Jacques Benoît

Benoît, Jacques

Jacques Benoît, writer (b at Lacolle, Qué 1941). In 1967 Benoît published Jos Carbone, a short narrative blending violence with the fantastic, which won the Québec Literary Competition in 1968. Encouraged by this success, Benoît published in rapid succession Les Voleurs (1969), Patience et Firlipon (1970) and Les Princes (1973). He then turned to scriptwriting and produced La Maudite Galette, Réjeanne Padovani (co-writer; both directed by Denys ARCAND) and L'Affaire Coffin.

As a journalist with LA PRESSE, Benoît won the 1976 Judith Jasmin Award for a series of articles entitled "Il était une fois dans l'est" ("Once upon a time in the East"). In 1981 Benoît published Gisèle et le serpent, which established him as an undisputed master of the fantasy novel. In 1985, Benoît published Les Plaisirs du vin. His book Radolphe Stiboustine ou, L'enfant qui naquit deux fois, illustrated by Isabelle Beaudin, was published in 1993.