Photo: librairie mollat / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Jean Echenoz is the kind of writer I find genuinely thrilling: a Frenchman from Arras who has collected the Médicis, the Décembre, and the Goncourt across decades, which tells you he never rode a trend but kept refining a voice for a lifetime. Sustained prize-winning like that is the mark of a craftsman, not a flash in the pan. I am also drawn to the fact that he works as a translator, because that intimacy with moving language across borders surely sharpens the precision of his own prose. He is a quietly formidable talent, and those are exactly the authors I cherish most.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Jean Echenoz
- Name (Japanese)
- ジャン・エシュノーズ
- Reading
- じゃん・えしゅのーず
- Born
- December 26, 1947 (age 78)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Capricorn / Boar
- Origin
- Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France
- Occupation
- translator / novelist
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- 1980 Fénéon Prize for literature
- 1983 Prix Médicis
- 1995 Prix Décembre
- 1999 Prix Goncourt
- 2006 Grand prix de littérature Paul-Morand
- 2006 Prix Littéraire Livres & Musiques de Deauville
- 2016 The prize of the BNF
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | I'm Off | — |
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Jean Echenoz born?
Born December 26, 1947 (age 78).
Where is Jean Echenoz from?
Jean Echenoz is from Arras, Pas-de-Calais, France.
What does Jean Echenoz do?
Jean Echenoz works as translator, novelist.
What is Jean Echenoz known for?
Notable works include I'm Off.
Translator — see all → · Novelist — see all → · More people from France →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.