Catherine Poulain (born 1960) is a French writer.

Life

Born in

Barr Barr may refer to: Places * Barr (placename element), element of place names meaning 'wooded hill', 'natural barrier' * Barr, Ayrshire, a village in Scotland * Barr Building (Washington, DC), listed on the US National Register of Historic Places ...

, Poulain left France at the age of twenty and travelled on various continents. She arrived in Quebec in 1987, then settled in Alaska where she worked as a fisherman for ten years before being deported in 2003 by the American immigration services for illegal work.''Catherine Poulain, une vie à sa main''
by Nathalie Raulin in ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' dated 19 June 2016. A few years after her return to France - where she lived from various agricultural works in Provence and the Alps - Poulain drew on her overseas experiences to help write her first novel, ''Le Grand Marin'' (''Woman at Sea''), which was described as a wild, gripping story of one woman’s battle with the elements on board an Alaskan fishing boat. It became a best-seller (70,000 copies sold in the months following its publication) and was awarded numerous literary prizes in 2016, including the

Prix Joseph-Kessel The Prix Joseph Kessel is a prize in French language literature, given to "a book of a high literary value written in French". The jury includes or has included among its members Tahar Ben Jelloun, Jean-Marie Drot, Michèle Kahn, Pierre Haski, Gil ...

, and the

Ouest France ''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départements within the régi ...

Prize Étonnants Voyageurs.''7 prix et 30.500 euros pour Catherine Poulain''
by Anne Crignon in ''

L'Obs (), previously known as (2014–2024), (1964–2014), (1954–1964), (1953–1954), and (1950–1953), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, ' is one of the three most prominent French news magazines a ...

'' dated 17 May 2016. Poulain was also a finalist for the

Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

, but was beaten by four votes to five by Joseph Andras''Goncourt du premier roman à Joseph Andras''
in ''

Le Figaro () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It was named after Figaro, a character in several plays by polymath Pierre Beaumarchais, Beaumarchais (1732–1799): ''Le Barbier de Séville'', ''The Guilty Mother, La Mère coupable'', ...

'' dated 9 May 2016. Her second novel, ''Le Cœur blanc'', was selected for the

Prix Décembre The , originally known as the ''Prix Novembre'', is one of France's premier literary awards. It was founded under the name ''Prix Novembre'' in 1989 by Philippe Dennery (Michel Dennery, according to other sources). In 1998, the founder resigned afte ...

2018.

Works

*2016: ', Éditions de l'Olivier –

prix Joseph-Kessel The Prix Joseph Kessel is a prize in French language literature, given to "a book of a high literary value written in French". The jury includes or has included among its members Tahar Ben Jelloun, Jean-Marie Drot, Michèle Kahn, Pierre Haski, Gil ...

and eleven other maritime or travel writer literary prizes.''Catherine Poulain et Isabelle Carré, deux passionnées de l'océan''
by in ''

Madame Figaro ''Madame Figaro'' () is a French magazine supplement to the Saturday edition of the daily newspaper , focusing on and catering to women. History and profile The first edition was published in 1980. ''Madame Figaro'' was spearheaded by Robert H ...

'' dated 9 January 2017. *2018: ''Le Cœur blanc'', Éditions de l'Olivier

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Poulain, Catherine 21st-century French women writers Joseph Kessel Prize recipients 1960 births Living people People from Bas-Rhin