Joseph Lucien Laurent Laplante (March 3, 1934
[Joseph Lucien Laurent Laplante's date of birth is taken from his baptismal certificate from the parish of Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs in Verdun, birth 57, sheet 10v of the year 1934. Baptized on March 4, 1934 and born yesterday.] – March 15, 2017) was a Canadian journalist, essayist and detective writer. He is the author of 20 books.
Early life
Laurent Laplante was born in 1934 in
Verdun, Quebec
Verdun (; , ) is a borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, located in the southwestern part of the island.
Long known as a working class neighbourhood, it has experienced significant gentrification and social change in the 21 ...
, Canada.
He studied literature, history, philosophy and government.
Career
Laplante taught at
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 Montmo ...
.
He became a journalist for ''
Le Devoir
''Le Devoir'' (, "Duty") is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910.
''Le Devoir'' is one of few independent large-c ...
'', ''L’Action'', ''Le Jour'', ''Le Droit'' and ''Le Soleil''.
He was also a television and radio presenter,
an essayist
and the author of 20 books, including
detective fiction
Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
. He was a member of the ''
Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois
L'Union des écrivaines et des écrivains québécois (UNEQ; English: ''Québec Union of Writers'') is a professional union of writers in Québec, Canada.
Founded on March 21, 1977 by some 50 writers following the leadership of Jacques Godbout, it ...
''.
Laplante won the 1996
for his defense of the French language in Quebec through his journalism.
He also received the
Genève-Montréal Award for his essay ''Pour en finir avec l’olympisme'' in 1998, and the
Saint-Pacôme Award for his detective novel ''Des clés en trop, un doigt en moins'' in 2002.
Death
Laplante died of
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
on March 15, 2017, in
Lévis, Quebec
Lévis () is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada, located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec and the Pierre-Laporte, connect western Lévis with ...
.
He was 83.
Works
Essays
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Detective novels
*
*
*
References
1934 births
2017 deaths
French Quebecers
People from Verdun, Quebec
Writers from Montreal
Academic staff of Université Laval
Journalists from Montreal
Canadian male journalists
Canadian male essayists
Canadian mystery writers
Deaths from pancreatic cancer
Deaths from cancer in Quebec
Canadian male novelists
20th-century Canadian essayists
20th-century Canadian male writers
21st-century Canadian essayists
21st-century Canadian novelists
21st-century Canadian male writers
Canadian novelists in French
Canadian non-fiction writers in French
{{Canada-writer-stub