Renowned writer Vassilis Alexakis died today at the age of 77. Vassilis Alexakis was born in Athens in 1943. He divided his time between Paris, Athens, and Tinos. The author of over fifteen works of fiction in Greek and French, he has won numerous awards for his work in both languages. Ηis first novel, Le sandwich, was written in French and published in 1974. In 1982 he wrote his first novel in Greek, Talgo, and translated it himself into French. His novel La langue maternelle was awarded the prestigious Medicis Prize; his collection of short stories, Papa, was awarded the Academie francaise Prize for Best Short Story Collection, and his novel Avant was awarded the Albert Camus Prize. Foreign Words is Alexakis's first novel published in English. La langue maternelle [Mother Tongue] (1996) has been translated into Italian and German; Talgo (1983) and Pourquoi tu pleures? [Why Are You Crying?] (1991) have also appeared in German. Alexakis received the 2007 Grand Prix from the Academie francaise for his novel Ap. J.-C.
