Pierre Michon, born in Cards, France in 1945, is one of France's foremost contemporary writers. He was awarded the French Academyโs Grand Prix du Roman for The Eleven, the Prix Decembre for his short novels Abbes and Corps du roi, the Prix Louis Guilloux for La grande beaune (The Origin of the World), and the Prix de la Ville de Paris in 1996 for his body of work.