Jean-François Brière
KIM THÚY Born in Saigon in 1968, Kim Thúy left Vietnam with the boat people at the age of 10 and settled with her family in Quebec. A graduate in translation and law, she has worked as a seamstress, interpreter, lawyer, restaurant owner and food commentator on radio and television. She lives in Montreal and devotes herself to writing. In 2013, Kim Thúy was awarded the Paul-Gérin-Lajoie Award for Diversity by the organization ENSEMBLE for the respect of diversity.
First name: Kim Thúy Last name: Ly Thanh Born in Saigon, Vietnam November 1978–March 1979 Refugee camp, Kuantan, Malaysia March 27, 1979 Arrived in Granby, Quebec 1990 B.A. in Translation Université de Montréal 1993 Bachelor of Laws Université de Montréal
Kim Thúy has been appointed a Knight of the Ordre national du Québec. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Concordia University, for giving eloquent voice to the refugee experience, and the Medal of Honour of the National Assembly of Québec. Kim Thúy has acted as a spokesperson for the Petit Robert dictionary since 2016 and will be honoured with her own entry in the 2018 Robert illustré illustrated edition.
P a r u t i o n s
1995 Admitted to the Quebec Bar
October 2009 Ru published by Libre Expression
1992 - 1998 Stikeman Elliott Assigned to Hanoi
September 2011 À toi published by Libre Expression, Co-written with Pascal Janovjak
1998 - 1999 Consular Officer Canadian Consulate in Saigon 2002 – 2007 Entrepreneur-Restaurateur Ru de Nam
April 2013 mãn published by Libre Expression April 2016 Vi published by Libre Expression March 2017 L’Autisme expliqué aux non-autistes by Brigitte Harrisson and Lise St-Charles, with the collaboration of Kim Thúy, published by Trécarré October 2017 Le Secret des Vietnamiennes published by Trécarré
KIM THÚY
P r i z e s a n d a w a r d s From the moment of its release, her first book, Ru, published by Libre Expression in 2009, was
a phenomenal success. A best-seller in Quebec and France and translated into more than 25
2018 Shortlisted – The New Academy Prize in Literature (The Alternative Nobel) 2015 Winner – Canada Reads
languages, Ru also garnered numerous literary
2014 Winner – Prix Littéraire des Ambassadeurs de la Francophonie (Denmark)
awards, including the prestigious 2010 Governor
2011 Winner – Mondello Prize for Multiculturalism (Italy)
General’s Literary Award (Canada), the 2010
2011 Winner – Grand Prix littéraire Archambault – people’s choice award
Grand Prix RTL-Lire at the Salon du livre de Paris (France), the 2010 Premio Mondello per la Multiculturalità (Italy), the 2010 Prix du Grand
2010 Winner – Prix du Grand public, Salon du livre de Montréal 2010 Winner – Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction (Canada)
public at the Salon du livre de Montréal and the
2010 Winner – Grand Prix RTL-Lire, Salon du livre de Paris (France)
2011 Grand Prix littéraire Archambault.
2012 Finalist – Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canada) 2012 Finalist – Governor General’s Literary Award for Translation
Ru was also shortlisted for the 2010 Prix des
cinq continents de la Francophonie and the 2012 Scotiabank Giller Prize, which recognizes excellence in Canadian fiction. The English edition won the battle of the books organized
2010 Finalist – Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie (international) 2010 Finalist – Prix Première (Belgium) 2010 Finalist – Prix Ouest-France Étonnants Voyageurs (France) 2010 Finalist – Discovery Grant, Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco 2014 Longlisted – International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
by Canada Reads and was declared “the” book
2012 Longlisted – Man Asian Literary Prize
to read in Canada in 2015.
2012 Nominated – Amazon.ca First Novel Award
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est-seller in Quebec (Renaud-Bray, Archambault and Le Devoir B best-seller lists) for two years following its first publication
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National best-seller in Canada (no. 4 Maclean’s, BookNet Canada)
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2013 Quebec top 10 for Canada Reads
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2012 CBC Books Canadian Writer to Watch
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2012 Heather’s Pick, Chapters Indigo Bookstores
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J une 2012 BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime pick (readings from modern classics, new works by leading writers and literature from around the world)
KIM THÚY
R i g h t s
s o l d
Albanian Dritan Arabic IQRAni Bulgarian Colibri
Sairyu Sha
Chinese Haitian Random House Canada
Livre de Poche
Czech Emitos Danish Gad Dutch
Van Gennep
English
Random House (Canada)
Clerkenwell Press (Great Britain)
Bloomsbury (United States)
Estonian
Loomingu Raamatukogu
Finnish Gummerus
Van Gennep
French
Liana Levi
Livre de Poche
Grand Livre du Mois
France Loisirs
German Kunstmann Italian Nottetempo Japanese
Clerkenwell Press
Sairyu Sha
Macedonian Antolog Norwegian Perleblekk Polish
Drzewo Babel
Portuguese Objectiva Romanian Spandugino Serbian Clio Kunstmann
Spanish Periférica Swedish Sekwa
Perleblekk
Turkish Epsilon Ukrainian
Anetta Antonenko Publishers
Film adaptation: Amalga (Canada) Audio rights: Alexandre Stanké (Canada) Nottetempo Sekwa
KIM THÚY
mãn Her third work, Mãn, was released in 2013. Shortlisted for the 2014 Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie and translated into Her second book, À toi, co-written with Pascal
nine languages, the English paperback version was among Barnes
Janovjak, was published in September 2011.
& Noble’s Discover Great New Writers Fall 2015 Selections.
The product of a rare literary partnership, this meditative correspondence traces the journey of two children into exile and a nomadic life through memories and anecdotes. The book was
P r i z e s a n d a w a r d s
selected by Radio-Canada as part of its Top 100
Incontournables list for 2016 and the audiobook version is available online.
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2015/2016 – Book of the Year, MacEwan University and Algonquin College (Canada) all 2015 – Barnes & Noble’s Discover Great New F Writers Selection (United States)
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2013 Finalist – Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie
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2013 Finalist – Prix Ouest-France Étonnants Voyageurs
R i g h t s
s o l d
Bulgarian Colibri English
Random House (Canada)
Clerkenwell Press (Great Britain)
French
Liana Levi
Livre de Poche
Grand Livre du Mois
France Loisirs
German Kunstmann Italian Nottetempo Romanian Spandugino Serbian
Carobna knjiga
Swedish Sekwa
Audio rights: Alexandre Stanké (Canada)
KIM THÚY
Released in 2016, Kim Thúy’s latest book is the story of Vi, younger sister of three older brothers, “little treasure” caught up in a privileged life
P r i z e s a n d a w a r d s
and its turmoil. Leaving Saigon for Montreal via Suzhou and Boston and growing up beside ordinary heroes, Vi witnesses the vastness of the ocean, the multiplicity of horizons, the sameness
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2017 Winner – NordSud International Award, Pescarabruzzo Foundation
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2017 Winner – Prix Arlette-Cousture
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2017 Finalist – Prix littéraire des lycéens – Île-de-France
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2016 Finalist – Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie
of sadness, the luxury of peace, the complexity of love, the endlessness of possibilities and the violence of beauty.
R i g h t s English
s o l d Random House (Canada)
Finnish Gummerus French
Liana Levi
German Kunstmann Italian Nottetempo Romanian Spandugino Spanish Periférica Swedish Sekwa
Audio rights: Alexandre Stanké (Canada)
KIM THĂšY EXPLAINING AUTISM TO THE NON-AUTISTIC
Explaining Autism to the Non-autistic embodies
a cause dear to Kim ThĂşy as the mother of an autistic teenager. Her life has changed thanks to the method developed by autism experts
R i g h t s
s o l d
Brigitte Harrisson and Lise St-Charles, founders
of the SACCADE centre for autism. It was only after using their approach that she was able to
Chinese
China Worker Publishing House
Dutch (Belgium)
Zuidnederlandse Uitgeverij
English (World)
Dundurn
truly connect with her son Valmond, and she has
French Marabout
since encouraged the specialists, one of whom is
Italian Vallardi
autistic herself, to publish their insight for readers. Their book is an accessible guide for parents of autistic children, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) care providers and members of the general public looking for a way to connect and understand more about this neurological disorder.
KIM THÚY Kim Thúy’s SECRETS from my
VIETNAMESE KITCHEN
Kim Thúy shares more than 50 exclusive family recipes from her home country—many
P r i z e s a n d a w a r d s
accompanied by a short text, an extract from a novel or an anecdote—offering readers an extraordinary glimpse into her private world. In
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Shorlisted 2018 – T aste Canada Awards / Regional and Cultural Cookbooks
collaboration with sommelier Michelle Bouffard, the bestselling author suggests wine pairings for Vietnam ese dishes, as well as introduces readers to some harder-to-find ingredients and offers tips for substitutions. Fans of Vietnamese
R i g h t s English (Canada)
s o l d Appetite (Random House)
cuisine will appreciate her explanations of the
French Marabout
different types of noodles and vermicelli, herbs
German Kunstmann
and fruit.
Swedish Sekwa