Faïza Guène

““An important voice in French literature.””

— Diana Evans

© Dar Yumi

Born in 1985, Faïza Guène is an award-winning French Algerian novelist, screenwriter and director. Spotted at a writing workshop at the age of thirteen, she went on to make an astonishing literary debut in France in 2004 with Kiffe Kiffe demain (Just Like Tomorrow in its English translation). The novel, written when she was 19, sold over 400,000 copies, in France and abroad, and was translated into twenty-six languages. The sequel to Kiffe kiffe demain, Kiffe kiffe hier ?, was published by Fayard in August 2024. Twenty years after her first success, Guène revives its protagonist to tell the story of today's France.

Guène's other novels include Dreams from the Endz, Bar Balto, Men Don’t Cry and Discretion, all translated into English by Sarah Ardizzone to critical acclaim. She was also invited by the Folio Society to write an introduction to their facsimile of The Story of Babar.

Guène has directed several short films and is the co-writer on Disney+ Star’s Oussekine (BAFTA-nominated for best international TV drama). In 2022, she was made an International Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She lives in Marseille.

Published works