Marie Darrieussecq

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About Marie Darrieussecq

Marie Darrieussecq is one of the leading voices in contemporary French literature. Her first novel, Pig Tales (Truismes, P.O.L.; trans. by Linda Coverdale, The New Press, 1998), was a finalist for France’s prestigious Prix Goncourt in 1996 and became an international bestseller. In 2013, she received the Prix Medicis for her novel Men: A Novel of Cinema and Desire (Il faut beaucoup aimer les hommes, P.O.L.; trans. by Penny Hueston, Semiotext(e), 2016). Marie Darrieussecq has also worked as a translator and psychoanalyst. In 2022, she was a resident at Villa Albertine.



About Sleepless: A Memoir of Insomnia



(trans. by Penny Hueston, Semiotext(e), 2023)

Plagued by insomnia for twenty years, Marie Darrieussecq studies, in her book Sleepless, the causes, implications and consequences of sleeplessness. Inspired by her personal experience, Darrieussecq also turns to literature, geopolitical history, and psychoanalysis to better understand where insomnia comes from and what it might mean. Raging between autobiography, clinical observation, and criticism, Sleepless is a graceful, inventive meditation by one of the most daring, inventive novelists writing today.

Sleepless was released in the United States in September 2023.

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This event is a part of Villa Albertine’s Authors on Tour program.

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Performing Arts & Screenings

Soie: Behind the Curtain

In partnership with the French Theater Project

Thursday, April 30, 2026

Join us at the French Library for an exclusive preview of Soie, the stage adaptation of Alessandro Baricco’s celebrated novel, to be performed May 1–3, 2026 at the Mosesian Center for the Arts.

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Friday, May 1, 2026

Join us for a special edition of "La Pause Café” where Café Joyeux will brew their specialty coffee while you practice your French, immerse yourself in stimulating conversations, and make new friends.

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