Michel Tournier

1924 - 2016

photo credits: Wikimedia Commons

country of citizenship: France

native language: French

languages spoken, written or signed: French

educated at: University of Tübingen, Faculty of Arts of Paris, Lycée Pasteur

occupation: writer, translator, novelist, children's writer

award received: Prix Goncourt, Order of Merit of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française, Goethe Medal, Grinzane Cavour Prize, Premio Malaparte, Commander of the Legion of Honour, Commander's Grand Cross of the Order of the Gediminas

Michel Tournier (French: [tuʁnje]; 19 December 1924 − 18 January 2016) was a French writer. He won awards such as the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française in 1967 for Friday, or, The Other Island and the Prix Goncourt for The Erl-King in 1970. His inspirations included traditional German culture, Catholicism and the philosophies of Gaston Bachelard. He resided in Choisel and was a member of the Académie Goncourt. His autobiography has been translated and published as The Wind Spirit (Beacon Press, 1988). He was on occasion in contention for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Source: Wikipedia (en)