Prizeworthy publication

Professor Adrien Rannaud in the Department of Language Studies is the recipient of the Gabrielle-Roy Prize awarded by the Association for Canadian and Québec literatures.

Rannaud’s first book, De l’amour et de l’audace: Femmes et roman au Québec dans les années 1930 (2018, Presses de l’Université de Montréal) was unanimously selected by a jury of judges from Memorial University, Brandon University and Université du Québec à Chicoutimi among the 22 books that were nominated. The jury stated that Rannaud’s rigorous research and analysis were evident throughout this work, and that the book provided a new perspective about the emergence of modern women and particularly writers in this cultural period in Québec that occurred in a significant timeframe, between two wars.

“It is such an honor to be granted this prestigious award for the research, which was previously my PhD dissertation,” says Rannaud.

“I also think this is another step for further recognition of women’s novels in the Quebec literary history before 1940, especially during the 1930s, which is a very crucial time period for women’s cultural practices with the development of radio and magazines. The texts I study in De l’amour et de l’audace talks about sexuality and sensuality, anger, nostalgia, craziness, and rebellion against patriarchy, and in that way, it can sound very familiar to us. I hope my book, and furthermore the Gabrielle-Roy Prize, will make people want to know more about these novelists – and, perhaps, read their texts.”

Rannaud’s research focuses on literary and cultural history of 19^th-20^th century Quebec, women’s writing and cultural practices, history of media culture, and celebrity studies. Along with being awarded the Gabrielle-Roy Prize, it was also a finalist for the 2018 Canada Prizes in the Humanities and Social Sciences by the Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences.