The literary prize of the Closerie des Lilas, to the jury and to the exclusively female winners, was awarded on Tuesday to the novelist Yasmine Ghata for The Testament of the Prophet. Daughter of the writer Vénus Khoury-Ghata, she studied art history at the Sorbonne and at the Ecole du Louvre. His first novel La Nuit des calligraphes (2004) was critically acclaimed and translated into several languages.
The Testament of the Prophet recounts the return of a renowned novelist to the village where she was born and the rejection she suffered, accused of having tarnished the reputation of the villagers and their families in her books. The winner is the guest for one year (up to 3,000 euros) of the brasserie on boulevard du Montparnasse in Paris. Created in 2007, the Closerie des Lilas prize aims to support and publicize quality women’s literature.
The Testament of the Prophet, Yasmine Ghata published by Bouquins, €18.
