The Grand Prix du Roman aufeminin is over! The theme of daring has inspired many Internet users but it was Elisa who convinced the jury with her novel “The Book of Jade”. We met him.
Elisa Sagnelonge started her 31 spring with a lot of emotion. The day before her birthday, the aspiring author received the best news ever. That day, she receives a phone call from the writer Raphaëlle Giordano who announces to her that she has won the first prize of the Grand Prix du Roman aufeminin 2021 thanks to her story. The Book of Jade. This conversation with our president of the jury, she is not likely to forget it since it marks the beginning of her career as a writer.
Elisa Sagnelonge will publish The Book of Jade published by Michel Lafon and Pocket. The novel follows Marie, a professor of letters who is no longer certain to appreciate her profession at its true value. She sees in Jade, one of her students, an impressive writing potential while reading one of her manuscripts: the story of a teenage girl having an affair with a music teacher. A story that turns out, in the end, not to be a fiction, but indeed the terrible experience of Jade, who, eaten away by this history of influence, will end her life. When Marie realizes it, it is unfortunately too late and the French teacher has already taken hold of the teenager’s manuscript, published in a large publishing house under the name of Marie …
Elisa Sagnelonge came back, for us, on this story which allowed her to be the winner of the Grand Prix du Roman au feminine in partnership with Michel Lafon and Pocket.
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How did you react when Raphaëlle Giordano called you to announce the publication of your novel “Le livre de Jade” by Michel Lafon and Pocket editions?
It was completely surreal. I didn’t expect it at all actually. I was expecting a rather professional phone call. I had my cell phone nearby and when I picked up, I heard Raphaëlle Giordano and… yes, there were a lot of emotions. In fact, even if we hope, we never really expect it. Then, it was completely crazy! Behind Raphaëlle, I heard Olivier Norek and many other voices. To imagine myself being in direct contact with the jury, it was really impressive. Besides, it was the day before my birthday. I was truly speechless. Besides, I think I still don’t realize. I am really happy.
To imagine myself being in direct contact with the jury, it was really impressive.
How did this story, “The Book of Jade” come to you? What inspired you?
In fact, at first I had several pieces of the puzzle. When we work, it’s quite complicated so I didn’t necessarily take the time to put it down on paper. Besides, I saw the competition quite late. I started to look into the rules, there weren’t even two weeks left until the stories were sent out. I think I posted my story the same day as the deadline.
This is the first time that you take part in the Grand Prix du Roman aufeminin?
No, I participated last year when it was still a news contest. Like what, perseverance is a good quality since at the time, I had tried my luck without being selected. Afterwards, the news is an exercise that I mastered much less well. I am a person who is not at all synthetic so I found it very hard. It is very complicated to write good news because it takes a fall and there are very few words. I was a little more comfortable this year, even if the exercise remains complicated, because I had a few more words to be able to express myself. So I’m glad I managed to submit The Book of Jade. I had several ideas which brought together the theme of the competition. I left it marinated and what interested me was having a slightly different angle on daring. Often, we think of daring with courage, the rather positive side and I found it quite good to see this theme differently. Sometimes we do things to get by and it doesn’t necessarily start with a good feeling. There, it is Marie, a little stuck in her life, who will come out of her comfort zone but not in the right way. It’s daring, but not under the right conditions.
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Is that a story you wrote specifically for the contest?
No, it’s a long-standing idea. In fact, several themes interested me. I liked the idea of this professor of letters who becomes jealous of her student. Because it’s hard, when you yourself are passionate about letters, to meet someone who has sacred fire and to realize that you don’t have it. It is all the more difficult when she herself has to be a kind of mentor for her pupil. Then she is faced with a young girl who is very young and, moreover, fragile. She has to face her feelings of frustration. I found this ambivalence quite interesting: this hold that the teenager suffers with this man.
This second idea was a little less original, because it is the story of Lolita ultimately. But I liked the idea that everything fits together, that there is a puzzle story. I understand that the story between Jade and this man creates a debate, but it is not an apology since this relationship destroyed it. This gray area interested me, just like Marie, the teacher: at the base, she is not a bad person. She is a classic woman to say the least who will enter a somewhat twisted spiral because she is tired of not succeeding in her life.
This world is so new to me
How was your meeting with Laurent Boudin, editorial director of Éditions Michel Lafon?
I was a little bit impressed at first. Already when I arrived, I took a small photo (laughs). I told myself that it was still improbable. It happened very naturally with Laurent and with a lot of simplicity. He greeted me and very quickly I was made comfortable. I was able to meet Maïté Ferracci (literary director of Michel Lafon editions, editor’s note) and other people on the team, including marketing. We talked about the story together. I think Laurent wanted to know where I wanted to go in the story. We even saw inconsistencies in the synopsis and he gave me some suggestions. It’s so new to this world for me… I think he didn’t want to overwhelm me with too much information, because I don’t know everyone in publishing at all. I’ve never been edited, not even self-published, and I’ve never even sent a manuscript.
Is it your first time writing a novel?
I already wrote a novel when I was younger. I have been writing since I was little. So, I have already tried the exercise, but the novel was not good, I think … (laughs) anyway, i wrote it down, but there was too much i wanted to change. Then, I wrote it over two years, so over and over, the style changed. I find that what really enriches your experiences is what you go through, so as you go, the writing changes. In the end, when I finished it, I found it to be very average. So, I never offered it to a publishing house. And I said to myself, even if it means going there, I might as well do it with a novel so I am proud and that I would like to carry to the end. My parents kept telling me “Go ahead, knock on the doors of publishing houses.” (laughs) Well, already it is not at all in accordance with my personality. But, in fact, the novel format is something I had already tried a little bit before.
What was preventing you from sending a manuscript to publishing houses?
I say this often, but I read a lot. And there are so many people who write well that you wonder where you belong in all of this. What is the point of sending your own manuscript? There is already so much on the shelves. Just by going to Fnac, it’s delirious to see all the books that come out. Today there is a lot that has already been done. So, a publishing house like Michel Lafon… I didn’t even dare dream of it!
A publishing house like Michel Lafon… I didn’t even dare dream of it!
Who are the authors who inspire you?
Who inspires me… It’s mostly people I admire. I can talk about my literary slaps. I started with the Comtesse de Ségur since my parents read them to me when I was very young. That’s when I thought literature was really cool. And in a totally different genre, the first volume of the saga Harry potter came out when I was 11. With these books, I realized that reading could be a real pleasure. As a teenager, I read Alfred de Musset a lot. When we are at this period of our life, we feel the emotions intensely and the romanticism of Alfred de Musset is perfect. I recognized myself a lot in this kind of emotional mountain. Lately I’ve had a crush on Human things by Karine Tuil. I like David Foenkinos a lot too. I find there is a lot of diversity in what he writes. Afterwards, it’s true that I try, without any pretension, to find my own voice.
What message would you like to send to those who do not dare to embark on the Grand Prix du Roman aufeminin?
Persevere. Like I said, I participated for the first time last year and was not selected. This year I tried again and won so it’s completely surreal and incredible. (laughs) Perseverance is important. You have to dare to take the plunge because I think the jury is not in judgment when it reads our stories. Then, it’s still exceptional to be able to be read by professionals. It’s not very original, but it’s true: persevere, dare, get out of your comfort zone … And, above all, you have to take pleasure, because when you write, it’s something that is anchored in you . If you like to write, you have to play the game and go for it.