Jean-Claude Mourlevat – laureate 2021 1
Jean-Claude Mourlevat, author ‘My job is to encha
nt them, and that is a real challenge that scares me every time.’ Where do you write? – In my office, at my computer. Often listening to music. I also write a lot on the train, in notebooks. I love to write in the fall and winter. And in the mornings. I never write at night. You have said that creating each new book is like going on a scary date. What do you mean by that? – That first encounter with a story is something I have to devise. It doesn’t happen by itself. I know very little about how things will go. All the personal qualities – I have to create them. Everything depends on my talent, or my mediocrity. Writing a book also 9 involves an encounter with my readers, whom I assume are all smart, sensitive and have a sense of humour. My job is to enchant them, and that is a real challenge that scares me every time. For a writer, opening your computer or your notebook is the moment of truth. Why do you write for young people? – I often say that I write for everyone, not just the young, which is true. I never think about ‘children’ when I write. But I have to admit that the older I get, the more often I feel moved and enchanted by these little individuals: their energy, their innocence, their optimism.