Gaëlle Bélem (born 1984) is a French writer of

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

ese extraction known for the prize-winning

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a bildungsroman () is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth and change of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood (coming of age). The term comes from the German words ('formation' or 'edu ...

''Un monstre est là, derrière la porte'' (2020), and the

historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the setting of particular real historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to oth ...

''Le fruit le plus rare: ou la vie d'Edmond Albius'' (2023).

Biography

Gaëlle Bélem was born in

Saint-Benoît, Réunion Saint-Benoît () is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion, in the Indian Ocean. It is located on the eastern part of the island of Réunion, about 40 kilometres southeast of Saint-Denis, the capital. Geography It is the secon ...

, grew up in a modest family and has been writing since the age of twelve. She left Réunion at the age of 17, and studied in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, France, at the Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat from 2002 to 2005, and subsequently at

Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University (), also known as Paris 1 (or Paris I) and Panthéon-Sorbonne University (or, together with Sorbonne University and Sorbonne Nouvelle University, simply as the Sorbonne), is a Public university, public rese ...

in 2005 and finally at

École pratique des hautes études The (), abbreviated EPHE, is a French postgraduate top level educational institution, a . EPHE is a constituent college of the Université PSL (together with ENS Ulm, Paris Dauphine or Ecole des Mines). The college is closely linked to É ...

. In 2009 she started as a teacher of history and geography in

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

. Back in Réunion, she continued to work as a teacher of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, history and geography, first in middle school and later in high school. She also taught in a detention center and functions as an

associate judge An associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some st ...

in a

juvenile court Juvenile court, also known as young offender's court or children's court, is a tribunal having special authority to pass judgements for crimes committed by children who have not attained the age of majority. In most modern legal systems, chi ...

. In 2020 she published her first novel ''Un monstre est là, derrière la porte'' (translated to English as ''There's a Monster Behind the Door''). The novel was awarded the 2020

Grand prix du roman métis The Grand prix du roman métis is a French literary award established in 2010 by the city of Saint-Denis-de-La Réunion. It rewards a French-language novel published less than a year ago and which emphasizes the values of multiracialism, multicult ...

as well as the André-Dubreuil prize of the

Société des gens de lettres The Société des gens de lettres de France (SGDLF; ; ) is a writers' association founded in 1838 by the notable French authors George Sand, Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, and Alexandre Dumas. It is a private association recognised in France as ...

for a first novel and was among the finalists for the

Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie The Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie (literally "Prize of the five continents of the francophonie") is a literary prize created in 2001 by the Organisation internationale de la francophonie The (OIF; sometimes shortened to ''L ...

that year. The English translation by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Louber was longlisted for the

International Booker Prize The International Booker Prize (formerly known as the Man Booker International Prize) is an international literary award hosted in the United Kingdom. The introduction of the International Prize to complement the Man Booker Prize, as the Boo ...

in 2025. It won the 2025

Republic of Consciousness Prize The Republic of Consciousness Prize for Small Presses is an annual British literary prize founded by the author Neil Griffiths. It rewards fiction published by UK and Irish small presses, defined as those with fewer than five full-time employee ...

, the judges calling it "a compact, comic tour-de-force". The novel is set in the 1980s on

Réunion Island Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the island of Madagascar and southwest of the is ...

. Not an autobiographical novel, it relates with humor the story of a young girl growing up in a poor and dysfunctional family in Saint-Benoît. In 2023, Bélem published her second novel ''Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius'' (translated title: ''The Rarest Fruit, or the Life of Edmond Albius''), both a fictionalized historical biography of

horticulturist Horticulture (from ) is the art and science of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs and ornamental plants. Horticulture is commonly associated with the more professional and technical aspects of plant cultivation on a smaller and mo ...

Edmond Albius Edmond Albius (c. 1829 – 9 August 1880) was a horticulturalist from Réunion. Born into slavery, Albius became an important figure in the cultivation of vanilla. At the age of 12, he invented a technique for pollinating vanilla orchids quickl ...

and an

adventure novel Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of romance fiction. History In the introduction to the ''Encycloped ...

. Albius's innovatory technique revolutionized the cultivation of

vanilla Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia''). ''Vanilla'' is not Autogamy, autogamous, so pollination ...

by making it possible to profitably grow

Vanilla planifolia ''Vanilla planifolia'' is a species of vanilla orchid native to Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and Brazil. It is one of the primary sources for vanilla flavouring, due to its high vanillin content. Common names include flat-leaved vanilla, ...

beyond its native habitat in Latin America. In 2024, his first novel, ''A Monster Is There, Behind the Door'', has been translated into English by Karen Fleetwood and Laëtitia Saint-Loubert, and this translation was selected (longlist) for the 2025

. In 2025, Gaëlle Bélem releases ''Sud Sauvage'', a collection of fantastic stories set in

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

that pay tribute to her role models:

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, celebrated as a master of the short story, as well as a representative of the naturalist school, depicting human lives, destinies and s ...

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

and

H. P. Lovecraft Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos. Born in Provi ...

. The official launch took place on April 4 at the Médiathèque de Saint-Denis during a debate with text readings in the presence of author Philippe Morvan, set to music by the harpist Séverine Ledoux.

Works

Original publication in French

* * *

Translation in English

* *

Awards

2020 and

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

Prix ''André Dubreuil du premier roman 2020'' of the

for ''Un monstre est là, derrière la porte''. *

2025 for ''There's a Monster Behind the Door''. * Prix du roman métis des Étudiants 2025 pour ''Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius''.

Livres Hebdo Livre may refer to: Currency * French livre, one of a number of obsolete units of currency of France * Livre tournois, one particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Livre parisis, another particular obsolete unit of currency of France * Fre ...

, ''Gaëlle Bélem remporte la première édition du prix du Roman Métis des Étudiants

/ref>

References

External links

* . Video duration 23m:21s. Uploader Romanska och klassiska institution, 20 October 2023. Gaëlle Bélem is interviewed about her novel ''Le fruit le plus rare ou la vie d'Edmond Albius'' (2023) during her visit to

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

in 2023. In French. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bélem, Gaëlle 1984 births 21st-century French women writers École pratique des hautes études alumni French women writers Living people Lycée Pierre-de-Fermat alumni Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University alumni Women writers from Réunion Writers from Réunion