“It’s quite special to write knowing that we will be published” Laetitia Ayres, winner of the aufeminin literary prize

His news, Altar boy, had touched the jury of the literary prize aufeminin 2019. So much so that, that year, Laetitia Ayrès received the first prize of the short story competition. And what a first prize! Thing promised, thing due: his first novel, Matryoshka, is now published by Éditions Michel Lafon. An unprecedented adventure for the author, singer and actress. We still remember her reaction when she learned of her victory at the literary prize. Laetitia Ayres did not believe it. The aufeminin editorial staff had called him to confirm that, yes, his news Altar boy, would allow him to publish his very first work in a publishing house. We heard from Laetitia Ayrès since this whirlwind of emotions. Conclusion: the tourbillon is still spinning. From her collaboration with Michel Lafon editions to the feedback she received from readers … She tells us everything.

How did you feel when you learned about being the winner of the 2019 Women’s Literary Prize?

Yes I had a hard time believing it! I learned the news by replying to my emails on the stairs, I must have reread your message 2-3 times but you have to believe that I trust more what I hear because I needed to call you to convince me! I participated in this prize for the exercise (the constraint of 3000 signs on a given theme), with no other objective. It wasn’t until I saw that my short story was in the first jury selection that I started to think that the winner could be me. To learn that your short story is chosen from among more than 900 others is dizzying.

The starting point of “Matryoshka” is the story of a fascination

How did the writing of this first publication go with the editions Michel Lafon? Is this the first time that you have written a novel?

This is the first time, yes. I won the publication of my first novel… I still had to write it! I already had the story in mind in the form of a short story, started during a workshop at Les Mots school. I was very keen to turn this short story into a novel, and the price played an incredible role in accelerating it. New gift after the prize: the welcome from my editor and his support. It’s quite special to write knowing that you will be published: the trust granted is formidable, and also very empowering (sometimes completely freaking!).

To see also: Virginie Delage, winner of the 2018 literary prize, gives news of her first novel

How did you find the inspiration for this story? What did you want to tell through these two crossed destinies of women?

The starting point of Matryoshka, it is the story of a fascination, of the soil on which it grows, of its power and its illusions. Claire and Alma are two women who should never have met: the first is a French actress who is going through a difficult time, the second an Argentinian actress with too fast success, their only common points are a fictional character and their childhoods. injured. Without forgetting the lie… I got the idea of ​​dubbing, an experience that I adored. Because it’s very playful, and most of the themes that fascinate me can be found there: it is a question of voice (I am a singer), of representation, there is shadow and light, the visible and the invisible, there are two different lives that merge into a single character, and only the voice actor is aware of it. It is this link and this discrepancy that I wanted to explore. It was also a favorable framework for questioning the transgenerational, the weight of the unspoken on one’s own identity. You overtake an actor because his language and yours are foreign. If you were born elsewhere, in another family, how far would you be the same person?

You are also an actress, like the character of Claire in the book. Did you put a bit of your experience into it?

It’s a puzzle! Claire is an actress, Alma too, and there is a bit of my experience in these two characters as well as other actors who, through their career, have inspired their story.

Which books and authors have marked your life? And those who have moved you recently?

I had a rather obsessive sisters (and brother) Brontë period when I was a teenager, we do not come out unscathed! In a mess, In the forest by Jean Hegland (incredible to reread in this period), Luz or the wild weather d’Elsa Osorio, Gary and Hugo certainly marked me. Very recently I savored The synthetic heart by Chloé Delaume, What air is needed to fly by Sandrine Roudeix, and it was heartbreaking to close Devils and saints (Jean-Baptiste Andrea).

To see also: 2020 aufeminin literary prize: discover this year’s winners

What lessons have you learned from this first experience in a publishing house? Would you be ready to relaunch yourself in a second novel?

Yes, I am working on it! It’s amazing to share the stories that drive us and the feedback from readers is very motivating. The lesson I take from all of this is to remember that pleasure must be the driving force. By that I mean that I participated in this literary prize out of pure desire to write, without voluntarism, and that’s what worked I think. I want to preserve these conditions there. My second novel is in the process of germinating, the heart of the story is there, it must now be irrigated and my radar is activated to note everything that resonates from near or far.

What message would you like to send to people who are still hesitant to enter a writing competition such as the aufeminin literary prize?

No hesitation to have, go for it!

Matryoshka, by Laetitia Ayrès, Editions Michel Lafon

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Melanie Bonvard

Mélanie deciphers pop culture from a societal angle and questions the female gaze in films or even series, because everything is a question of gaze, she …