Michèle Mailhot (January 8, 1932 – January 2009) was a

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 ...

writer. The daughter of Arthur Asselin and Gabrielle Payette, she was born Michèle Asselin in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

and went on to earn a BA and a

Bachelor of Education A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is an undergraduate professional degree which prepares students for work as a teacher in schools. In some countries such as Tanzania and Kenya, additional tasks like field work and research are required in order for ...

from the

Université de Montréal The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...

. She taught for several years and then worked as a journalist for ''Points de vue'', ''Le Nouveau Journal'' and

Radio-Canada The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...

. From 1961 to 1965, Mailhot was literary critic for ''

Châtelaine ''Châtelaine'' is a French-language magazine of women's lifestyles, published in Quebec by St. Joseph Communications. History and profile The magazine was first published in 1960 by Maclean-Hunter Publishing. It covers issues and interests ...

''. From 1969 to 1971, she was vice-director of the Presses universitaires de Montréal. From 1972 to 1972, she was literary adviser for the publishing house Éditions du Jour. From 1976 to 1977, she was editor for the publishing house Éditions de l'Étincelle. Mailhot also worked as a reader for various publishing houses. She wrote a number of short stories for the magazines ''Liberté'', ''La Barre du Jour'' and ''

The Massachusetts Review ''The Massachusetts Review'' is a literary quarterly founded in 1959 by a group of professors from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts Amherst. It receives financial support from Five Colleg ...

''. In 1964, she published her first novel ''Dis-moi que je vis''. Her novel ''Veuillez agréer...'', published in 1975, received the Prix de la Presse in 1975; it was translated into English as ''Coming of age'' in 1988. Mailhot died in

Outremont Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...

at the age of 77 after an extended illness.

Selected works

* ''Le Fou de la reine'' (1969) * ''La mort de l'araignée'' (1972), translated into English as ''Death of the spider'' (1991) * ''La vie arrachée'' (1984) * ''Notes de parcours'' (1986) * ''Béatrice vue d'en bas'' (1988), received the Grand Prix de la prose from the

Journal de Montréal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

* ''Le passé composé'' (1990), was shortlisted 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 ...

in 1990

References

1932 births 2009 deaths Canadian short story writers in French Canadian novelists in French Canadian women short story writers Canadian women novelists 20th-century Canadian novelists 20th-century Canadian women writers Writers from Montreal Université de Montréal alumni 20th-century Canadian short story writers {{Quebec-writer-stub