Philippe Djian (; born 3 June 1949) is a popular French author of Armenian descent. He won the 2012

Prix Interallié The prix Interallié (Interallié Prize), also known simply as ''l'Interallié'', is an annual French literary award, awarded for a novel written by a journalist. History The prize was started on 3 December 1930 by about thirty or so journa ...

for the novel ''"Oh..." (Elle'' for the English translation).

Life and career

Djian graduated from the Ecole Supérieure de Journalisme de Paris (ESJ Paris). After a period of wandering and odd jobs, he published a volume of short stories, ''50 contre 1'' (1981), and then the novels ''Bleu comme l'enfer'' (1982) and ''Zone érogène'' (1984) before gaining fame with his subsequent novels ''37°2 le matin'' (1985), ''Maudit Manège'' (1986), ''Echine'' (1988), ''Crocodiles'' (short stories) (1989), ''Lent dehors'' (1991), ''Sotos'' (1993), and ''Assassins'' (1994). Five of his novels have been adapted into films: ''37°2 le matin'' (1986; English title ''

Betty Blue ''Betty Blue'' (french: 37°2 le matin, lit=37.2°C in the morning) is a 1986 French erotic psychological drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, based on the 1985 novel ''37°2 le matin'' by Philippe Djian. The film stars Béatrice Dall ...

'') which was filmed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, ''Bleu comme l'enfer'' (1986; English title ') directed by Yves Boisset; ''Impardonnables'' (2011; English title ''Unforgivable'') directed by

André Téchiné André Téchiné (; born 13 March 1943) is a French screenwriter and film director. He has a long and distinguished career that places him among the most accomplished post- New Wave French film directors. Téchiné belongs to a second generation ...

; '' Love Is the Perfect Crime'' (2013; original title ''L'Amour est un crime parfait'') directed by

Arnaud Larrieu Arnaud Larrieu (born 31 March 1966) is a French film director and screenwriter. His film '' To Paint or Make Love'' was entered into the 2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty ...

and Jean-Marie Larrieu; and ''Oh...'' (as ''

Elle ''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...

'' (2016) directed by

Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven (; born 18 July 1938) is a Dutch director, producer and screenwriter, active in the Netherlands, France and the United States. His blending of graphic violence and sexual content with social satire is a trademark of both his dram ...

). He also co-wrote the screenplay of ''Ne fais pas ça'' (2004) with Luc Bondy. The TV presenter

Antoine De Caunes Antoine de Caunes (born 1 December 1953) is a French television presenter, actor, writer and film director. He is the son of two prominent French personalities, television journalist-reporter Georges de Caunes and television announcer Jacqueline ...

introduced him to Swiss singer

Stephan Eicher Stephan Eicher (born 17 August 1960) is a Swiss singer. He sings in a variety of languages, including French, German, English, Italian, Swiss German and Romansh, sometimes using different languages in the same song. Eicher's success started ...

. The two men became friends and Djian became the writer of Eicher's lyrics, at least for the songs in French. Djian frequently moved (from

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

). Today he lives in

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; Basque also ; oc, Biàrritz ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spa ...

and, on average, writes a novel every 18 months. With ''Doggy Bag'', written in 2005, he started a literary series with six seasons, inspired by American TV series.

Awards and honors

*2009 Prix Jean-Freustié for ''Impardonnables'' *2012

for ''"Oh..."''

Bibliography

Novels

*'' Bleu comme l'enfer'' (1983; film: ') *''Zone érogène'' (1984) *'' 37˚2 le matin'' (1985; film: ''

'') *''Maudit manège'' (1986) *''Échine'' (1988) *'' Lent dehors'' (1991) *''Sotos'' (1993) *''Assassins'' (1994) *''Criminels'' (1997) *''Sainte Bob'' (1998) *'' Vers chez les blancs'' (2000) *''Ça c'est un baiser'' (2002) *''Frictions'' (2003) *''Impuretés'' (2005) *''Doggy bag, saison 1'' (2005) *''Doggy bag, saison 2'' (2006) *''Doggy bag, saison 3'' (2006) *''Doggy bag, saison 4'' (2007) *''Doggy bag, saison 5'' (2007) *''Doggy bag, saison 6'' (2008) *''Impardonnables'' (2009; film: '' Unforgivable'') *''Incidences'' (2010 - trans. as ''Consequences'' by

Bruce Benderson Bruce Benderson (born August 6, 1946) is an American author, born to parents of Russian Jewish descent, who lives in New York. He attended William Nottingham High School (1964) in Syracuse, New York and then Binghamton University (1969). He is tod ...

; film: '' Love is the Perfect Crime'') *''Vengeances'' (2011) *''"Oh..."'' (Gallimard, 2012 - trans. as ''Elle'' by Michael Katims, Other Press 2017; film: ''

'') *''Love Song'' (2013) *''Chéri-Chéri'' (2014) *''Dispersez-vous, ralliez-vous!'' (2016) *''Marlène'' (2017 - trans. as ''Marlene'' by Mark Polizzotti) *''A l'aube'' (2018) *''Les inéquitables'' (2019)

Short stories

*'' 50 contre 1'' (1981) *''Crocodiles'' (1989) *''Lorsque Lou'' (1992) *''Contes de Noël'' (1996) *''Mise en bouche'' (2003)

References

External links

Biography of DjianPhilippe Djian vs Betty Blue
{{DEFAULTSORT:Djian, Philippe 1949 births Living people Writers from Paris French people of Armenian descent 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Prix Interallié winners Prix Jean Freustié winners French lyricists École supérieure de journalisme de Paris alumni