Sylvie Germain (born 1954

Châteauroux Châteauroux (; ; oc, Chasteurós) is the capital city of the French department of Indre, central France and the second-largest town in the province of Berry, after Bourges. Its residents are called ''Castelroussins'' () in French. Climate Ch ...

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

) is a French author.

Early life and education

During her childhood, with her three brothers and sisters, she moved from city to city, depending on the assignments her sub-prefect father received. In 1976 she received her master's degree in Philosophy from the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, Paris, and in 1978 went on to complete an MA in philosophy and aesthetics at Université de Paris X - Nanterre, where she completed a doctorate in philosophy in 1981. During those years she studied with a teacher she admires,

Emmanuel Levinas Emmanuel Levinas (; ; 12 January 1906 – 25 December 1995) was a French philosopher of Lithuanian Jewish ancestry who is known for his work within Jewish philosophy, existentialism, and phenomenology, focusing on the relationship of ethics to me ...

, and her work focused on the notion of asceticism in Christian mysticism.

Work

While employed by the Ministry of Culture in Paris, where she remained between 1981 and 1986, she produced her first novel, ''Le Livre des Nuits'' (''The Book of Nights'') in 1985. It won six French Literary Prizes. The reception of the book established her as a significant new author. From Paris she moved to Prague, Czechoslovakia, where, from 1987 to 1993, she taught philosophy at the French School, and continued to write. In 1993, Sylvie Germain returned to France. She then lived between Paris and La Rochelle. But Prague continued to inspire her, a theme especially apparent in the novel ''Immensités'', as well as the cultural life of Czech Republic more generally, as reflected in her meditation on the life and work of

Bohuslav Reynek Bohuslav Reynek (31 May 1892 in Petrkov (part of Lípa (Havlíčkův Brod District), Lípa) – 28 October 1971 in Petrkov) was a Czech poet, writer, painter and translator. Education and personal life From 1904 to 1911 Reynek studied at Grammar ...

. Since 1994 she has been involved only in literary activities. In 1999, Sylvie Germain produced a biography focusing on the life of

Etty Hillesum Esther (Etty) Hillesum (15 January 1914 – 30 November 1943) was the Dutch author of confessional letters and diaries which describe both her religious awakening and the persecutions of Jewish people in Amsterdam during the German occupation. I ...

, the young Dutch Jewish woman who was murdered at Auschwitz in November 1943, leaving behind a journal. Germain explored her spiritual life and, a year later, she published several books in various genres: a travelogue, a spiritual text and a photo album. In addition to novels, she has published essays on other artists (''Vermeer: Patience et songe de lumière,'' 1993, for example), spiritual meditations (''Les Echos du Silence'') and a children's book (''L'Encre du Poulpe''). Most of her novels have been translated into English.

Awards and honors

*1989

Prix Femina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

for ''Jours de Colère'' *1993

Scott Moncrieff Prize The Scott Moncrieff Prize, named after the translator C. K. Scott Moncrieff, is an annual £2,000 literary award, literary prize for French to English translation, awarded to one or more translators every year for a full-length work deemed by the ...

for the English translation of ''The Book of Nights'' (''Le Livre des Nuits'') *2005

Prix Goncourt des Lycéens The Prix Goncourt des Lycéens is a French literary award created in 1987 as a sort of younger sibling of Prix Goncourt, a prestigious prize for French language literature. The ten members of the Académie Goncourt select twelve literary works as ...

for ''Magnus'' *2016

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (19 ...

Bibliography

*''Le Livre des Nuits'' (

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

, 1984) ** *''Nuit d'Ambre'' (Gallimard, 1986) ** *''Opéra muet'' (Maren Sell, 1989) *''Jours de colère'' (Gallimard, 1989),

prix Fémina The Prix Femina is a French literary prize created in 1904 by 22 writers for the magazine '' La Vie heureuse'' (today known as '' Femina''). The prize is decided each year by an exclusively female jury. They reward French-language works written ...

1989 **''Days of Anger'', translated by Christine Donougher (Dedalus, 1993) *''La Pleurante des rues de Prague'' (Gallimard, 1991) **''The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague'', translated by Judith Landry (Dedalus, 1993) *''L'Enfant Méduse'' (Gallimard, 1992) **''The Medusa Child'', translated by Liz Nash (Dedalus, 1994) *''Vermeer- Patience et songe de lumière'' (Flohic, 1993) *''Immensités'' (Gallimard, 1993) **''Infinite Possibilities'', translated by Liz Nash (Dedalus, 1998) *''Éclats de sel'' (Gallimard, 1996) **''Invitation to a journey: éclats de sel'', translated by Christine Donougher (Dedalus, 2003) *''Les Échos du silence'' (Desclée de Brouwer,1996) *''Céphalophores'' (Gallimard, 1997) *''Tobie des marais'' (Gallimard, 1998) **''The book of Tobias'', translated by Christine Donougher (Dedalus, 2000) *''Bohuslav Reynek à Petrkov'' (Christian Pirot, 1998) *''L'Encre du poulpe'' (

Gallimard Jeunesse Gallimard Jeunesse is a French publisher of children's books. It is a subsidiary of Éditions Gallimard. It is the publisher of the French versions of '' Harry Potter'' by J.K. Rowling, the catalogue of Roald Dahl, ''The Little Prince'' by An ...

, 1999) *''Etty Hillesum'' (Pygmalion Gérard Watelet, 1999) *''Cracovie à vol d'oiseaux'' (Éditions du Rocher, 2000) *''Mourir un peu'' (Desclée de Brouwer, 2000) *''Grande nuit de Toussaint'' (

Le Temps qu'il fait Le Temps qu'il fait is a French publishing house, first established in Cognac, and active since 1981. History Created and directed by Georges Monti, Le Temps qu'il fait is now located at Bazas, in Gironde. The house draws its name from the epony ...

, 2000) *''Célébration de la Paternité'' (Albin Michel, 2001) *''Le vent ne peut être mis en cage'' (Alice, 2002) *''Chanson des mal-aimants'' (Gallimard, 2002) **''The Song of False Lovers'', translated by Christine Donougher (Dedalus, 2004) *''Couleurs de l’invisible'' (Al Manar, 2002) *''Songes du temps'' (Desclée de Brouwer, 2003) *''Les personnages'' (Gallimard, 2004) *''Ateliers de lumière'' (Desclée de Brouwer, 2004) *''Magnus'', (Albin Michel, 2005),

2005. **''Magnus'', translated by Christine Donougher (Dedalus, 2008) *''Frères'' (Huitième Jour, 2006) *''L'Inaperçu'' (Albin Michel, 2008) **''Hidden Lives'', translated by Mike Mitchell (Dedalus Limited, 2010) *''Hors-champ'' (Albin Michel, 2009) *''Patinir, Paysage avec Saint Christoph'' (Éditions Invenit, 2010) *''Quatre actes de présence'' (Desclée de Brouwer, 2011) *''Chemin de croix'' (

Bayard Bayard may refer to: People * Bayard (given name) *Bayard (surname) *Pierre Terrail, seigneur de Bayard (1473–1524) French knight Places * Bayard, Delaware, an unincorporated community *Bayard (Jacksonville), Florida, a neighborhood *Bayard, ...

Centurion A centurion (; la, centurio , . la, centuriones, label=none; grc-gre, κεντυρίων, kentyríōn, or ) was a position in the Roman army during classical antiquity, nominally the commander of a century (), a military unit of around 80 ...

, 2011) *''Le monde sans vous'' (Albin Michel, 2011), Prix Jean-Monnet de littérature européenne du département de Charente *''Rendez-vous nomades'' (Albin Michel, 2012) *''Petites scènes capitales'' (Albin Michel, 2013), Shortlisted for the Prix Mauvais genres 2013 *''À la table des hommes'' (Albin Michel, 2016)

References

External links

Critical bibliography (Auteurs.contemporain.info)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Germain, Sylvie 1954 births Living people People from Châteauroux University of Paris alumni 20th-century French essayists French women novelists Prix Femina winners French women essayists Grand prix Jean Giono recipients Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners 20th-century French women writers