September 16, 2009
Writers Festival attracts acclaimed French authors to Vancouver
(September 16, 2009 – Vancouver, BC) Marie-Claire Blais, four-time winner of the Governor General’s award for fiction, is one of seven acclaimed French-language authors who will be part of this year‘s Vancouver International Writers Festival. The Festival, which has attracted some of the biggest names in fiction in English this year, will also bring readers some of the biggest names in French fiction.
Blais, well known to both English and French readers through more than 25 books that have been published around the world, has been a literary force for half a century, since she published her first novel. La belle bête, at the age of 20. Her books have been made into film and won most of the literary prizes. This fall, she brings a new novel to Vancouver audiences with Naissance de Rebecca à l’ère des tourments (Rébecca, Born in the Maelstrom).
Joining Blais on the Granville Island stages as part of the Writers Festival are Quebec’s Elaine Arsenault, François Barcelo, Sylvain Hotte, Dany Laferrière and Monique Proulx, and France’s Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, one of Europe’s most popular and bestselling authors.
French-language authors have been part of the Writers Festival for most of the Festival’s history, part of the vision of Festival founder Alma Lee to introduce students studying in French to real writers. But many of the writers, like Blais, are equally comfortable in front of English-speaking audiences. Elaine Arsenault, who is scheduled to appear in four events for French-language students, grew up speaking English at home and French everywhere else and taught herself to read and write English by reading English children’s books. In an unusual twist, she writes in English and her books are translated into French.
Dany Laferrière, who lives in both Quebec and Florida, is best known for his adult books, including Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer (How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired) which was adapted into a film. He has now written, and will be presenting, two books for young people based on Laferrière’s childhood in Haïti.
Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt’s books have been translated into 40 languages, and more than 50 countries regularly perform his plays. His most popular play, Enigma Variations, has been performed in Tokyo, Berlin, Moscow, Los Angeles and in London with Donald Sutherland. He ranks as one of the all-time top 10 most popular authors in both French and German.
François Barcelo, born in Montreal, began his working life in advertising, but left that field 20 years ago to write books. He was a finalist for the Governor General’s literary award in 1997 for his translation of The Underside of Stones. In 2007, he won the Governor General’s literary award for La fatigante et le fainéant. He was also the first Quebec author to have a book translated into Danish.
Tickets for Writers Festival, which takes place Oct. 18 to 25, are on sale through VancouverTix by calling 604-629-VTIX (604-629-8849). Tickets are also available at the Writers Festival box office, 1398 Cartwright Street. Complete program details are available at www.writersfest.bc.ca.
Editor: To arrange interviews by telephone in advance of these authors’ arrival in Vancouver, please contact:
-30-
Judith Walker
Media Relations Manager
Vancouver International Writers Festival – Oct. 18-25, 2009
604.921.4029
media@writersfest.bc.ca
