Fabienne Kanor (born 7 August 1970) is a French
journalist
A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism.
Roles
Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...
,
novelist
A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...
and
filmmaker
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
of
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
origin. She is a winner of the
Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde.
Early life
Fabienne Kanor was born in
Orléans
Orléans (,["Orleans"](_blank)
(US) and [France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...]
on 7 August 1970. Her mother was a nursing assistant and her father worked in the French post and telegraph office. She obtained degrees in modern literature and sociolinguistics at the University of Orléans and Tours, and went on to study in Paris under
Romuald Fonkoua. Her master's thesis was titled ''La Problématique de la terre dans la littérature antillaise''.
Career
Following her studies, Kanor took up a job at a communications company. At this time she wrote her first novel, which remained unpublished. She then worked as a journalist for television (
La Cinquième
France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring nonfiction and educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowl ...
,
Paris Première
Paris Première is a French TV channel, available on cable television, cable, satellite television, satellite and the Digital terrestrial television, digital terrestrial service, Télévision Numérique Terrestre. It was launched on 15 December 1 ...
,
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air Public broadcasting, public television network. The second flagship network of France Télévisions, it broadcasts a wide range of general and specialized programming.
France 3 is structured as a Region ...
and
Canal France Internationale), radio (
Radio France Internationale
Radio France Internationale, usually referred to as RFI, is the State media, state-owned international radio news network of France. With 59.5 million listeners in 2022, it is one of the most-listened-to international radio stations in the world ...
and
Radio Nova), and press (
Nova Magazine). These roles allowed her to concentrate on fiction, and also develop as a filmmaker. Between 2001 and 2003, she directed a series of documentaries on black women, including
Jenny Alpha
Jenny Alpha (22 April 1910 – 8 September 2010) was a Martinique-born French actress and singer, who appeared in more than a hundred theatre productions and movies.
Born in Fort-de-France, Martinique in 1910, Alpha moved to Paris in 1929 to pu ...
,
Césaria Evora and
Mimi Barthélémy.
[
Kanor lived for two years in ]Saint-Louis, Senegal
Saint-Louis () or Saint Louis (), is the capital of Senegal's Saint-Louis Region. Located in the northwest of Senegal, near the mouth of the Senegal River, and north of Senegal's capital city Dakar. It had a population of 254,171 in 2023. Saint-L ...
, during which she wrote and published her novel ''D'Eaux douces''. This won the ''Prix Fetkann!
Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...
'' in 2004. Her second novel, ''Humus'', appeared after her sojourn in Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
.[ This book was inspired by an anecdote in the logbook of a captain of a slave ship in 1774, which reported that fourteen women jumped into the sea rather than proceed into slavery. Renée Larrier noted that "Kanor's polyphonic text is part of a series of recent works dealing with women's resistance to involuntary servitude."]
Between the two novels, she and her sister Véronique Kanor began making films. ''La Noiraude'' was the first of a planned trilogy of medium-length films, and it explored the trials and tribulations faced by Caribbean people in Paris. It was broadcast on France 2 and RFO, and received well at various film festivals. The second instalment in the trilogy, ''C'est qui L'Homme'', was broadcast on France 2 in 2009. This examined gender dynamics in relationships and the position assigned to women by their male partners.[
In 2008, Kanor collaborated with Emmanuelle Bidou on ''Janbé dlo: une histoire antillaise'', a documentary that traced the three stages of Caribbean emigration to France from the perspective of families.][
In 2011, Kanor participated in the International Writing Program's Fall Residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA.
Kanor's 2014 book ''Faire l'aventure'' was praised as a "rare book", an "odyssey of disillusion", a chilling exploration of the undocumented life of an illegal immigrant and the "venomous relations between white and black people".]
Works
Novels
*
*
*
*
*
Children's fiction
*
Film and television
* ''La Noiraude'' (with Véronique Kanor). Bouquin Affamé Productions (France, 2005), 29 minutes.
* ''Janbé dlo: une histoire antillaise (Traverser l'eau)'' (with Emmanelle Bidou). France Cinq and Télessonne, 2007, 52 minutes.
* ''Ti Emile Pò kò mò'' (with Jean-Michel Cassérus). Paris: Productions La Lanterne, 2008, 54 minutes.
* ''C'est qui L'Homme'' (with Véronique Kanor). France 2, 2009.
Awards
* 2004 - Prix Fetkann!, for ''D'Eaux douces''.[
* 2005 - Special mention by the jury of Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde for ''Humus''.
* 2007 - Prix RFO du livre, for ''Humus''.]
* 2014 - Prix Carbet de la Caraïbe et du Tout-Monde, for ''Faire l'aventure''.
Further reading
* Yale French Studies
''Yale French Studies'' is an academic journal published biannually by Yale University Press and connected with the French department at Yale University. It is the oldest English-language journal in the United States devoted to French and Francopho ...
, Number 146, ''Fabienne Kanor in Transgression'', 2025
References
External links
fabiennekanor.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kanor, Fabienne
20th-century French novelists
21st-century French novelists
1970 births
French filmmakers
Living people
People from Orléans
International Writing Program alumni