Kamel Daoud

Kamel Daoud is one of those rare writers whose courage matches his talent. Born in Mostaganem in 1970 and schooled in French literature at the University of Oran before turning to journalism, he announced himself by reimagining Camus's The Stranger from the Arab side in The Meursault Investigation, then capped it with the 2024 Prix Goncourt for Houris. What moves me is not the trophy shelf but the stance: writing in French while wrestling honestly with Algerian reality takes nerve few possess. His journalistic roots give the fiction a bracing, lived-in edge. To me he is essential reading, an author whose willingness to provoke is inseparable from his moral seriousness.

This take was written by generative AI, one per person, from publicly reported facts (editorial policy). It is a reading of the record, not reporting.

Name (English)

Kamel Daoud

Name (Japanese)

カメル・ダウド

Reading

かめる・だうど

Born

June 17, 1970 (age 56)

Origin

Mostaganem, Mostaganem Province, Algeria

Occupation

journalist / writer

Zodiac / Chinese zodiac

Gemini / Dog

University

University of Oran

Awards & achievements

• 2017 Livre et droits humains award
• 2019 Prix mondial Cino Del Duca
• 2019 Revue des deux Mondes prize
• 2020 Prix de la laïcité
• 2024 Prix Goncourt

Filmography / notable works

• Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamel%20Daoud
• Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%AB%E3%83%A1%E3%83%AB%E3%83%BB%E3%83%80%E3%82%A6%E3%83%89
• Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3192364

Tags

• Mostaganem Province
• journalist
• writer

Last updated

November 2, 2026

Only publicly available facts are listed; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. Base data was compiled from Wikidata from June 2026 onward; ages are recalculated daily and deaths are checked against Wikidata on an ongoing basis. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.