The program in French at Johns Hopkins is pleased to announce that with the generous assistance of the French Embassy in the United States, the Centre Louis Marin will host prizewinning French novelist Maylis de Kerangal from March 3 to March 7, 2025. One year after the collapse of the Frances Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, join us in this act of civic renewal through Le Pont des arts.

The author of more than ten books, de Kerangal (b. 1967 in Toulon) came to prominence in France with Naissance d’un pont (The Bridge), a choral narrative about the building of a suspension bridge in an imaginary California that won the coveted Prix Médicis in 2010. In Réparer les vivants (The Heart, 2014; film adaptation by Katell Quillévéré 2016), she explored the ways in which an organ transplant fashions a complex web of human relationships and the freighted process of decision-making in the wake of tragedy. In fall 2024, her “anti-detective” novel set in Le Havre, Jours de ressac, was in the running for France’s top literary prize, the Prix Goncourt.

In anticipation of her residency, to feature a two-part creative writing workshop (in French) and a book signing at local bookstore Bird in Hand, students at all levels are invited to join a reading group (not-for-credit) in February, with the option of reading de Kerangal’s books in French or in English translation. Participants will have a special opportunity to share with Maylis de Kerangal their own encounters with her work.

Public Events:

Rencontre – causerie: Tuesday, March 4th, 7 PM, Gilman 479

Signing & Interview: Wednesday, March 5th, 6 PM, Bird in Hand

Contact: Prof. Derek Schilling, [email protected]