Laurent Gaudé
Born in 1972, Laurent Gaudé studied literature and drama in Paris. In 1997, aged 25, he published his first play, Onysos le furieux (Furious Onysos), with Théâtre Ouvert. That first text was then directed by Yannis Kokkos in 2000 for the Théâtre national de Strasbourg. He spent the next few years writing for the theatre, with Pluie de cendres (Rain of Ashes), performed at the Studio de la Comédie-Française; Combat de possédés (Struggle of the Possessed), translated and performed in Germany, then read in English at the Royal National Theatre in London; Médée Kali, performed at the Théâtre du Rond-Point; and Les Sacrifiées (The Sacrificed). At the same time, he also started writing novels. In 2001, he published his first novel, Cris (Shouts). One year later, he won the Prix Goncourt des Lycéens and the Prix des Libraires with Death of an Ancient King. In 2004, he was awarded the Prix Goncourt for The Scortas' Sun, which has been translated and sold in 34 countries. A novelist and playwright, Laurent Gaudé is also the author of a number of short stories (“Dans la nuit Mozambique”, 2007; “Voyage en terres inconnues”, Magnard, 2008; “Les Oliviers du Négus”, Actes Sud, 2011), of a book with photographer Oan Kim (Je suis le chien Pitié, Actes Sud, Hors Collection, 2009), of a comic book for children (La tribu de Malgoumi, illustrated by Frédéric Stehr, Actes Sud Junior, 2008), and of a collection of poetry (Of Blood and Light, Actes Sud, 2017).
