Annie Ernaux was born in 1940 in Normandy. She is the winner of numerous prizes including the Prix Renaudot. Her "A Woman's Story", "A Man's Place", and "Simple Passion" were all "New York Times" Notable Books. "A Woman's Story" was also a "Los Angeles Times" Fiction Prize finalist and "A Man's Place" was a French-American Foundation Award finalist. Her Previous book "Shame", was named a Best Book of 1998 by "Publishers Weekly". Her books are taught in schools throughout France as contemporary classics. Ernaux lives outside Paris.