Rencontre Littéraire avec Marie NDiaye

 La Sorcière (1996) | The Witch (2026)

In a small, sleepy town, a mediocre witch, in a mediocre marriage, tries to pass on her gifts to her twin daughters, who, it becomes immediately apparent, have skills far beyond her own.

"The Witch is Marie NDiaye at her most dazzling. In this simple, startlingly powerful novel, NDiaye lays out her central themes: familial secrets, power, shame, and liberation. NDiaye is one of the greats—her novels are mesmerizing, wholly singular, completely unforgettable." Katie Kitamura, author of Audition

 Marie NDiaye

Marie NDiaye was born in France and published her first novel at the age of 17. Her works have won the Prix Femina (Rosie Carpe in 2001) and the Prix Goncourt (Three Strong Women, 2009). Her novel Ladivine (translated into English by Jordan Stump) was longlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2016, and in 2020 she was awarded the Prix Marguerite Yourcenar for her entire body of work. Stump’s translation of her novel The Witch, first published in French in 1996, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026. NDiaye lives in Paris.

 El Hadji Malick Ndiaye

El Hadji Malick Ndiaye holds a PhD in French Literature from the Université Européenne de Bretagne. He taught as a lecturer in the Department of French at Columbia University in New York before joining Seattle University as a faculty member in the Modern Languages ​​and Cultures and African and African American Studies programs. His research focuses on the ethics and politics of the body in the Francophone world. He is the author of works such as Pierre Jakez Helias, le destin colonisé (2019) and The Body in Francophone Literature (2016), as well as numerous articles on the literatures and cultures of the Francophone world.