Journalist and writer Valerie Manteau (1985) worked from 2008-2013 at the French journal Charlie Hebdo. She currently lives in Marselle and Istambul.
Manteau wrote her first novel Calme et tranquille, as a autobiography filled with personal memories and a collective drama depicting how violence suddenly invades the everyday life.
Le Sillon is her second novel. Here, Valerie skillfully interweaves some genres: fiction autobiography, reportage, political satire and romance. The author is leaving Marseilles for Istanbul to meet her friend, left-wing friends and yoga teacher. She faces a wave of remorse and even greater anger.
On 19 January, on the day of Hrant Dink’s assassination the French writer arrived to Armenia to be present at the presentation of the Armenian edition of her book Le Sillon. The Armenian edition of the novel was published by Newmag Publishing House with the support of the Publications Support Programme of the French Institute and the French Embassy to Armenia. The French Embassy and Newmag have compiled a rich and interesting program, full of events, some of which were public.
The literary critics called Le Sillon an exceptionally remarkable literary work. The novel, published in French, won the famous French Prix Renaudot and became a French bestseller.
Bibliography
Calme et Tranquille, Éditions Le Tripode [fr], 200 p., 2016
Le Sillon, Le Tripode, 2018
Awards
2018: Prix Renaudot for Le Sillon
2018: Trophée littéraire des Nouvelles d’Arménie Magazine for Le Sillon
