François Blais (writer)
François Blais | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | January 3, 1973 Grand-Mère, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | May 14, 2022 (aged 49) Charette, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Notable work | Lac Adélard |
| Awards | Governor General’s Literary Award |
François Blais (January 3, 1973 – May 14, 2022) was a Canadian writer from Quebec who received the 2020 Governor General's Award for French-language children's literature for his novel Lac Adélard.
Biography
[edit]François Blais was born in 1973 in the small town of Grand-Mère in the Mauricie region of Quebec. He grew up in a house with a library filled with titles like Tintin, Bob Morane, and books from the Countess of Ségur.[1]
He published his first novel, Iphigénie en Haute-Ville at the age of 32 in 2006, which quickly became a finalist for several literary prizes, namely the Prix des libraires du Québec, the Prix France-Québec and the Prix Senghor de la création littéraire. Although he had until then worked primarily as a translator, Blais published a book almost every year, and beginning in 2016, had alternated between adult and children's books all while being employed as a night custodian for a shopping centre in Trois-Rivières.[2]
Blais was also particularly stingy with biographical details in the rare interviews he did grant.[3] His work was first translated in 2018, when his novel Document 1 appeared in English under the same title.[4]
He lived in Quebec City and, in 2016, moved to a farm in the village of Charette in the county of Maskinongé in Quebec to live with his sister.[5][2] Blais died there on May 14, 2022, at the age of 49.[6]
On December 16, 2022, the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services issued a warning about his novel The Boy with Upside-Down Feet, claiming that the book could incite young readers to suicide.[7] There was a swift and negative public reaction to the warning from the media and the literary and medical communities.[8][9][10]
Works
[edit]Blais' novels contain autobiographical elements, which are often rooted in his hometown of Grand-Mère in Quebec. Since his works are initially characterized by quirky and scathing humour, he never resorted to autofiction.[3]
His sixth novel, La classe de Madame Valérie, which traces the life of a group of 11-year-old classmates at Laflèche school in Grand-Mère, Quebec, was published in 2013, and received praise from many,[11] and in particular from veteran Quebec journalist Pierre Foglia.[12]
Un livre sur Mélanie Cabay, inspired by the 1994 disappearance and death of a young woman was published in 2018.[13][14][15] In 2020, his novel Lac Adélard, won the Governor General's Award for French-language children's literature at the 2020 Governor General's Awards.[1]
His 2012 novel Document 1 was published in English in 2018 by Book*hug in a translation by JC Sutcliffe, under the same title. It was the first of his works to be translated in another language.
Novels and short stories
[edit]- 2006 – Iphigénie en Haute-Ville (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895022824
- 2007 – Nous autres ça compte pas (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895022473
- 2008 – Le Vengeur masqué contre les hommes-perchaude de la lune (L’instant même) ISBN 9782896471416
- 2009 – Vie d’Anne-Sophie Bonenfant (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895022862
- 2011 – La nuit des morts-vivants (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023074
- 2012 – Document 1 (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023197
- 2013 – La classe de madame Valérie (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023357
- 2014 – Sam (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023456
- 2015 – Cataonie (short stories) (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023609
- 2017 – Les Rivières, suivi de Les Montagnes : Deux histoires de fantômes (short stories) (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895023906
- 2018 – Un livre sur Mélanie Cabay (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895024064
- 2021 – La seule chose qui intéresse tout le monde (L'instant même) ISBN 9782895024521
Children's books
[edit]- 2016 – 752 lapins (400 coups) ISBN 9782895406853
- 2017 – Le livre où la poule meurt à la fin (400 coups) ISBN 9782895406976
- 2019 – Lac Adélard, illustrated by Iris Boudreau (La courte échelle) ISBN 9782897742249
- 2020 – L’Horoscope (400 coups) ISBN 9782895408659
Collaborations
[edit]- 2015 – "Nous avons un problème", collection of short stories Il n’y a que les fous (L’instant même) ISBN 9782895028833, 2895028834
Awards and honours
[edit]- Governor General's Award for French-language children's literature, laureate in 2020 for Lac Adélard, illustrated by Iris Boudreau (La courte échelle)
- Prix jeunesse des libraires du Québec, laureate 2021 in the 12–17 years old category for Lac Adélard, illustrated by Iris Boudreau
- Prix jeunesse des libraires, co-laureate in 2019 in the 6–11 years old category with Valérie Boivin for Le livre où la poule meurt à la fin (Les 400 coups)
- Prix des libraires, finalist in 2014 for his novel La classe de madame Valérie (L’instant même)
- Prix de création littéraire de la Bibliothèque de Québec-Salon international du livre de Québec, laureate in 2013 for his novel Document 1[16]
- Prix des libraires, finalist in 2013 for his novel Document 1 (L’instant même)
- Prix des libraires, finalist in 2007 for his novel Iphigénie en Haute-Ville (L’instant même)
References
[edit]- ^ a b Nault, Sarah-Émilie (July 25, 2021). "Croire aux fantômes". Le Journal de Montréal (in Canadian French). Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- ^ a b "LQ", Wikipédia (in French), October 15, 2022, retrieved May 16, 2023
- ^ a b "Le mystère François Blais". La Fabrique culturelle (in Canadian French). Retrieved September 11, 2021.
- ^ Hebblethwaite, David (June 7, 2018). "Document 1 – François Blais". David's Book World. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "François Blais". Éditions les 400 coups (in French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Dumais, Manon (May 14, 2022). "L'écrivain François Blais n'est plus". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved May 15, 2022.
- ^ "2023 - Suicide theme | The school community warned against a novel by François Blais" (in Turkish). December 30, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Le dérapage du ministère de la Santé". La Presse+ (in French). December 31, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ "Lettre de la Santé sur François Blais: le milieu littéraire se questionne". Le Soleil (in French). December 29, 2022. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ Cossette, Josiane (January 9, 2023). "François Blais mérite mieux qu'une mise à l'index". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved January 17, 2023.
- ^ Lapointe, Josée (April 15, 2013). "François Blais : de Han Solo à écrivain". La Presse (in French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Laurin, Danielle (March 15, 2014). "Ringuet à l'ombre de François Blais". Le Devoir (in French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Laperrière, Simon (April 24, 2018). ""Un livre sur Mélanie Cabay" de François Blais chez L'instant même". Bible urbaine (in French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Hamelin, Marilyse (March 21, 2018). "Des dizaines de femmes tuées, les meurtriers jamais inquiétés". Châtelaine (in French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ Larochelle, Claudia (May 11, 2018). "En librairie : Mkdeville et Girard, Blais et Desrosiers". L'actualité (in Canadian French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ VOIR, L'équipe web du (April 4, 2013). "Les créations littéraires de François Blais et Martine Latulippe récompensées". voir.ca (in Canadian French). Retrieved September 10, 2021.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1973 births
- 2022 deaths
- 21st-century Canadian novelists
- Canadian novelists in French
- Governor General's Award–winning children's writers
- Writers from Quebec
- People from Shawinigan
- 21st-century Canadian short story writers
- Canadian male novelists
- Canadian male short story writers
- Canadian short story writers in French