Marian Miner Cook
Athenaeum

Her first novel, Adèle (Dans le jardin de l’ogre), was published in 2014 and examines female sexual addiction and self-destruction within a societal context of repression and shame. This debut work garnered critical attention and was nominated for the Prix de Flore and won the La Mamounia Prize, marking her arrival on the French literary scene.

Slimani’s second novel, The Perfect Nanny (Chanson douce), published in 2016, became her international breakthrough. The psychological thriller about a nanny who murders the children in her care won the Prix Goncourt — France’s most prestigious literary award — in 2016, making Slimani the first Moroccan woman to receive it. The novel was later adapted into film and translated into multiple languages, and was recognized as one of The New York Times Book Review’s 10 Best Books of 2018.

Following this success, Slimani published works that expanded her literary range: the essay Sex and Lies (2017), a series of intimate testimonies from women in the Arab world that highlights sexual politics and gendered silences; In the Country of Others (2020), the first in a family-history trilogy set in post-World War II Morocco; Watch Us Dance; and I’ll Take the Fire (Penguin, June 9, 2026).

Beyond her books, Slimani has been honored for her advocacy and cultural impact. In 2017, French President Emmanuel Macron appointed her as his personal representative for the promotion of the French language and culture. For her activism in women’s rights and freedom of expression, she was awarded the Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom in 2020. Themes across her work consistently probe power dynamics, sexual politics, motherhood, identity, and the social structures that shape personal freedom.

Slimani's Athenaeum presentation is co-sponsored by The Open Academy, The Gould Center for Humanistic Studies, The Center for Writing and Public Discourse, The Department of Literature (CMC),The Department of Modern Languages (CMC), and President's Office, all at CMC.