Marguerite Abouet
Encyclopedia
Marguerite Abouet was born in Abidjan
, Ivory Coast in 1971. She is best known for her graphic novel series Aya.
, a suburb just outside of Paris, with her husband, illustrator Clément Oubrerie (who illustrates her graphic concepts), and their young son. She worked as a legal assistant in Paris while she wrote her first graphic novel
, Aya. Before writing Aya, Abouet tried to write novels for young people, but she gave up in frustration with what she perceived to be the constraints put on the genre by the publishers. She has also quit her job as a legal assistant to concentrate on writing full time, including her two follow up graphic novels to Aya (Aya of Yop City
and Aya: The Secrets Come Out).
, the author of Persepolis. It also emerged from her desire to show an Africa with a focus on issues other than war and famine, which is typically what the media focus on in portraying Africa. Her characters go to school, trudge off to work, plan for the future and allow themselves to be ensnared in domestic entanglements on the Ivory Coast the same way they do everywhere else.
Abouet denies that Aya is autobiographical, except in the sense that it is the Ivory Coast that she is familiar with. The characters are based on people she knew growing up, but the situations are purely fictional.
Aya has been considered a success especially for a first-time author. It won the 2006 Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book
and has sold over 200,000 copies in France. The Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly
distributed the English language version in the United States. They have printed over 10,000 copies in the U.S., which is a significant number for a first time graphic novel in the United States. Abouet persuaded her French publisher to sell cheaper, soft-cover copies of the graphic novel in her native Ivory Coast.
The second in the series, Aya of Yop City, came out in the United States in late 2008. Aya: The Secrets Come Out is scheduled to make its stateside debut in the summer of 2009.
The story is being adapted into an animated film to be released in 2011.
Abidjan
Abidjan is the economic and former official capital of Côte d'Ivoire, while the current capital is Yamoussoukro. it was the largest city in the nation and the third-largest French-speaking city in the world, after Paris, and Kinshasa but before Montreal...
, Ivory Coast in 1971. She is best known for her graphic novel series Aya.
Biography
At the age of twelve, Abouet and her brother moved to France with their great uncle. She currently resides in RomainvilleRomainville
Romainville is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-History:On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory of Romainville was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Pantin and a part of the territory of Bagnolet to create the commune of...
, a suburb just outside of Paris, with her husband, illustrator Clément Oubrerie (who illustrates her graphic concepts), and their young son. She worked as a legal assistant in Paris while she wrote her first graphic novel
Graphic novel
A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...
, Aya. Before writing Aya, Abouet tried to write novels for young people, but she gave up in frustration with what she perceived to be the constraints put on the genre by the publishers. She has also quit her job as a legal assistant to concentrate on writing full time, including her two follow up graphic novels to Aya (Aya of Yop City
Yopougon
Yopougon is a town and commune in Côte d'Ivoire.The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yopougon. The diocese's cathedral is the Cathédrale Saint-André in Yopougon.-References:*This article was initially created from French Wikipedia...
and Aya: The Secrets Come Out).
Aya
Aya is Abouet's first published work. It is also her first venture into graphic novels, as well as a collaborative effort with her husband who used Aya as his first illustrating job in graphic novels. She was influenced to do a graphic novel by Marjane SatrapiMarjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born French contemporary graphic novelist, illustrator, animated film director, and children's book author...
, the author of Persepolis. It also emerged from her desire to show an Africa with a focus on issues other than war and famine, which is typically what the media focus on in portraying Africa. Her characters go to school, trudge off to work, plan for the future and allow themselves to be ensnared in domestic entanglements on the Ivory Coast the same way they do everywhere else.
Abouet denies that Aya is autobiographical, except in the sense that it is the Ivory Coast that she is familiar with. The characters are based on people she knew growing up, but the situations are purely fictional.
Aya has been considered a success especially for a first-time author. It won the 2006 Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book
Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book
This Prize for First Comic Book is awarded to comics authors at the Angoulême International Comics Festival between 1985 and 1988, when it was replaced by the Coup de Coeur, an award for the best comic book by authors with at most three publications...
and has sold over 200,000 copies in France. The Canadian publisher Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly
Drawn and Quarterly is a Canadian comic book publishing company, headed by Chris Oliveros, and based in Montreal, Quebec. Its focus is on graphic novels and underground or alternative comics. Drawn and Quarterly was also the title of the company's flagship quarterly anthology during the 1990s...
distributed the English language version in the United States. They have printed over 10,000 copies in the U.S., which is a significant number for a first time graphic novel in the United States. Abouet persuaded her French publisher to sell cheaper, soft-cover copies of the graphic novel in her native Ivory Coast.
The second in the series, Aya of Yop City, came out in the United States in late 2008. Aya: The Secrets Come Out is scheduled to make its stateside debut in the summer of 2009.
The story is being adapted into an animated film to be released in 2011.