Caroline Laurent, Randell Cottage 2021 Laureate [fr]
Caroline Laurent is the 2021 Randell Cottage French writer in residence. She will be in New Zealand in December 2022 and then between November and December 2023.
Born in 1988 and of French-Mauritian origins, Caroline grew up between French Polynesia, Bordeaux, Italy and Paris, where she currently resides. She still travels regularly to Mauritius to visit her maternal family.
Caroline is a graduate of modern French literature and has been an editor for the past 12 years (JC Lattès, Les Escales, Stock). Her areas of interest include contemporary literature and non-fiction.
Following the success of Et soudain, la liberté, co-written with Evelyne Pisier (80,000 copies sold, and awarded Prix Marguerite Duras and Grand Prix des Lycéennes ELLE 2018), in 2020 she released her second novel, Rivages de la colère (Prix Maison de la Presse 2020) in which she pursues her exploration of the colonial world and the lives of prominent women who have shaped history. It was translated into English and published with title ’An Impossible Return’ in December 2022.
Her feminist convictions and commitment to fighting for what she believes in, led her to establish an opinion column against sexual violence in the publishing industry, bringing together 50 literary figures.
The Randell Cottage is a Writer-in-Residence programme established by the Randell Cottage Trust in partnership with the Embassy of France in New Zealand.