Shan Sa

Infobox Writer
name = Yan Ni Ni
caption =
pseudonym = Shan Sa
birthdate = Birth date and age|1972|10|26|mf=y
birthplace = Beijing
deathdate =
deathplace =
occupation = Writer
nationality = French
period =
genre = Romance
subject =
movement =
notableworks = The Girl who Played Go
influences =
influenced =
website =

Shan Sa (born October 26, 1972), is a French author. "The Girl Who Played Go" was the first of her novels to be published outside of France, and won the Goncourt Prize for high school students. Her second novel to appear in English translation was "Empress" (2006).

Shan Sa is also a painter with exhibitions in Paris and New York.

Biography

Shan Sa was born in Beijing, China, to a scholarly family. Her real name is Yan Ni Ni; she adopted the pseudonym Shan Sa, taken from a poem by the Tang dynasty poet Bai Juyi. At age 8, she published her first poetry collection, and went on to obtain the first prize in the national poetry contest for children under 12 years, an event that created a public upheaval. After graduating from secondary school in Beijing, she moved to Paris in August 1990 thanks to a grant by the French government. Settling there with her father, a professor at the Sorbonne University, she quickly adopted the French language. In 1994, she finished her studies of philosophy. From 1994 to 1996 she worked as a secretary of painter Balthus. Thereafter she published her first two novels and a collection of poetry, meeting with great critical acclaim. In 2001 she reached the top of her success with the publication of her most famous book so far, "The Girl Who Played Go" ("La Joueuse de Go" in French). The book received good feedback from readers and was awarded a number of prizes, including the "Prix Goncourt des Lycéens" (Prix Goncourt of the High-school students).

Bibliography

* "Porte de la paix céleste (Gate of Celestial Peace)" (1997).
* "Les quatre vies du saule (The Four Lives of the Willow)" (1999).
* "La Joueuse de Go (The Girl Who Played Go)" (2001).
* "Impératrice (Empress)" (2003), based on the life of Empress Wu of Zhou
* "Les conspirateurs (Conspirators)" (2005)
* "Alexandre et Alestria (Alexander and Alestria)" (2006)

Awards

* Winner of the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman for "Porte de la paix céleste (Gate of Celestial Peace)" in 1998.
* Winner of the Prix Cazes-Brasserie Lipp for "Les quatre vies du saule (The Four Lives of the Willow)" in 1999.
* Winner of the [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prix_Goncourt_des_lycéens Prix Goncourt des Lycéens] (French Wikipedia) in 2001 and the 2004 Kiriyama Prize for fiction for "La Joueuse de Go (The Girl Who Played Go)".

External links

* [http://www.pen.org/page.php/prmID/758 Shan Sa at the PEN American Centre website] .
* [http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/china/shansa.htm Review of "The Girl who Played Go"]