After graduating from university in 2005 Maylis Besserie began  teaching documentary production at the Institute of Communications and Media in Paris, and joined France Culture as a radio producer and host.

In February 2020 she published her first novel, Le Tiers Temps (Gallimard). It evokes the last days of Samuel Beckett in a Parisian retirement home. The protagonist, while describing his responses to daily life in the home, also experiences a dream-like reality as he tries to recall the people and places that marked his life. On May 11, 2020 it won the Goncourt Prize for first novel.

We met at what we thought would be a quiet cafe in Paris to talk about the journey Maylis has been on with her new novel. 

This is the second time I’ve interviewed her. First time round, several years ago, we met to discuss the art of the author interview.