Valérie Manteau’s novel paying tribute to Hrant Dink wins Renaudot 2018 award
Valérie Manteau, a former journalist of Charlie Hebdo, received the Renaudot 2018 award for her novel "Le Sillon" (“Agos”) which is a tribute to the Istanbul-based Turkish-Armenian writer, publicist and journalist Hrant Dink who was murdered in Turkey. This is the author’s second novel which was published in August, 2018.
The 33-year-old writer received the award Wednesday November 7 in Paris. In her speech she noted that she was fascinated by Hrant's ideology, and it struck her to write a book about him when reading Dink's biography.
"Dink's political stance was very interesting. His goal was not just to prove his own right, but to face people as well as to ensure their progress, "said Manteau.
The prize she received for her book came as a surprise to her, as it had not been included in the list of the top five books.