Daniel Pennac
Recipient of the 2008 Blue Metropolis Literary Grand Prix
Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation is proud to announce that the winner of the 2008 Blue Metropolis Literary Grand Prix is the great French writer Daniel Pennac. The $10,000 award recognizes a lifetime of literary achievement by a writer of international reputation. Previous winners include Margaret Atwood (2007), Michel Tremblay (2006), Carlos Fuentes (2005), Paul Auster (2004), Maryse Condé (2003), Mavis Gallant (2002), Norman Mailer (2001) and Marie-Claire Blais (2000).
“To mark our 10th anniversary, we are very happy to bestow this year’s Literary Grand Prix to the French author whose work is of remarkable quality and range, Daniel Pennac,” said Linda Leith, Artistic Director and founder of the Blue Metropolis Literary Foundation. Born in Casablanca in 1944, Daniel Pennac is one of the most translated of contemporary French writers with books for both adults and children appearing in more than thirty languages around the world. His first few books (Au bonheur des ogres, La fée carabine, and La petite marchande de prose) were met with immediate success, and his 1984 novel L'œil du loup was translated into English as Eye of the Wolf by Sarah Adams, winning her the 2005 Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation. Pennac is also the author of The Malaussene Saga, a series of novels set in the popular, racially mixed Belleville quarter in the eastern part of Paris. He has also penned a book containing his reflections on reading entitled Commme un roman. In addition to becoming a best seller in France, this work has been translated for English readers as both Reads like a Novel and Better than Life. Pennac’s most recent work includes the book Le dictateur et le hamac, a play entitled Merci, and a collection of essays that deal with school from the point of view of a student. This last work, Chagrin d'école, won the Prix Renaudot in 2007.Pennac will receive the prize at the 10th annual Blue Metropolis International Literary Festival, taking place in Montreal from April 30 to May 4, 2008 at the Delta Centre-Ville Hotel.
Located in Montreal, Blue Metropolis Foundation is a non-profit organization established in June 1997. Its mandate is to unite people from different cultures together to share the joys of reading and writing. To achieve its mission of educating and of increasing the public's understanding and appreciation of writers and writing, The Foundation has made a commitment to organize numerous activities throughout the year, including the celebrated Blue Metropolis Montreal International Literary Festival. Since its creation, more than 1,200 authors and more than 55,000 festivalgoers have participated in Blue Metropolis’s events. In 2007 more than 300 writers, literary translators, cartoonists, musicians, storytellers, and publishers from around the world united in Montreal for five days of literary events held in English, French, Spanish and other languages.The complete Festival programme will be available on our website on April 8th.
Media relations:
Christopher DiRaddo tel: (514) 842-5087 / mobile: (514) 806-5087
diraddo@videotron.ca
The Blue Metropolis International Literary Grand Prix is awarded annually to a writer of international stature and accomplishment as a celebration of a lifetime of literary achievement. Previous recipients are Margaret Atwood (2007) Michel Tremblay (2006), Carlos Fuentes (2005), Paul Auster (2004), Maryse Condé (2003), Mavis Gallant (2002), Norman Mailer (2001) and Marie-Claire Blais (2000).