Laurent Mauvignier – French novelist born in 1967 in Tours, known for his intense psychological prose and works such as Des hommes, Dans la foule and La Maison vide. His fiction explores memory, silence and the margins of experience.
🎓 Born in Tours in 1967, studied fine arts at the École des Beaux-Arts and graduated in 1991. ✍️ Published his first novel Loin d’eux in 1999 at age 32 with Éditions de Minuit. 📚 His breakthrough Des hommes (2009) addresses the aftermath of the Algerian War and earned broad recognition. 🌍 Dans la foule (2006) portrays collective trauma through the Heysel Stadium disaster in Brussels. 🏆 Winner of numerous literary awards – including Prix Fénéon and Prix Wepler – and recipient of the 2025 Prix Goncourt for La Maison vide. 🖋 Writes with a focus on rhythm, silence and the unsaid rather than dramatic action. 📖 Has remained loyal to Éditions de Minuit, publisher of nearly all his works. 😄 Fun – Once described his creative process as “digging through silence until it becomes music”, joking that his books have “too many commas to breathe properly.”