Jocelyne Saucier (born May 27, 1948 in Clair,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

novelist and journalist based in

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Career

Educated in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

Université Laval Université Laval is a public research university in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The university was founded by royal charter issued by Queen Victoria in 1852, with roots in the founding of the Séminaire de Québec in 1663 by François de Montm ...

, Saucier worked as a journalist in the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Quebec before publishing her

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to p ...

, ''La Vie comme une image'', in 1996. That book was a finalist for the

Governor General's Award for French-language fiction The Governor General's Award for French-language fiction is a Canadian literary award that annually recognizes one Canadian writer for a fiction book written in French. It is one of fourteen Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit, seven each ...

at the 1996 Governor General's Awards. Her second novel, ''Les Héritiers de la mine'', was a finalist for the Prix France-Québec in 2001, and her third novel, ''Jeanne sur les routes'', was a finalist at the

2006 Governor General's Awards The 2006 Governor General's Awards for Literary Merit: Finalists in 14 categories (68 books) were announced October 16, winners announced November 21 and awards presented December 13. The prize for writers and illustrators was $15,000 and "a speci ...

. Her fourth novel, ''Il pleuvait des oiseaux'', won the Prix France-Québec, the Prix Ringuet, the

Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie The Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie (literally "Prize of the five continents of the francophonie") is a literary prize created in 2001 by the Organisation internationale de la francophonie. Winners References

{{La Francop ...

, the Prix des lecteurs de Radio-Canada and the Prix littéraire des collégiens, while ''And the Birds Rained Down'', its English translation by Rhonda Mullins, was a finalist for the

Governor General's Award for French to English translation This is a list of recipients of the Governor General's Award for French-to-English translation. Winners and nominees 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s References {{Governor General's Literary Awards * Translation awar ...

at the 2013 Governor General's Awards."Governor General Literary Award finalists announced". ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', October 2, 2013. ''Il pleuvait des oiseaux'' was selected for the 2013 edition of '' Le Combat des livres'', where it was championed by dancer and broadcaster Geneviève Guérard. ''And the Birds Rained Down'' was defended by Martha Wainwright in the 2015 edition of ''

Canada Reads ''Canada Reads'' is an annual "battle of the books" competition organized and broadcast by Canada's public broadcaster, the CBC. The program has aired in two distinct editions, the English-language ''Canada Reads'' on CBC Radio One, and the Frenc ...

''. A film adaptation of ''Il pleuvait des oiseaux'' by director

Louise Archambault Louise Archambault is a Canadian film director and screenwriter.Adam Nayman"Louise Archambault" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', August 20, 2014. She is best known for her films '' Familia'', which won the Claude Jutra Award in 2005, and '' Gabriel ...

was released to theatres in 2019."Une première bande-annonce dévoilée pour «Il pleuvait des oiseaux»"
'' Le Journal de Montréal'', April 25, 2019.

Works

* ''La Vie comme une image'' (1996, ) ** English translation ''House of Sighs'' (2001) * ''Les Héritiers de la mine'' (2000, ) ** English translation ''Twenty-One Cardinals'' (2015) * ''Jeanne sur les routes'' (2006, ) ** English translation ''Jeanne's Road'' (2010) * ''Il pleuvait des oiseaux.'' XYZ, Montréal 2011, ; Gallimard, Paris 2015 ** English translation ''And the Birds Rained Down'' by Rhonda Mullins. Coach House, Toronto 2012 ; Coach House, London 2015 *''À train perdu'' (2020) ** English translation ''And Miles To Go Before I Sleep'' (2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saucier, Jocelyne 1948 births 20th-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian novelists Canadian novelists in French Canadian women novelists Writers from Quebec Writers from New Brunswick Université Laval alumni People from Madawaska County, New Brunswick People from Abitibi-Témiscamingue Living people Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian women writers 21st-century Canadian women writers Canadian women non-fiction writers