Marguerite Abouet facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Marguerite Abouet
Abouet in 2018
Born	1971 Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire
Nationality	Ivorian
Area(s)	Writer
Notable works	Aya
Awards	Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book (2006) "Rising Star Award for Best Self-Publisher" Glyph Comics Awards (2008)

Marguerite Abouet, born in 1971, is a talented writer from Côte d'Ivoire. She is famous for creating popular graphic novel series like Aya and Akissi. These books are a type of comic book known as bandes dessinées.

Who is Marguerite Abouet?

Marguerite Abouet was born in 1971 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. When she was 12 years old, she and her brother moved to France to live with their great uncle. Today, she lives in Romainville, a town near Paris.

She lives there with her husband, Clément Oubrerie, who is an illustrator. He helps bring her stories to life with his drawings. Before becoming a full-time writer, Abouet worked as a legal assistant in Paris. She wrote her first graphic novel, Aya, during this time.

Abouet had tried writing books for young people before. However, she felt that publishers put too many rules on those types of stories. So, she decided to focus on graphic novels instead. She eventually left her job to write full-time.

Abouet's Books and Work

Marguerite Abouet's Aya books have been translated into 15 different languages. This means many people around the world can enjoy her stories. She also wrote a children's book called Akissi: Attaque de Chats in 2010.

Besides writing, Abouet also helps others learn to read. She runs an organization called "Des livres pour tous," which means "Books for all." This group builds and supports libraries in Africa. Their goal is to help African children get an education and improve their reading skills.

About the Aya Graphic Novels

Aya is Marguerite Abouet's first published work. It was also her first time writing a graphic novel. Her husband, Clément Oubrerie, illustrated the book. It was his first time illustrating a graphic novel too.

Abouet was inspired to create a graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi, who wrote Persepolis. Abouet wanted to show a different side of Africa. She felt that media often only focused on war or hunger. She wanted to show everyday life in Ivory Coast.

In Aya, characters go to school, work, and plan for their future. They also deal with family problems, just like people everywhere else. The story of Aya was even made into an animated movie. It is called Aya of Yop City, and Abouet helped direct it.

Abouet says that Aya is not her own life story. However, it does show the Ivory Coast she knows well. The characters are based on people she met while growing up. But the situations and events in the story are made up.

Success of Aya

Aya was a big success, especially for a first-time author. It won an award in 2006 called the Angoulême International Comics Festival Prize for First Comic Book. This is a very important award for comics.

The book sold over 200,000 copies in France alone. By the time the second book came out, it had sold over 350,000 copies worldwide. A Canadian publisher called Drawn & Quarterly released the English version in the United States.

They printed more than 10,000 copies, which is a lot for a new graphic novel in the U.S. Abouet also convinced her French publisher to sell cheaper, soft-cover copies of the book in her home country, Ivory Coast. As of 2024, the Aya and Akissi series have sold over 1,000,000 copies together.

As of 2023, there are 8 graphic novels in the Aya series. Seven of these have been released in English. The New York Times reported that sales of the Aya books increased during the George Floyd protests. The series is becoming popular again around the world, especially among French-speaking Africans living outside Africa.

Akissi de Paris

Marguerite Abouet also created a new character named Akissi. She worked with cartoonist Mathieu Sapin on this project.

See also

In Spanish: Marguerite Abouet para niños