Editing Nancy Huston

{{Short description|Canadian author, based in France (born 1953)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name         = Nancy Huston
| honorific_suffix  = {{post-nominals|size=100%|OC}}
| image        = Nancy Huston, 2008 (cropped).jpg
| caption      = Huston in 2008
| alt          = 
| birth_name   = Nancy Louise Huston
| birth_date   = {{Birth date and age|1953|09|16|df=y}} 
| birth_place  = [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]]
| death_date   = 
| death_place  = 
| occupation   = Novelist, translator
| nationality  = Canadian
| period       =
| genre        = 
| subject      = 
| movement     = 
| notableworks = 
| spouse       = [[Tzvetan Todorov]]<br>({{abbr|m.|married}} ??; {{abbr|div.|divorced}} 2014)
| partner      = Guy Oberson (20??–present)
| children     = two, including [[Léa Todorov]]
| relatives    = 
| influences   = 
| influenced   = 
| awards       = [[Prix Femina]]<br>[[Grand prix des lectrices de Elle]]
| signature    = 
| website      = 
| portaldisp   = 
}}
'''Nancy Louise Huston''', [[Order of Canada|OC]]  (born September 16, 1953) is a Canadian [[novelist]] and [[essayist]], a longtime resident of France, who writes primarily in French and translates her own works into English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/author/results.pperl?authorid=13915|title=Nancy Huston – Penguin Random House|access-date=3 November 2016}}</ref>

==Biography==
Huston was born in [[Calgary]], [[Alberta]], Canada, the city in which she lived until age fifteen, at which time her family moved to [[Wilton, New Hampshire|Wilton]], [[New Hampshire]], where she attended [[High Mowing School]]. She studied at [[Sarah Lawrence College]] in [[New York City]], where she was given the opportunity to spend a year of her studies in [[Paris]]. Arriving in Paris in 1973, Huston obtained a master's degree from the [[School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences|École des hautes études en sciences sociales]], writing a thesis on swear words under the supervision of [[Roland Barthes]].<ref>[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1269476/Nancy-Huston Nancy Huston entry at ''Encyclopædia Britannica'']</ref>

She was the second wife of Bulgarian-French historian and [[philosopher]] [[Tzvetan Todorov]], with whom she had two children, daughter [[Léa Todorov|Léa]] and son Sacha;<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chardon |first=Elisabeth |date=2008-02-21 |title=Nancy Huston et Sacha Todorov sans masques |url=https://www.letemps.ch/culture/nancy-huston-sacha-todorov-masques |access-date=2024-03-08 |work=[[Le Temps]] |language=fr}}</ref> she and Todorov divorced in 2014.<ref name="lexpressobit">{{cite magazine |title=Le philosophe et historien Tzvetan Todorov est mort |lang=fr |trans-title=Philosopher and Historian Tzvetan Todorov is Dead |date=2017-02-07 |magazine=[[L'Express]] |url=http://www.lexpress.fr/culture/le-philosophe-et-historien-tzvetan-todorov-est-mort_1876912.html |access-date=2024-05-07 |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207185706/https://www.lexpress.fr/culture/le-philosophe-et-historien-tzvetan-todorov-est-mort_1876912.html |archive-date=2017-02-07 |url-status=live}}</ref> Huston now shares her life with Swiss painter Guy Oberson.{{citation needed|date=May 2024}}

==Career==
Because French was a language acquired at school and university, Huston found that the combination of her eventual command of the language and her distance from it as a non-[[native speaker]] helped her to find her literary voice. 
Since 1980, Huston has published over 45 books of fiction and non-fiction, including theatre and children's books. Some of her publications are self-translations of previously published works. Essentially she writes in French and subsequently self-translates into English but ''Plainsong'' (1993) was written first in English and then self-translated to French as ''Cantique des plaines'' (1993) – it was, however, the French version which first found a publisher.

While Huston's often controversial works of non-fiction have been well-received, her fiction has earned her the most critical acclaim. Her first novel, ''Les variations Goldberg'' (1981), was awarded the Prix Contrepoint and was shortlisted for the [[Prix Femina]]. She translated this novel into English as ''The Goldberg Variations'' (1996).

Her next major award came in 1993 when she was received the Canadian [[Governor General's Award]] for Fiction in French for ''Cantique des Plaines'' (1993).  This was initially contested as it was a translation of ''Plainsong'' (1993), but Huston demonstrated that it was an adaptation and kept the prize. A subsequent novel, ''La virevolte'' (1994), won the Prix "L" and the Prix Louis-Hémon. It was published in English in 1996 as ''Slow Emergencies''.<ref>[http://www.nwpassages.com/bios/huston.asp Author Profile: Nancy Huston]</ref>

Huston's novel, ''Instruments des ténèbres'', has been her most successful novel yet, being shortlisted for the Prix Femina, and the Governor General's Award. It was awarded the [[Prix Goncourt des Lycéens]], as well as both the Prix des lectrices (Elle Québec) and the Prix du livre Inter in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lemeac.com/catalogue/98-cantique-des-plaines.html|title=Leméac Éditeur - Nancy Huston|website=Leméac Éditeur}}</ref>

In 1998, she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for her novel ''L'Empreinte de l'ange''. The next year she was nominated for a Governor General's Award for translating the work into English as ''[[The Mark of the Angel]]''.

In 1999, she appeared in the film ''[[Set Me Free (1999 film)|Set Me Free]] (Emporte-moi)'', also collaborating on the screenplay.

Her works have been translated into many languages from Chinese to Russian.

In 2005, she was made an Officer of the [[Order of Canada]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Mrs. Nancy Huston {{!}} Paris, France {{!}} Officer of the Order of Canada |date=2005-06-29 |publisher=[[Governor General of Canada]] |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-8870 |access-date=2024-05-07}}</ref>

In 2006, she received the Prix Femina for the novel ''Lignes de faille'' and which, as ''[[Fault Lines (novel)|Fault Lines]]'', has been published by Atlantic Books and was shortlisted for the 2008 [[Orange Prize]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/heather-o-neill-nancy-huston-in-running-for-u-k-s-orange-prize-1.761712 | work=CBC News | title=Heather O'Neill, Nancy Huston in running for U.K.'s Orange Prize | date=March 18, 2008}}</ref>

In 2007, she received an honorary doctorate from the [[University of Liège]].

In 2010, she received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ottawa.<ref>[http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_1994.html Outstanding individuals to receive honorary doctorates at University of Ottawa spring convocation] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101115130443/http://www.media.uottawa.ca/mediaroom/news-details_1994.html |date=2010-11-15 }}, University of Ottawa Website, 3 June 2010</ref>

In 2012, she was awarded the [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Nancy Huston {{!}} Paris, France {{!}} Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal |year=2012 |publisher=[[Governor General of Canada]] |url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/146-8870 |access-date=2024-05-07}}</ref> That same year, she won the Literary Review's [[Bad Sex in Fiction Award]] for her novel, ''Infrared''.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/dec/04/bad-sex-award-nancy-huston|author-link=Maev Kennedy|first=Maev|last=Kennedy|date=December 4, 2012|access-date=December 4, 2012|title=Bad sex award goes to Nancy Huston's 'babies and bedazzlements'}}</ref>

==Critical response==
{{BLP unreferenced section|date=May 2024}}
Canadian poet and critic Frank Davey in "Big, Bad and Little Known: The Anglophone-Canadian Nancy Huston" (2004), is critical of Huston's English writing style. In response to this, Joseph Pivato in "Nancy Huston Meets le Nouveau Roman" (2016), contends that Huston was influenced by the French writers of le Nouveau Roman and their theory of composition.

==Selected works==
===Fiction===
Date of first French-language edition followed by date of first English-language edition.
* 1981 / 1996 : ''The Goldberg Variations'' — self-translation of ''Les Variations Goldberg''
::[[Prix Contrepoint]], 1982
* 1985 / 1987 : ''The Story of Omaya'' — self-translation of ''Histoire d'Omaya''
* 1989 / ........ : ''Trois fois septembre'' [no English version]
* 1993 / 1993 : ''Plainsong'' — self-translated into French as ''Cantique des plaines''
::[[Governor General's Award for French-language fiction]], 1993
* 1994 / 1996 : ''Slow Emergencies'' — self-translation of ''La Virevolte''
::Prix Limoges (or Prix "L"), 1994
::Prix Louis-Hémon, 1994
* 1996 / 1997 : ''Instruments of Darkness'' — self-translation of ''Instruments des ténèbres''
::[[Prix Goncourt des Lycéens|Prix Goncourt des lycéens]], 1996
::[[Prix du Livre Inter]], 1996
::Grand prix des lectrices de ''Elle Québec'', 1997
* 1998 / 1999 : ''The Mark of the Angel'' — self-translation of ''L'Empreinte de l'ange''
::Prix des libraires du Québec, 1999
::[[Grand prix des lectrices de Elle|Grand prix des lectrices de ''Elle'']], 1999
* 1999 / 2000 : ''Prodigy'', novella — self-translation of ''Prodige : polyphonie'' 
* 2001 / 2001 : ''Dolce Agonia'', later reissued as ''Sweet Agony'' — self-translation of ''Dolce agonia''
::Prix Odyssée, 2002
* 2003 / 2003 : ''An Adoration'' — self-translation of ''Une adoration''
* 2006 / 2007 : ''[[Fault Lines (novel)|Fault Lines]]'' — self-translated into French as ''Lignes de faille'' — the French version was published first
::[[Prix Femina]], 2006
::[[Prix France Télévisions]], 2006
* 2010 / 2011 : ''Infrared'' — self-translation of ''Infrarouge''
* 2013 / 2014 : ''Black Dance'' — self-translation of ''Danse noire''
* 2016 / ........ : ''Le Club des miracles relatifs'' [no English version]
* 2019 / ........ : ''Rien d'autre que cette félicité'', novella [no English version]
* 2021 / ........ : ''Arbre de l'oubli'' [no English version]
* 2024 / ........ : ''Francia'' [no English version]

===Theatre===
* ''Angela et Marina'' (2002), with Valérie Grail [no English version]
* ''Jocasta Regina'' (2010) — self-translation of ''Jocaste reine'' (2009)

===Autobiographical writings===
Huston calls the first instalment a ''récit'' or fact-based narrative, and the second a ''roman'' or novel.
* ''Bad Girl : classes de littérature'' (2014) [no English version]
* ''Lèvres de pierre : nouvelles classes de littérature'' (2018) [no English version]

===Non-fiction===
* ''Jouer au papa et à l'amant '' (1979) [no English version]
* ''Dire et interdire : éléments de jurologie'' (1980) [no English version]
* ''Mosaïque de la pornographie : Marie-Thérèse et les autres'' (1982) [no English version]
* ''Journal de la création'' (1990) [no English version]
* ''Tombeau de Romain Gary'' (1995) [no English version]
* ''Pour un patriotisme de l'ambiguïté'' (1995) [no English version]
* ''Losing north: musings on land, tongue and self'' (2002) — self-translation of ''Nord perdu, suivi de Douze France'' (1999)
* ''Limbes / Limbo'' (2000) [bilingual edition]
* ''Visages de l'aube'' (2001), with Valérie Winckler [no English version]
* ''Professeurs de désespoir'' (2004) [no English version]
* ''Passions d'Annie Leclerc'' (2007) [no English version]
* ''The Tale-Tellers: A Short Study of Humankind'' (2008) — self-translation of ''L'Espèce fabulatrice'' (2008)

===Correspondence===
* ''À l'amour comme à la guerre'' (1984) [no English version]
* ''Lettres parisiennes : autopsie de l'exil'' (1986), with Leïla Sebbar [no English version]

===Selected texts===
* ''Désirs et réalités : textes choisis 1978—1994'' (1995) [no English version]
* ''Âmes et corps : textes choisis 1981—2003'' (2004) [no English version]

===Children's fiction===
* ''Véra veut la vérité'' (1992), with [[Léa Todorov]] and [[Willi Glasauer]] [no English version]
* ''Dora demande des détails'' (1997), with [[Léa Todorov]] and Pascale Bougeault [no English version]
* ''Les Souliers d'or'' (1998) [no English version]

===Filmography===
* ''[[Stolen Life (1998 film)|Stolen Life]]'' (1998) (as screenwriter)

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* Eugene Benson and William Toye, eds. ''The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature, Second Edition''. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1997: 564–565. {{ISBN|0-19-541167-6}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Nancy Huston}}
* [http://terresdefemmes.blogs.com/mon_weblog/2007/01/nancy_huston_de.html Nancy Huston, dea ex machina]
* [https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/nancy-huston Nancy Huston entry at Canadian Encyclopedia]
* {{OL author}}
* {{in lang|fr}} [http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=4728162&lang=eng Fonds Nancy Huston (R15463)] at [[Library and Archives Canada]]

{{Prix Femina}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huston, Nancy}}
[[Category:1953 births]]
[[Category:Canadian women novelists]]
[[Category:Exophonic writers]]
[[Category:French–English translators]]
[[Category:Governor General's Award–winning fiction writers]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Officers of the Order of Canada]]
[[Category:Prix Femina winners]]
[[Category:Prix du Livre Inter winners]]
[[Category:Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners]]
[[Category:Waldorf school alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Calgary]]
[[Category:Sarah Lawrence College alumni]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian women writers]]
[[Category:Canadian novelists in French]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian translators]]
[[Category:21st-century Canadian translators]]
[[Category:Canadian women non-fiction writers]]