{{Short description|French novelist born 1972}}{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox writer |name = Mathias Énard |image = Mathias Enard 20100329 Salon du livre de Paris 1.jpg |caption = Mathias Énard in 2010 |birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|1|11}} |birth_place = Niort, France |occupation = Author, translator, professor |education = Institut national des langues et civilisations orientales<br>École du Louvre |notableworks = * ''La Perfection du tir'' (2003) * ''Zone'' (2008) * ''Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants'' (2010) * ''Compass'' (2015) }}
'''Mathias Énard''' (born January 11, 1972) is a French writer and translator. He is the recipient of several literary awards, including the Prix Goncourt in 2015, for his novel ''Compass''. Since 2020, he has produced and hosted a literary program on France Culture.
== Early life == Énard was raised in Poitou by “a special ed teacher from Nice and a Basque speech therapist.”<ref name="nouvelobs">{{cite web |author=Grégoire Leménager |date=26 September 2015 |title=Mathias Enard, le nouveau Balzac |url=https://www.nouvelobs.com/rentree-litteraire/20150922.OBS6281/mathias-enard-le-nouveau-balzac.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20240915193331/https://www.nouvelobs.com/rentree-litteraire/20150922.OBS6281/mathias-enard-le-nouveau-balzac.html |url-status=live |archivedate=15 September 2024 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |publisher=Le Nouvel Obs |language=fr}}</ref> After studying at the École du Louvre, he continued his studies in Arabic and Persian at INALCO<ref name="francecult">{{cite web |date=17 July 2019 |title=Mathias Enard : "La rencontre avec le monde arabe et persan m'a formé et transformé" |url=https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/les-masterclasses/mathias-enard-la-rencontre-avec-le-monde-arabe-et-persan-m-a-forme-et-transforme-7148852 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221205184830/https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/les-masterclasses/mathias-enard-la-rencontre-avec-le-monde-arabe-et-persan-m-a-forme-et-transforme-7148852 |url-status=live |archivedate=5 December 2022 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |publisher=France Culture |language=fr}}</ref>, where he wrote his thesis on “post-war Arabic and Persian poetry and its relationship with European literature.”<ref name="nouvelobs" />
He did his military service in Syria, where he spent two years in Sweida, giving French classes at a cultural center.<ref name="nouvelobs" />
== Career == In 2000 Énard moved to Barcelona<ref name="nouvelobs" />, where he edited several cultural magazines. He then lived in Rome and Berlin. He has translated two books, one from Persian and the other from Arabic. He also served on the editorial board of the magazine ''Inculte''<ref name="francecult" /> in Paris. In 2009, he taught Arabic at the Autonomous University of Barcelona.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb14483324m/PUBLIC |title=Notice d'autorité de la BnF |language=fr}}</ref>
Énard’s first novel, ''La Perfection du tir'',<ref name="francecult" /> was released in 2003. It is the story of a sniper during a nameless country’s civil war and his obsession with death. It won the Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie and the Prix Edmée-de-La-Rochefoucauld. It was also selected for the 2004 edition of the Festival du premier roman. <ref name="premroman">{{cite web |title=Les précédentes éditions du Festival |url=http://www.festivalpremierroman.com/SDL_2014/page_festival.php?titreP=festival_17_2004 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117025555/http://www.festivalpremierroman.com/SDL_2014/page_festival.php?titreP=festival_17_2004 |archivedate=17 November 2015 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
From 2005 to 2006, Énard was a resident at the French Academy in Rome.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mathias Énard |url=https://villamedici.it/resident/mathias-enard/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250810123619/https://villamedici.it/resident/mathias-enard/ |url-status=live |archivedate=10 August 2025 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
Actes Sud published his novel ''Zone'' in 2008. It consists primarily of a single long sentence over its five hundred pages, with exceptions for three chapters, which are excerpts from a book the narrator is reading<ref>{{cite web |date=1 June 2010 |title=Mathias Énard : La fin d'Abou Firas l'inconvenant |url=https://d-fiction.fr/mathias-enard-la-fin-dabou-firas-linconvenant/ |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208145242/https://d-fiction.fr/mathias-enard-la-fin-dabou-firas-linconvenant/ |url-status=live |archivedate=8 February 2023 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |publisher=D-Fiction |language=fr}}</ref>. It was awarded many prizes, including the Prix Décembre, the Candide Preis, and the Prix du Livre Inter. <ref name="zoneactes">{{cite web |title=Mathias Énard |url=https://actes-sud.fr/catalogue/zone-008497 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20260210194455/https://actes-sud.fr/catalogue/zone-008497 |url-status=live |archivedate=10 February 2026 |accessdate=10 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
In 2010, he published ''Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants'', a short story based on a likely fictional episode in the life of Michelangelo. It tells the story of a trip to Constantinople, where Michelangelo arrived on May 13, 1506, at the invitation of Sultan Bayezid II. It depicts a tolerant, European Constantinople that welcomes Jews expelled from Spain by the Catholic monarchs. It received the 2010 Prix Goncourt des Lycéens and the 25th Prix du Livre en Poitou-Charentes & La Voix des Lecteurs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Rendez-vous autour des livres |url=http://livre-poitoucharentes.org/vie-litteraire/listevents/details/105-mathias-enard-prix-du-livre-en-poitou-charentes-a-la-voix-des-lecteurs.html |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309173326/http://livre-poitoucharentes.org/vie-litteraire/listevents/details/105-mathias-enard-prix-du-livre-en-poitou-charentes-a-la-voix-des-lecteurs.html |url-status=dead |archivedate=9 March 2014 |accessdate=17 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
Énard founded the contemporary art publishing house Scrawitch in 2011. A gallery by the same name existed until 2014 in the 11th arrondissement in Paris, co-founded with lithographer Thomas Marin and philosopher Julien Bézille.<ref>{{cite web |title=Contact |url=https://scrawitch.com/contact |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141013071841/https://scrawitch.com/contact |url-status=dead |archivedate=13 October 2014 |accessdate=17 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
In 2012, Énard published ''Street of Thieves'', the story of a young Moroccan man wandering around Spain during the Arab Spring and of the anti-austerity movement in Spain. At the 2012 edition of the Beirut Francophone Book Fair, the book received the first Liste Goncourt: Le choix de l'Orient prize, awarded by a jury of students from universities in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries.<ref>{{cite web |title="Rue des voleurs" de Mathias Enard, Liste Goncourt/Le Choix de l'Orient |url=http://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Livres/Les-prix-litteraires-de-la-rentree-2012-en-images-450905/Rue-des-voleurs-de-Mathias-Enard-Liste-Goncourt-Le-Choix-de-l-Orient |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030337/http://www.parismatch.com/Culture/Livres/Les-prix-litteraires-de-la-rentree-2012-en-images-450905/Rue-des-voleurs-de-Mathias-Enard-Liste-Goncourt-Le-Choix-de-l-Orient |url-status=dead |archivedate=17 November 2015 |accessdate=17 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref> The book also received the Prix de l'Académie littéraire de Bretagne et des Pays de la Loire in 2013.
His 2015 novel ''Compass'', which deals with the West's view of the Orient, was awarded the Prix Goncourt.<ref name="goncourt">{{cite web |author=Ken Willsher |date=3 November 2015 |title=France's top literary prize awarded to Mathias Énard |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/03/frances-top-literary-prize-awarded-to-mathias-enard |accessdate=3 November 2015 |work=The Guardian}}</ref>
Énard co-wrote the graphic novel ''Prendre refuge'' with illustrator Zeina Abirached in 2018.<ref name="francecult" />
In 2020 he was Friedrich Dürrenmatt Guest Professor for World Literature<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 January 2020|title=Mathias Énard|url=https://www.wbkolleg.unibe.ch/about_us/friedrich_duerrenmatt_guest_professorship/mathias_nard/index_eng.html|access-date=3 August 2020|website=Walter Benjamin Kolleg|archive-date=21 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200921081855/https://www.wbkolleg.unibe.ch/about_us/friedrich_duerrenmatt_guest_professorship/mathias_nard/index_eng.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> at the University of Bern. Since the beginning of the 2020 academic year, he has hosted and produced the radio program ''L'entretien littéraire'' on France Culture on Sundays.<ref>{{cite web |title=La Conversation littéraire |url=https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-entretien-litteraire-de-mathias-enard |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20251207001152/https://www.radiofrance.fr/franceculture/podcasts/l-entretien-litteraire-de-mathias-enard |url-status=live |archivedate=7 December 2025 |accessdate=18 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
At the end of 2020, Énard's novel ''The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild'', which he worked on for 10 years, was published. Many of the book's stories take place in his hometown of Niort, in the Poitou region.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sur France Culture, Mathias Énard nous fait visiter “La Salle des machines” des écrivains |author=Elise Racque |date=6 September 2020 |url=https://www.telerama.fr/radio/sur-france-culture-mathias-enard-nous-fait-visiter-la-salle-des-machines-des-ecrivains-6687543.php |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20250811052717/https://www.telerama.fr/radio/sur-france-culture-mathias-enard-nous-fait-visiter-la-salle-des-machines-des-ecrivains-6687543.php |url-status=live |archivedate=11 August 2025 |accessdate=18 February 2026 |language=fr}}</ref>
In 2026, ''The Deserters'', Charlotte Mandell's English translation of Énard's 2023 novel ''Déserter'', was longlisted for the International Booker Prize.<ref>{{cite web |title=The International Booker Prize 2026 |url=https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/prize-years/international/2026 |website=The Booker Prizes |access-date=25 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Creamer |first1=Ella |title=Witches, Nazi collaborators and banned books: International Booker prize announces 2026 longlist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/feb/24/ravn-kehlmann-genberg-enard-and-cabezon-camara-longlist-international-booker-prize |website=The Guardian |access-date=25 February 2026 |date=24 February 2026}}</ref>
== Works == {{Main|Mathias Énard bibliography}}
=== Novels === * (2003) {{Lang|fr|La Perfection du tir}} (''Perfecting the Shot'', English ed. 2026) * (2005) ''{{Lang|fr|Remonter l'Orénoque}}'' * (2007) ''{{Lang|fr|Bréviaire des artificiers}}'' * (2008) ''{{Lang|fr|Zone}}'' (English ed. 2010) * (2010) ''{{Lang|fr|Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'éléphants}}'' (''Tell Them of Battles, Kings, and Elephants'', English ed. 2018) * (2011) ''{{Lang|fr|L'alcool et la nostalgie}}'' * (2012) ''{{Lang|fr|Rue des voleurs}}'' (''Street of Thieves'', English ed. 2014) * (2015) ''{{Lang|fr|Boussole}}'' (''Compass'', English ed. 2017) * (2018) ''{{Lang|fr|Désir pour désir}}'' * (2020) ''{{Lang|fr|Le Banquet annuel de la Confrérie des fossoyeurs}}'' (''The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild'', English ed. 2023) * (2023) ''{{Lang|fr|Déserter}}'' (''The Deserters'', English ed. 2025)
=== Graphic Novels === * (2013) ''{{Lang|fr|Tout sera oublié}}''. Illustrated by Pierre Marquès. * (2018) ''{{Lang|fr|Prendre refuge}}''. Co-written with and illustrated by Zeina Abirached.
=== Children’s Books === * (2009) ''{{Lang|fr|Mangée, mangée !}}''. Illustrated by Pierre Marquès.
=== Poetry === * (2016) ''{{Lang|fr|Dernière communication à la société proustienne de Barcelone}}''
=== Non-fiction === * (2020) ''{{Lang|fr|J'y mets ma langue à couper}}'' * (2024) ''{{Lang|fr|Mélancole des confins - Nord}}''
==Awards and honours== *2004 Prix des cinq continents de la francophonie for ''La Perfection du tir''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2004 Prix Edmée-de-La-Rochefoucauld for ''La Perfection du tir'' *2008 Prix Décembre for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2008 Prix Candide for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2008 Bourse Thyde-Monnier SGDL for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2008 Prix Cadmous for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2009 Prix Initiales for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2009 Inter Book Prize for ''Zone''<ref name="zoneactes" /> *2010 Prix Goncourt des Lycéens for ''Parle-leur de batailles, de rois et d'élephants'' *2013 Prix Roman-News for ''Rue des voleurs''<ref>{{cite web |author=Victor De Sepausy |date=20 June 2013 |title=Mathias Énard, lauréat du Prix Roman-News 2013 |url=https://www.actualitte.com/article/culture-arts-lettres/mathias-enard-laureat-du-prix-roman-news-2013/42149 |accessdate=3 November 2015 |work=actualitte.com}}</ref> *2015 Best Translated Book Award longlist for ''Street of Thieves'', translated by Charlotte Mandell<ref name="goncourt" /> *2015 Prix Goncourt for ''Boussole''<ref>{{cite web |author=Ken Willsher |date=3 November 2015 |title=France's top literary prize awarded to Mathias Énard |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/nov/03/frances-top-literary-prize-awarded-to-mathias-enard |accessdate=3 November 2015 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> *2016 Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters<ref>{{cite web |title=Flux |url=http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Ministere/Services-rattaches-a-la-ministre/Section-des-distinctions-honorifiques/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605065819/http://www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr/Ministere/Services-rattaches-a-la-ministre/Section-des-distinctions-honorifiques/Arretes-de-Nominations-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres/Nomination-dans-l-ordre-des-Arts-et-des-Lettres-janvier-2016 |archive-date=5 June 2016 |accessdate=3 December 2018 |website=www.culturecommunication.gouv.fr}}</ref> *2017 Man Booker International Prize shortlist for ''Compass'', translated by Charlotte Mandell<ref>{{cite web |date=15 March 2017 |title=The Man Booker International Prize 2017 Longlist Announced |url=http://themanbookerprize.com/news/man-booker-international-prize-2017-longlist-announced |accessdate=20 March 2017 |work=Man Booker International Prize 2017}}</ref> *2017 Premio Gregor von Rezzori – Città di Firenze for ''Bussola''<ref>[http://www.linkiesta.it/it/blog-post/2017/06/17/mathias-enard-vince-il-premio-von-rezzori-2017/25782/ Mathias Enard Vince il Premio Von Rezzori 2017]. Retrieved 20 June 2017.</ref> *2017 Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding<ref name="understandwinners">{{cite web |author= |date= |title=Leipzig Book Award for European Understanding |url=http://english.leipzig.de/leisure-culture-and-tourism/literature-prizes/leipzig-book-award-for-european-understanding/ |accessdate=9 December 2016 |publisher=City of Leipzig}}</ref>
== See also == * Candide Preis
== References == {{Reflist}}
{{Prix Goncourt}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Enard, Mathias}} Category:20th-century French non-fiction writers Category:21st-century French non-fiction writers Category:Academic staff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona Category:Prix Décembre winners Category:Prix Goncourt winners Category:Prix du Livre Inter winners Category:Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners Category:École du Louvre alumni Category:French male novelists Category:Officiers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Category:People from Niort Category:1972 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century French male writers