Nelly Arcan

Nelly Arcan was born in 1973, well into the 20^th century, and yet her story reads like a female version of the fate of the poètes maudits. She did extensive research before entrusting her works to leading publishers; she attracted immediate attention with Putain (2001, Éditions du Seuil, published in English as Whore), followed in 2004 by Folle (Hysteric), in 2007 by L’enfant dans le miroir and À ciel ouvert, and in 2009 by Paradis, clef en main. Nominated for the prestigious Prix Femina and Prix Médicis, hailed for her vulnerable yet indomitable writing, the enigmatic Nelly Arcan imprinted the literary world with a unique and fascinating mythology.