Kevin Lambert | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1992 Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation | writer |
| Language | French |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Alma mater | Université de Montréal |
| Years active | 2010s-present |
| Notable works | Tu aimeras ce que tu as tué, Querelle de Roberval |
Kevin Lambert (born 1992) is a Canadian writer from Quebec.[1] He is most noted for his novel Querelle de Roberval, which won the Prix Ringuet in 2019.[2]
Originally from the Chicoutimi borough of Saguenay, Quebec, Lambert moved to Montreal in his late teens to study literature at the Université de Montréal.[1] He published his debut novel Tu aimeras ce que tu as tué in 2017,[3] and followed up with Querelle de Roberval in 2018.[4] In addition to the Prix Ringuet, Querelle de Roberval won the Prix Sade[5] and the Prix Oeuvre de la relève à Montréal.[6]
Biblioasis has published English translations of both of his novels, with You Will Love What You Have Killed published in 2020,[1] and Querelle of Roberval released in 2022.[7] The translated version of Querelle of Roberval was a finalist for the 2022 Atwood Gibson Writers' Trust Fiction Prize,[8] and won the 2023 ReLit Award for fiction.[9]
Lambert is openly gay.[10] Querelle de Roberval is partially based on Jean Genet's 1947 novel Querelle of Brest (Querelle de Brest).[11]
He published his third novel, Que notre joie demeure, in 2022.[12] The novel was named to the initial longlist for the 2023 Prix Goncourt.[13] Following the nomination, the novel sparked some controversy in France because Lambert was open about having had the novel vetted by a sensitivity reader prior to publication as it featured a key character of Haitian descent, with previous Goncourt winner Nicolas Mathieu criticizing the practice as stifling to a writer's creative liberty.[14] The novel was subsequently named the winner of the Prix Médicis.[15]
