About Annie Ernaux, Nobel Laureate

Presentation + Q&A + Reading

Fri. 11 November 2022 - 6pm-7.30pm - @ Alliance Française de Manchester

(photo credit: Elena Vozzi -  Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International)

Annie Ernaux, the winner of this year's Nobel prize for literature, is the third French laureate of the 21st century to date, after JMG Le Clézio in 2008 and Patrick Modiano in 2014. Her literary works are as rich as they are multifaceted. In her numerous books she reflects on memory and social matters.

"La Place" relates her youth in Normandy and her social ascension from a humble background. In "L'Evènement", which was adapted as a film by Audrey Diwan in 2021 (Venice Golden Lion), she recounts her experience of an abortion in 1960s France. "Les Années" is a form of autobiography for an entire generation. 

Join us for a very special event where our guest speaker, Timo Obergöker (University of Chester), will present the main themes of her work and locate Ernaux in the broader context of contemporary French literature. This will be followed by a Q&A session, and a reading of extracts from Ernaux's works. 

Free - Open to all - Talk in French with a PowerPoint in English

This event will take place at the Alliance Française de Manchester (125 Portland Street, M1 4QD).

Our speaker

Timo Obergöker is Professor of French and Francophone Studies at the University of Chester. His research centres on the contemporary novel in French (France, Belgium and Quebec). He is also interested in Lebanon, the graphic novel and and popular music in French.