Alain Nadaud (5 July 1948 – 12 June 2015) was a French novelist, writer and diplomat. He was born in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and studied literature at

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...

, obtaining a master's degree. Nadaud then taught literature abroad, in

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and in

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. After completing a doctorate, he went abroad again to teach French in

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state in

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. Back in Paris, he taught philosophy until 1985. After the publication of his first novel ''Archéologie du zéro'' in 1984, Nadaud joined the publisher Denoël, where he was in charge of manuscripts. After a stint with Ramsay, he worked at Balland and then Belfond. He wrote for numerous journals before founding the literary magazine ''Quai Voltaire''. Known for his historical novels, he won the

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for ''Auguste fulminant''. Appointed to the French embassy in

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

in 1994, Nadaud later served as

cultural attaché Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, attitudes, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

at the French consulate in

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Novels

* Archéologie du zéro, Denoël, 1984 * L'Envers du temps, Denoël, 1985 * Désert physique, Denoël, 1987 * L'Iconoclaste, Quai Voltaire, 1989 * La Mémoire d'Érostrate, Le Seuil, 1992 * Le Livre des malédictions, Grasset, 1995 * Auguste fulminant, Grasset, 1997 * Une aventure sentimentale, Verticales, 1999 * La Fonte des glaces, Grasset, 2000 * Les Années mortes, Grasset, 2004 * Le Vacillement du monde, Actes Sud, 2006 * Si Dieu existe, Albin Michel, 2007 * Le passage du col, Albin Michel, 2009 * La plage des demoiselles, Éditions Léo Scheer, 2010 * D'écrire j'arrête, Tarabuste Éditeur, 2010

Other works

* La Tache aveugle, Éditeurs français réunis, 1980 (réédition Messidor 1990). * Voyage au pays des bords du gouffre, Denoël, 1986. * L'Iconolâtre, Tarabuste, 1995. * Petit catalogue des nations barbares, L'Or du temps, Tunis, 1999. * Ivre de livres, Balland, 1989. * Malaise dans la littérature, Champ Vallon, 1993. * Aux portes des enfers, enquête géographique littéraire et historique, Actes Sud, 2004. * La Représentation, Dumerchez, 1991 (play) * Vilas Sarang : Le Terroriste et autres récits, Denoël, 1988 (translation)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nadaud, Alain 1948 births 2015 deaths 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists Writers from Paris French male novelists 20th-century French male writers 21st-century French male writers Diplomats from Paris 20th-century French diplomats