Boualem Sansal.

The Swedish literary magazine Karavan is publishing in its new issue (3/2025) a detailed portrait of the Algerian-French author Boualem Sansal written by Åsa Magnusson.

Boualem Sansal, arrested in Algiers on 16 November 2024 by the Algerian authorities, imprisoned and charged, was sentenced on 27 March 2025 to five years in prison. What is he accused of ? His freedom of expression, his opinions, his writings.

Åsa Magnusson paints a portrait of the author, his journey as a free man and committed writer, who always refused to leave his country despite tensions and threats.

Karavan is a quarterly magazine with focus on literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

You can buy Karavan on all the good newsagent's shop in Sweden or at the Karavan webshop.

 Read the complete article in

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Boualem Sansal

Saint-Nazaire, November 16th, 2008

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A selected bibliography

Boualem Sansals books are published in French by Éditions Gallimard

The French publishing house David Reinharc Editions published the book Pour Boualem Sansal (March 2025) in support of the writer.

The Boualem Sansal case is a matter of civilisation.

Sixty authors, each in their own way – as writers, politicians, thinkers, artists – defend the honour, courage and genius of a man facing

the worst political repression. His heroism compels us, his fate concerns us.

To abandon Boualem Sansal to his persecutors is, whether one is on the left, the right or the centre, to betray the spiritual essence of Europe.

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Boualem Sansal in Swedish

I set in motion the translation of the novel Le village de l’Allemand (Gallimard, Paris 2008) in 2017 together with Kerstin Zetterquist and Åsa Magnusson, who were responsible for the Swedish text.

None of Boualem Sansals novels have been translated into Swedish yet, in spite of a wide-ranging and prolific literary production (novels, short stories, essays), various literature prizes :

. Prix du Premier Roman 1999

. Peace Prize of the German Book Trade 2011

. Grand Prix de la Francophonie 2013

. Grand Prix du roman de l’Académie Française 2015

. Prix Méditerrannée 2021

. Prix mondial Cino Del Duca 2025

Boualem Sansals novels are translated into multiple other European languages (English, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Norwegian …) .

We are still looking for a Swedish publisher who would be interested in introducing Sansal's literary work to Swedish readers.

Read more about the project

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More portraits of Boualem Sansal are available at the Opale Agency.

Boualem Sansal is represented in the photo book Portraits d’auteurs / Author portraits (Carlssons, 2020)

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You can visit Åsa Magnussons website to find the complete collection of her texts (in Swedish).

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An interview : Josefin Winther.

The Swedish magazine Balder is publishing in its new issue (3-4/2025) an interview with the Norwegian artist and songwriter Josefin Winther made in Järna in by Åsa Magnusson.

Read the complete interview in Balder

Balder is a cultural magazine with high standards: art, literature, society, agriculture, philosophy and education all have a place in Balder. In Balder's interviews, you meet stress researchers and beekeepers, artists and thinkers.

Balder is interested in people with their own perspective and a critical view of society.

You can find it on the following bookstores and retailers in Sweden.

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Josefin Winther, Järna 2025

Josefin Winther is born and raised in Bergen, Norway.

She has released seven albums, and played hundreds of shows in Northern Europe. The critics have compared her music to the likes of PJ Harvey and Patti Smith. 

All the portraits of Josefin Winther are available at the Opale Agency.

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You can visit Åsa Magnussons website to find the complete collection of her texts (in Swedish).

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The "Noir de l'histoire" literary prize goes to David Hury.

Félicitations à David Hury, lauréat du prix littéraire Noir de l'histoire pour son roman Beyrouth Forever (Liana Levi, 2025).

Le prix récompense un roman francophone noir ou policier dans lequel les événements historiques jouent un rôle majeur, et est organisé par les bibliothèques d'Agglopolys, la Communauté d'agglomération de Blois et Les Rendez-vous de l'histoire.

Congratulations to David Hury, winner of the Noir de l'histoire literary prize for his novel Beyrouth Forever (Liana Levi, 2025).

The prize rewards a French-language noir or crime novel in which historical events play a major role, and is organised by the Agglopolys libraries, the Blois urban community and Les Rendez-vous de l'histoire.

Rendez-vous le samedi 11 octobre à 16h00

à la bibliothèque Abbé-Grégoire (auditorium Samuel-Paty)

pour la remise officielle du prix et une rencontre avec David Hury.

See you on Saturday, 11 October at 4 p.m.

at the Abbé-Grégoire Library (Samuel-Paty Auditorium)

for the official award ceremony and a meeting with David Hury.

David Hury dresse un portrait sans concession du Liban d’aujourd’hui et d’hier où les blessures de l’Histoire côtoient les drames les plus intimes.

Plus d'informations sur le site de l'auteur.

David Hury paints an uncompromising portrait of Lebanon today and yesterday, where the wounds of history rub shoulders with the most intimate tragedies.

More about the book on the website of the author. 

Beyrouth, septembre 2023. Aimée Asmar, historienne et universitaire de renom, est retrouvée assassinée à son domicile. La police judiciaire dépêche sur les lieux l’inspecteur Marwan Khalil et sa jeune adjointe Ibtissam Abou Zeid, deux flics que tout oppose. Lui, ex-milicien chrétien qui n’a jamais pu tourner la page de la guerre civile de 1975 ; elle, jeune chiite idéaliste en rupture avec sa communauté.

Très vite, l’inspecteur Khalil se lance sur la piste politique : l’historienne venait de mettre un point final à l’écriture d’un manuel scolaire unifié, censé apprendre l’Histoire du Liban aux collégiens et lycéens du pays. Un manuel scolaire sans cesse repoussé depuis la fin de la guerre et qui semble déranger le puissant Hezbollah. Marwan et Ibtissam devront batailler pour faire éclater la vérité dans ce Liban à bout de souffle où la dissimulation est reine et les blessures du passé encore vives.

Beirut, September 2023. Aimée Asmar, a renowned historian and academic, is found murdered in her home. The criminal investigation department dispatches Inspector Marwan Khalil and his young assistant Ibtissam Abou Zeid to the scene, two police officers who are complete opposites. He is a former Christian militiaman who has never been able to turn the page on the 1975 civil war; she is a young, idealistic Shiite who has broken with her community.

Inspector Khalil quickly follows a political lead: the historian had just finished writing a unified school textbook, intended to teach the history of Lebanon to middle and high school students across the country. The textbook had been repeatedly delayed since the end of the war and seemed to disturb the powerful Hezbollah. Marwan and Ibtissam will have to fight to uncover the truth in a Lebanon that is on its last legs, where concealment reigns supreme and the wounds of the past are still raw.

En lire plus sur Beyrouth Forever sur le site d'ActuaLitté

Read more about Beyrouth Forever on the website of ActuaLitté

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David Hury, Paris, 2025

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All the portraits of David Hury are available at the Opale Agency

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