Yann Queffélec

About Yann Queffélec

Son of the writer and novelist Henri Queffélec – awarded for one of his works by the Académie Française – and brother of pianist Anne Queffélec, Yann was born on September 4, 1949. This novelist is passionate about sailing, having owned 16 boats, and he is also a tennis player. He is now a literary columnist at Le Nouvel Observateur. His first book, published in 1979, is a biography of the Hungarian composer Béla Bartók. Two years later, Le Charme Noir is released, his first novel that narrowly missed the Prix Goncourt award. But it was only a matter of time, as in 1985, Les Noces Barbares is published, a novel that will ultimately win the Prix Goncourt. For this book, the recognition is twofold, as published by Gallimard, it is the second best-selling book of the 20th century. Since then, he has published thirty-seven works, including Disparue dans la Nuit, Boris après l’Amour, Ma Première Femme, Les Sables du Jubaland, etc. In 1987, he was awarded the Grand Prix Littéraire of the city of Florence. In the mid-90s, he wrote for singer Pierre Bachelet an album of twelve songs titled “La Ville ainsi-soit-il.” In 2004, the mysterious sinking of the trawler Bugaled Breizh occurred, an event that would inspire him, as five years later, the docu-fiction Adieu Bugaled Breizh will be released. A successful author, Yann Queffélec’s books have been translated into thirty-two languages, including English. Upcoming: a new novel with Albin Michel and the Dictionnaire amoureux de la Bretagne with Plon (2012).