Amin Maalouf facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amin Maalouf
Maalouf, 16 February 2016
Born	(1949-02-25) 25 February 1949 (age 76) Beirut, Lebanon
Occupation	Writer, scholar and novelist, Perpetual Secretary of the Académie Française (elected 28 September 2023)
Language	French
Notable works	Leo Africanus, The Rock of Tanios, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes, Samarkand

Amin Maalouf (born 25 February 1949) is a famous writer from Lebanon who now lives in France. He moved to France in 1976. Even though his first language is Arabic, he writes his books in French. His stories have been translated into more than 40 languages around the world!

One of his most well-known non-fiction books is The Crusades Through Arab Eyes. He won a big award called the Prix Goncourt in 1993 for his novel The Rock of Tanios. He also received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature in 2010. Amin Maalouf is a member of the important Académie française, and in 2023, he was chosen to be its Perpetual Secretary.

Amin Maalouf's Early Life

Baskinta, a village near where Maalouf's father grew up.

Amin Maalouf was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He grew up in a lively part of the city called Badaro. He was the second of four children. His parents came from different backgrounds. His father was a Christian from a village near Baskinta. His mother was also Christian and had Turkish family roots. She was born in Egypt and lived there for many years before moving to Lebanon.

Amin Maalouf's mother wanted him to go to a French school run by Jesuits, called Collège Notre Dame de Jamhour. He later studied sociology at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, which is a French-speaking university.

His nephew is the famous trumpet player Ibrahim Maalouf.

His Writing Journey

Before he became a full-time writer, Amin Maalouf worked as a director for a newspaper in Beirut called An-Nahar. When the Lebanese civil war started in 1975, he moved to Paris, France, and has lived there ever since.

His very first book, The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (published in 1983), looks at the time of the Crusades from the point of view of Arab people. He used old Arabic writings to tell this story.

Besides his non-fiction books, he has also written many novels and even some stories for musical shows.

One of his books, Un fauteuil sur la Seine, tells short stories about the people who held his special seat (#29) in the Académie française before him.

Awards and Honors

Amin Maalouf has received many special awards and honorary degrees from universities around the world. These include degrees from universities in Belgium, Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, and Canada.

In 1993, he won the famous Prix Goncourt for his novel The Rock of Tanios. This book is set in Lebanon in the 1800s. In 2004, his book Origins: A Memoir won the Prix Méditerranée.

In 2010, he received the Prince of Asturias Award for Literature from Spain. This award recognized his writing for its beautiful language and how it blends history, different cultures, and religions. His stories often talk about being understanding and finding peace.

On June 23, 2011, he was chosen to be a member of the Académie française. He took the seat that was left empty when the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss passed away. Amin Maalouf was the first person of Lebanese background to receive this great honor.

In 2016, he won the Sheikh Zayed Book Award for "Cultural Personality of the Year." This is a very important award with a large prize. In the same year, a university in Italy gave him the Bauer-Incroci di civiltà prize for helping different cultures talk to each other.

In 2020, the French government gave him the National Order of Merit. The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, personally gave him this honor.

In 2021, Amin Maalouf was also chosen as an International Writer by the Royal Society of Literature.

Special Decorations

Amin Maalouf has received several special decorations from different countries, showing his important contributions.

Ribbon bar	Country	Honour
	Finland	Knight First class of the Order of the Lion of Finland
	France	Officier of the Legion of Honour
	France	Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit
	France	Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
	Lebanon	Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar
	Monaco	Officier of the Order of Cultural Merit (Monaco)

Amin Maalouf's Books

Amin Maalouf's novels often explore themes of civil war and moving to new places. His characters often travel between different lands, languages, and religions. He enjoys writing about "our past."

Fiction Novels

Non-Fiction Books

Librettos for Operas

Amin Maalouf has also written stories for musical performances called librettos. All of these were for the Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho.

• 2000. L'Amour de loin ('Love from Afar'), an opera
• 2003. Adriana Mater, an opera
• 2006. La Passion de Simone, an oratorio (a large musical piece)
• 2010. Émilie, a monodrama (a play for one actor)

See also

In Spanish: Amin Maalouf para niños