BIBLIOTOPIA 2021 | Franck Bouysse and Thomas Flahaut in conversation (EN translation)

From Countryside to Factory: Exploring Social Change

Franck Bouysse, born in 1956 in Brive-la-Gaillarde in Corrèze, is a prize winning French writer. He spent a large part of his childhood in his grandparents’ farm. After studying biology, he moved to Limoges to teach, and now divides his time between Limoges and the Corrèze. He has always been fascinated with American literature, which is a major source inspiration for his writing. He has published fifteen novels, including, at La Manufacture de livres, « Grossir le ciel » (2014, Prix Michel Lebrun, Prix Polars Pourpres, Prix SNCF du polar), and « Né d’aucune femme » (2019, Prix des libraires, Prix Babelio, and Grand Prix des lectrices de Elle). His latest novel, « Buveurs de vent » (Albin Michel, 2020), was awarded the Prix Jean Giono. His books explore the beauty of the countryside, and the tensions between tradition and progress.

Thomas Flahaut, a novelist and scriptwriter, was born in 1991 in Montbéliard in Doubs, France, in a family of workers. He studied theatre in Strasbourg before moving to Switzerland to follow a creative writing course in Bienne. He founded a Franco-Swiss literary collective, Hétérotrophes and now lives in Bienne. Both his novels are published by Éditions de l’Olivier and explore the lives of factory workers now and in the past. « Ostwald » (2017) was a finalist for the Prix Stanislas and the Prix de la Vocation as well as being selected for the 2018-2019 Roman des Romands. His second novel, « Les nuits d’été » (2020), inspired by his own experience of work in the bernese Jura, describes the problems and expectations of young people working in a factory on the border between France and Switzerland.

La Fondation Jan Michalski, le 5 juin 2021