Catherine Leroux

Catherine Leroux is a writer, translator, and editor. Her first novel, La marche en forêt, was a finalist for Quebec’s Booksellers’ Prize. She was shortlisted for the Scotiabank Giller Prize for her second novel, The Party Wall, an English translation of her linked short story collection, Le mur mitoyen, which in French won the Prix France-Québec. Leroux’s story sequence, Madame Victoria, won Quebec’s Adrienne Choquette Prize and was a finalist for the Booksellers’ Prize. The French original of The Future (L’avenir) won the Jacques Brossard Prize and was a finalist for the Imaginary Horizons Prize. Leroux was shortlisted for the 2018 Governor General’s Award for her English to French translation of Mark Frutkin’s novel, Fabrizio’s Return. In 2019, she won in the same category for her translation of Madeleine Thien’s novel, Do Not Say We Have Nothing. Leroux lives in Montreal.

FESTIVAL BOOK

The Future

At the height of her art, in a profound and teeming language marked by dialogues written in invented patois, Catherine Leroux gives us a glimpse of a world where nature flourishes against all odds, where legends are brought to life and where magical realism reigns.” –La Presse (Montreal)

In an alternate history in which the French never surrendered Detroit, children protect their own kingdom in the trees.

In an alternate history of Detroit, the Motor City was never surrendered to the US. Its residents deal with pollution, poverty, and the legacy of racism – and strange and magical things are happening: children rule over their own kingdom in the trees and burned houses regenerate themselves. When Gloria arrives looking for answers and her missing granddaughters, at first, she finds only a hungry mouse in the derelict home where her daughter was murdered. But the neighbours take pity on her and she turns to their resilience and impressive gardens for sustenance.

When a strange intuition sends Gloria into the woods of Parc Rouge, where the city’s orphaned and abandoned children are rumored to have created their own society, she can’t imagine the strength she will find. A richly imagined story of community and a plea for persistence in the face of our uncertain future, The Future is a lyrical testament to the power we hold to protect the people and places we love – together.

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Radio: When she’s in her writing zone, author Catherine Leroux thinks she’s probably grimacing – CBC Books
Catherine Leroux: ‘No part of my life is immune.’ – Macleans
Catherine Leroux recommends two Quebec novels now available in English – The Next Chapter, CBC
Lost in translation, no more: Two writers capture Montreal’s unique linguistic identity – The Globe and Mail