Elvire Murail (born 7 June 1958, in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

) is a French writer, mainly author of books for youth under the pen name Moka. The daughter of poet , she is the younger sister of writers Marie-Aude and Lorris Murail, and composer

Tristan Murail Tristan Murail (born 11 March 1947) is a French composer associated with the "spectral" technique of composition. Among his compositions is the large orchestral work ''Gondwana''. Early life and studies Murail was born in Le Havre, France. His fa ...

Biography

A graduate of

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, she began her literary career with adult novels. She enjoyed success with her first book, ''Escalier C'', which was brought to the cinema by

Jean-Charles Tacchella Jean-Charles Tacchella (born 23 September 1925) is a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film '' Cousin Cousine'' (1975), which was also nominated for the Academy Awar ...

in 1984. After signing four novels for adults, she entered youth literature in 1989 under the pseudonym ''Moka''. She signed with this pseudonym more than seventy novels for the youth, published mainly at in the "Mouche", "Nine" and "Medium" series. These novels were for the most part books of mysteries between police and fantasy for adolescents from 10 to 15 years old. Since 1996, she has been committed to defending a quality youth literature within the "Charte des Auteurs et Illustrateurs pour la Jeunesse" of which she was treasurer from 1999 to 2007. She was also the Permanent Commissioner for General Affairs of Sofia () until 2007. She is a member of the

Société des gens de lettres Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the se ...

and the

société des auteurs et compositeurs dramatiques SACD, founded as Société des Auteurs et Compositeurs Dramatiques ( en, Society of Dramatic Authors and Composers) on 7 March 1829, is a French collecting society, undertaking collective rights management for authors. The Society manages, promotes ...

. She also works as a screenwriter and dialogue writer for film and television.

Literary works

Under her name

*1983: ''Escalier C'' *1984: ''La Plume de perroquet'' *1987: ''Les Mannequins d'osier'' *1990: ''Bingo !''

Under the pseudonym Moka

* ''La Lanterne bleue'', 1991, illustrations by Yvan Pommaux * ''Ailleurs'' (trilogy) *# ''Ailleurs, rien n'est tout blanc ou tout noir'', 1991 *# ''Le puits d'amour'', 1992 *# ''A nous la belle vie'', 1994 * ''Je m'excuse'', 1992, illustrations by Serge Bloch * ''Ma vie de star'', 1992, illustrations by Olivier Matouk * ''Chipies et les Inventeurs'', 1992, illustrations by Fabienne Teyssèdre * ''Un phare dans le ciel'', 1993 * ''Thomas Face-de-Rat et Amélie Mélasse'', 1993, illustrations by Mette Ivers * ''Souï-Manga'', 1993, illustrations by Joëlle Jolivet * ''L'enfant des ombres'', 1994 * ''Trois-Pommes'', 1994, illustrations by Catherine Rebeyrol ''Nous, les filles'', 1995, illustrations by Éric Heliot * ''Ma vengeance sera terrible'', 1995, illustrations by

Anaïs Vaugelade Anaïs, Anais or ANAIS may refer to: People *Anaïs (given name), a female given name, especially popular in France and Greece (including a list of people with the name) *Anaïs (singer) (born 1965), French singer * Anaís (born 1984), Dominican ...

* ''La marque du diable'', 1996 * ''Mon loup'', 1996, illustrations by Mette Ivers * ''Derrière la porte'', 1997 * ''La chose qui ne pouvait pas exister'', 1997 * ''Ah, la famille !'', 1997, illustrations Mette Ivers * ''Un ange avec des baskets '', 1998 * ''Williams et nous'', 1998 * ''Vilaine fille'', 1999 * ''Bon à rien'', 1999, illustrations Catherine Rebeyrol * ''Cela'', 2000 * ''L'écolier assassin'', 2000 * ''Joséphine a disparu'', 2000, illustrations Edith * ''Le Plus grand détective du monde'', 2000, illustrations Jean-François Martin * ''Le Dernier cadeau du Père Noël'', 2000, with

Marie-Aude Murail Marie-Aude Murail (born May 6, 1954) is a French writer. She is best known for her numerous children and teen novels that go over a wide range of subjects including homosexuality and serious illnesses. Her father, Gerard Murail, is a poet and h ...

, illustrations Stéphane Jorisch * ''La chambre du pendu'', 2001 * ''Le Poisson dans le bocal'', 2001, illustrations Isabelle Bonameau * ''Au pied de l'Arc-en-ciel'', 2001, illustrations

Catharina Valckx Catharina is a feminine given name, the Dutch and Swedish spelling of the name Catherine. In the Netherlands, people use a great number of short forms in daily life, including ''Carine'', ''Catelijne'', ''Cato'', ''Ina'', ''Ineke'', ''Kaat'', ''Kaat ...

* ''Le petit cœur brisé'', 2002 * ''Un sale moment à passer'', 2002 * ''Drôle de voleur !'', 2002, illustrations Isabelle Bonameau * ''Golem'', serial cowritten with

and Lorris Murail. *# ''Magic Berber'' *# ''Joke'' *# ''Natacha'' *# ''Monsieur William'' *# ''Alias'' * ''L'Esprit de la fôret'', 2003 * ''Arthus et Pénélope'' *# ''Le mystère de la Ferté-des-Eaux'', 2002 *# ''Amour et trahison'', 2003 *# ''Bonne année ?'', 2003 *# ''Do you speak français ?'', 2004 * ''Vive la révolution !'', 2003, illustrations Frédéric Rébéna * ''Jeu mortel'', 2003 * ''Les Malheurs d'Hortense'', 2003, illustrations Magali Bonniol * ''Il était trois fois'', 2003, illustrations by Denise and Claude Millet * ''Jusqu'au bout de la peur'', 2004 * ''Tango'', 2004 * ''Pourquoi ?'', 2005 * ''Histoires de fées'', 2006, illustrations Alice Charbin * ''Sorcier !'' *# ''Menteurs, charlatans et soudards'', 2006 *# ''Le Frélampier'', 2006 *# ''Le Premier Temps du Chaos'', 2007 *# ''L'Honorable et le Monarque'', 2007 *# ''L'Étoile'', 2008 *# ''Les Quatre Dragons'', 2008 *# ''Secrets et confiture'', 2008 *# ''La fin du Monde'', 2009 * ''C'est l'aventure'', collective, 2010 * ''Frissons'' *# ''La Prophétie de Venise'', 2012 *# ''L'Immortel'', 2013 * ''Kinra girls'' (12 volumes), illustrations Anne Cresci

Filmography

Cinema

*1985: '' Escalier C'' directed by

, (co-screenwriter and dialogue writer) *1988: ' directed by

Magali Clément Magali Clément was a French director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Di ...

, (assistant screenwriter) *1988: ''La Septième dimension'', directed by six co-directors, (co-screenwriter and assistant screenwriter) *1989: ''Les Mannequins d'osier'' directed by Francis de Gueltzl, (screenwriter and dialogue writer) *1993: ''Une journée pour rien'' by Serge Halsdorf, (screenwriter and dialogue writer)

Television

*1993: ''Chambre froide'', directed by Sylvain Madigan, (adaptation and dialogues) *1996: ''Un monde meilleur'', directed by Laurent Dussaux, (screenwriter-assistant dialogue writer) *1997: ', directed by Lisa del Bo, (screenwriter-dialogue writer) *1997: ''Un étrange héritage'', directed by Laurent Dussaux, (screenwriter-assistant dialogue writer)

Prizes and awards

* Prix du premier roman for 'Escalier C'', 1983 * Prix George Sand for ''Escalier C'', 1984 * Prix des Incorruptibles * ''Tam-tam '' * Prix du Polar * Grand prix de l'Imaginaire * Prix des Embouquineurs * Prix de la SNCF for ''Pourquoi ?'' She received twice a scholarship from the National Center for Letters for ''Un phare dans le ciel'' and for the whole of her work for youth.