Philippe Claudel was born in 1962. After teaching French for a few years in a secondary school, he began working in specialised centres for children with motor disabilities. During this time he also taught cultural anthropology and literature at the university of Nancy II. His experience of teaching in a prison inspired the novel “Le bruit des trousseaux.

His following novel "Les Âmes grises" was voted best book of the year 2003 by Lire magazine, awarded the Renaudot prize in 2003 and the Elle Readers’ Literary prize in 2004. It has been translated into 23 languages, and published in English as “Grey Souls. In 2004, Philippe Claudel was asked by the French publisher Stock to edit a new collection consisting of four novels a year based around the theme of wine.

On 28th September, an adaptation of “Grey Souls will be released in French cinemas, co-starring Jacques Villeret, Marina Hands, and Denis Podalydès.