years of his life. The whole is illustrated with personal documents.
To the question “Why write?”, she replied: “To say, declare, utter, share. The act of writing is at the end of the word as the gesture is at the end of the hand. But also to retain, keep, protect, understand. Organize the chaos. Put the inexpressible in music and the stars to reach the heart.” And how to write? “With what one wants and what one is. The forms of expression are like us, they are infinite.”
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● David Foenkinos, novelist and filmmaker
David Foenkinos is the author of sixteen novels, translated into more than forty languages. In 2009, his novel delicacy has exceeded one million copies in France. With his brother, he directed the film adaptation with Audrey Tautou in the lead role. In 2014, he published Charlotte , a story evoking the tragic fate of the painter Charlotte Salomon. This novel was awarded the Prix Renaudot and the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens. In November 2017, Stéphane and David released their second film Jealous with Karin Viard in the lead role. Recently, The mystery of Henri Pick was adapted as a film with Fabrice Luchini and Camille Cottin in the main roles. Last published: Two Sisters (Gallimard, 2019).
● Pierre Assouline, of the académie Goncourt, novelist, biographer, blogger
Pierre Assouline. GERARD JULIEN/AFP
Pierre Assouline is the author of a dozen biographies (Gaston Gallimard, Albert London, Simenon, Cartier-Bresson…), all the novels ( The Client, Lutetia, Sigmaringen, Lives of Job, Return to Séfarad …), tales ( The last of Camondo …), dictionaries (Proust etc). A journalist, he has headed the editorial staff of Read and Magazine literary . Blogger, he hosts the daily blog ‘ The Republic of books “. In addition, he teaches writing at Sciences Po and adapts the novels of Simenon in the theatre for France Culture/the French Comedy.
● Metin Arditi, novelist, essayist, president Writers ‘ Prize south
Of Turkish origin, Metin Arditi lives in Switzerland. A graduate of the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (physics, atomic engineering) and Stanford university in California. Member of the Board of the Foundation of the Music Conservatory of Geneva, Director of the Orchestra of the Suisse romande (2000-2013), it creates with Elias Sanbar “Instruments of Peace-Geneva, the aim of which is to foster the musical education of young people in Palestine and Israel. Entered in 2012 to the Unesco as an “Ambassador of good will”, there is “special Envoy for intercultural dialogue” . As a writer, he published numerous novels, including The Turquetto (Actes Sud, 2011) Prix Giono, Prix de l’académie romande, Prize Culture and Library for all ; The child who measured the world (Grasset, 2016), Mediterranean Prize, the Prize of the Cercle Interallié ; My father on my shoulders (Grasset, 2017) and The Dictionary of love from Switzerland (Plon, 2017). Since 2016, Metin Arditi holds a weekly column in the Newspaper “La Croix” . In 2018, the jury of the Prize of Writers of the south was elected as President. Last published: Dictionary love of the French spirit (Plon, 2019).
● Muriel Barbery, novelist
as a Former student of the École Normale Supérieure, Muriel Barbery is associate professor of philosophy and has taught at the Institut universitaire de formation des maîtres (IUFM) of Saint-Malo. The elegance of the hedgehog (2006) is a best-seller, winning numerous Prizes including the Prix des libraires 2007. After a stay of 2 years in Japan, she has lived in Amsterdam, then settled in Touraine. The life of the elves, his third novel is translated into twenty-six countries. Last book published: A strange country (Gallimard, 2019)
● Tahar Ben Jelloun, novelist, of the académie Goncourt
Tahar Ben Jelloun. JOEL SAGET/AFP
Tahar Ben Jelloun is the author of a great literary production, made of poems, novels, short stories, and d’trials. Translated into 43 languages, he is the author of the French language the most translated in the world. For The sacred night (The Threshold) he was awarded the Prix Goncourt in 1987. He needs teaching and learning materials, very noticed as a racism explained to my daughter (1998) – bestselling book, translated into 33 languages, Islam explained to the children (and their parents) (Threshold, 2002), The terrorism explained to our children (Threshold, 2016). The media of the written and audiovisual press the seek very often to collect his opinion on the current events. Tahar Ben Jelloun is also a painter of great talent. Last book published: insomnia (Gallimard, 2019).
● Serge Joncour, novelist, screenwriter
Originally from a peasant family, Serge Joncour spent his childhood between Paris, Nièvre, Eure-et-Loir and the Valais, switzerland. While conducting all sorts of activities (including lifeguards and advertising), he wrote poetry, short stories, novels. His first novel, Saw , is published in the editions of the Dilettante (1998). Since then he has published a little more than a dozen books, including U. V. (2003) which was awarded the Prix France-Tv, The Idol (2004), rewarded by the Prize of black Humor, The national writer (2014), Prix des deux Magots 2015, and Rest on me (2016), Prix interallié and elected ” Best French novel of 2016, the magazine Read. Two of his novels have been adapted to the cinema: U. V . (2007) by Gilles Paquet-Brenner and The Idol under the title Superstar 2012 by Xavier Giannoli with Kad Merad and Cécile de France, presented in official competition at the Venice Mostra 2012. He also wrote the screenplay for the film Her name was Sarah (2010) by Gilles Paquet – Brenner, with Kristin Scott Thomas, based on the novel of the same name by Tatiana de Rosnay. Released in the United States in 2011, the film was a resounding success. Last book published: Dog-Wolf (Flammarion, 2018), a novel for which he was awarded the Prix Landerneau.
● Amin Maalouf , the French Academy, novelist, essayist
Amin Maalouf is a writer of franco-lebanese, who wrote numerous novels and essays, opera librettos. Among the novels, The Rock of Tanios (Grasset) Prix Goncourt 1993, confused (Grasset, 2012) ; among the essays, The Disruption of the world (Grasset, 2009), A chair on the Seine : Four centuries of history of France (Grasset, 2016). The operas which he has written books on the subject of world premieres at the Salzburg Festival, the Opéra Bastille, Vienna, at the Opéra de Lyon. Amin Maalouf is doctor honoris causa of several universities, in Belgium, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal. Last published: The sinking of civilizations (Grasset, 2019).
● Andrei Makine, novelist
Andrei Makine. PATRICK KOVARIK/AFP
the Author of a considerable body of work, repeatedly crowned: the Prix Goncourt, the Prix Goncourt des lycéens, the Prix Médicis for The Testament French in 1995, the grand Prix RTL-Lire for The music of a life in 2001, the Prix Prince Pierre Monaco for the whole of his work in 2005, Price Casanova for A beloved woman in 2013, Price mondial Cino Del Duca for his work as a whole in 2014). He has also written under the pseudonym mysterious of Gabriel Osmonde. The two parts of his work together here for the first time, “beyond the borders” of a patronymic, since Osmonde becomes a character of a novel by Makine, in a dizzying mise en abyme at the confluence of two large arches-fiction of the author split… Last published: beyond borders (Grasset, 2019).
● Nicolas Mathieu, writer, prix Goncourt 2018
Born in Épinal. After studying history and cinema, he moved to Paris, where he has all kinds of activities, informative, and almost always poorly paid. In 2014, he published the animals, war (Actes Sud, “Acts black”), adapted for television by Alain Tasma. Today, he lives in Nancy, france and divides his time between writing and the wages. Last published: Their children after them (Actes Sud, 2018), a novel for which he was awarded the Prix Goncourt 2018.
● Tobie Nathan, a novelist, an essayist, an ethnopsychiatrist
Born in Cairo, Tobie Nathan is a personality to the triple career as a scholar, diplomat, writer. University. Professor emeritus of Psychology at the University of Paris 8, the main theorist and promoter of the ethnopsychiatrie modern — psych that takes account of the membership, migration and metamorphosis of identities. Student of Georges Devereux, with whom he has spent his doctoral thesis, he created the first consultation ethnopsychiatrie in France, in 1979, at the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny, france. He has devoted most of his clinical activity, research and education in the psychological health of migrant populations. Diplomat. He directed the Office of the University Agency of the Francophonie to the African Great Lakes, Bujumbura (Burundi) between 2003 and 2004 ; it was also cultural Advisor at the Embassy of France in Israel and in Guinea Conakry, from 2004 to 2011.
Writer, Tobie Nathan is the author of 29 essays, including: Jesus the healer (Flammarion 2018), The wandering souls (The Iconoclast 2017), When the gods are at war, (The Discovery 2015), abroad, or the wager of the other (Formerly 2014), love Potion (Odile Jacob, 2013), The New Interpretation of dreams (Odile Jacob, 2011)… The influence that heals (Odile Jacob, 1994), … and ten novels, including: Saraka Bô (1993), God-Dôpe (1995), 613 (1999) in Shores… Q iu killed Arlozoroff (2010) and Ethno-Novel (2012) by Grasset, Prix Femina of the trial in 2012, This country who looks like you (Stock, 2015)… Last published: The Gospel according to Yuri (Stock 2018). This novel has been in the selection of the Prix Goncourt and the Price of Drives Writers of the South. It is crowned by the Price of the novel Writers of the South 2019.
● Daniel Picouly, novelist, screenwriter, playwright
Daniel Picouly. JOEL SAGET/AFP
He is a writer, comic scriptwriter, presenter of cultural programmes on tv and a comedian. It has long also been a teacher. Eleventh of a family of thirteen children (one father is west indian, a mother of morvan). In 1991, appears, thanks to the collaboration of Daniel Pennac, his first novel, The Light of fools. But it was not until 1995 and the succdegree of his family saga The Field of person (Grand Prize of the readers of It 1996) for he imposes on himself as a writer. Since, all of his writings receive a warm welcome from audiences and critics. In 1999, he was awarded the Prix Renaudot for The Child leopard . 2012 marks the stop of his show, Café Picouly, and its theater debut with “The spelling mistake is my mother tongue”, originally played during the Avignon Off. He is also the author of many books for children. He hosts the literary radio show Page 19 on France Ô. Last published: ninety seconds (Albin Michel, 2018), selected for the Prix Goncourt.
● Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, of the académie Goncourt, novelist, playwright, essayist
Novelist, playwright, short-story writer, essayist, Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt is a writer of many talents, a polygraph gifted and happy. It has been translated into 45 languages and his theatre is played in over fifty countries. Elected in 2012 at the royal Academy of French language and literature in Belgium, he is from 2016 member of the académie Goncourt. Éric-Emmanuel Schmitt published in 2018 Madame Pylinska and the secret of Chopin (Albin Michel), an initiatory tale, funny, smart, where music proves to be a real learning to life and love. Last published: Felix and the invisible source (Albin Michel, 2019).
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