Toulouse of the year: Olivier Norek, a writer swept away by the whirlwind of literary prizes

If its name escaped you during the year 2024, it’s because you live in a cave. Olivier Norek selected for the Goncourt, Olivier Norek won the Jean-Giono prize, Olivier Norek in the final selection for the Visionnaires Prize, Olivier Norek invited to the Grande Librairie, etc. Since the release of his book “Les Guerriers de l’hiver”, published by Lafon, on August 29, the writer has no longer touched the ground, and has been the subject of an article in La Dépêche du Midi every week .

In just one month, his historical novel, which recounts a little-known episode of the Second World War, a conflict between Russia and Finland, was a bestseller, selling 50,000 copies. In three months, 130,000 were sold… “It was a dizzying climb,” he says. “I was taken into a huge promotion and into a whirlwind that hasn’t stopped since.”

After having written seven thrillers, this former captain of the judicial police signed with “The Winter Warriors” his arrival in white literature (non-fictional stories), which earned him to be selected for many literary re-entry prize. All prices. Something rare enough to deserve to be remembered, as a bonus, among the Toulouse residents who marked the year 2024 with the editorial staff of La Dépêche du Midi.

At the beginning of September, the writer found himself in the running for the Goncourt, Renaudot and Jean-Giono Prizes… And the list grew. “Every week, we were informed of a new selection.” He was also a candidate for the André-Malraux, Interallié and Visionnaires prizes. Add to it the Valérien, the Renaudot of high school students, the Victor-Hugo prize, Le Mans Antoine de Saint-Exupéry… In some cases, he passed the second selections, and for others, he was eliminated, experiencing a lift emotional repeatedly. At each stage, he responded to countless requests from newspapers, radio and television. “I give interviews every day. I was invited to the show La Grande Bibliothèque, it was really incredible, I met Edgar Morin,” he remembers with emotion.

At the same time, he was caught up in a very busy schedule of signings in bookstores all over France. This tour should end in April, after eight months of madness. “I don’t have a free weekend. But I tell myself that it only happens once. I’m tired, but I receive so much love!” enthuses the novelist. “Listening to my readers is important. It’s what allows me to evolve, it gives me ingredients for a future novel.”

“We’re walking on a cloud…”

Olivier Norek finally won three prizes, Jean-Giono, Le Mans Saint-Exupéry and the Renaudot des lycéens, and he remains in the running for the Visionnaires prize, which will be awarded in April. “I will never forget the day I was expected at the Drouant restaurant in Paris, to receive the Giono Prize. Twenty minutes before, I received a call telling me that I was also going to receive the Renaudot from high school students. That was a moment of lightness rarely achieved In these moments, we walk on a cloud…”

Translations were commissioned for Russia, Italy, England and Spain. A good fate seems destined for “Winter Warriors” in Finland, where it is already sold in French, pending its transcription into Finnish. The embassy recently organized a large event with personalities from two countries. The opportunity for the author to experience another strong moment when he met the grandson of Toïvo, one of the characters in his novel, “dear to his heart”. “He fell into my arms, he told me he didn’t know this story before.”

His “Warriors” will soon be transformed into a comic strip for Dargaud editions, they are also of interest to an important French film producer, who plans to make a film of them. Next year, his thriller “In the Mists of Capelans”, which will be adapted into a series for a well-known streaming platform. His novel “Surface” will be broadcast on France 2, just like the last season of “Les Invisibles”, the series he created. Apart from that, Olivier Norek will try to rest a little…