Pierre Ducrozet
Writer
- Literature
“What might an adventure look like in the 21st century, and is such an adventure still possible? Are there still lands and seas to be discovered? In a world that is falling apart, does the adventure lie in conquest or in the exploration of a new relationship with this world?”
Pierre Ducrozet is the author of six novels: Requiem pour Lola rouge (2010), La Vie qu’on voulait (2013), Eroica (2015), L’Invention des corps (2017, winner of the Prix de Flore), Le Grand Vertige (2020, winner of the Prix Mottart from the Académie Française and currently being adapted for the big screen by Cyril Dion), and Variations de Paul (2022). These journeys through space and time strive to give form to the modern world. Ducrozet also wrote the “Résidence sur la Terre” column for Libération, and has authored many works of youth literature; translated novels from Spanish and English; and lectured in creative writing at La Cambre in Brussels, Belgium. After stints in Berlin, Paris, and Madrid, as well as across Asia and the Americas, he settled in Barcelona, where he has been living for the past 15 years.
Pierre Ducrozet’s residency aboard the MARIUS container ship is intrinsically tied to his current literary endeavor. With part of its plot set on a container ship at sea, his novel will take readers on a journey to a lost island in the Pacific. This residency will be a chance for Ducrozet to familiarize himself with all the trades, duties, and other elements involved in the daily operation of a container ship. His interactions with the crew members will be very valuable in informing his novel, plot, and characters. This project will be based on a dual literary tradition involving both the adventure novel and the coming-of-age tale, all while remaining firmly grounded in the current era. What might an adventure look like in the 21st century, and is such an adventure still possible? Are there still lands and seas to be discovered? In a world that is falling apart, does the adventure lie in conquest or in the exploration of a new relationship with this world?