Paris (AFP)

The novelist Didier Decoin, 74, was chosen on Monday by his peers to take the helm of the Goncourt academy to replace Bernard Pivot, announced the Academy.

Member of the Goncourt Academy since 1995, former winner of the most prestigious literary prize in the French-speaking world (in 1977), Didier Decoin was until now secretary general of the institution and was responsible for announcing the name of the winner of the Goncourt.

The son of filmmaker Henri Decoin, Didier Decoin was first a press journalist at France Soir before collaborating with several newspapers such as Le Figaro and Les Nouvelles littéraires. This passionate of the various facts participated in the creation of the magazine VSD and worked on Europe 1. Keen on navigation, he has long been a columnist for the review Neptune Motor.

In addition to journalism, he began a career as a novelist. He was 20 years old when he published his first book, "The Love Trial". This will be followed by around twenty titles, including "John the Hell" for which, in 1977, he received the Goncourt Prize.

Twice he chaired the Société des Gens de Lettres. He was also one of the founders of SCAM (Civil Society of Multimedia Authors).

Screenwriter for the cinema, he works for directors like Marcel Carné, Robert Enrico, Henri Verneuil, and Maroun Bagdadi with whom he will receive, for the film "Hors-la-vie", the special jury prize at the Cannes festival.

But it is on television that Didier Decoin devotes most of his activities. Author of numerous original scripts and adaptations, and after having directed the fiction of France 2 for three and a half years, in 1999 he received the Sept d'Or for the best screenplay for "Le Comte de Monte-Cristo" (mini- television series broadcast in 1998).

He has been president of the International Festival of Audiovisual Programs (FIPA) since 2012.

An experienced sailor, proud of his title as president of the Marine Writers, Didier Decoin lives in Normandy on the Cotentin peninsula.

He is married and has three children. Her son Julien Decoin is also a writer.

© 2020 AFP