Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, and raised in Petit-Goâve, Laferrière worked as a journalist in Haiti before moving to Canada in 1976. He also worked as a journalist in Canada, and hosted television programming for the TQS network. Laferrière published his first novel, How to Make Love to a Negro Without Getting Tired in 1985. The novel was later adapted into a screenplay by Laferrière and Richard Sadler, earning a Genie Award nomination for best adapted screenplay at the 11th Genie Awards in 1990. The film adaptation of the novel starred Isaach De Bankolé and was directed by Jacques W. Benoit. Laferrière writes exclusively in French, although some of his works have been published in English translation by David Homel. Several further films have been adapted from his work, including On the Verge of a Fever in 2004 and Heading South in 2005. He also wrote the original screenplays for Voodoo Taxi in 1991 and How to Conquer America in One Night in 2004, and was the director of the latter. In 2009, Laferrière won the prestigious Prix Médicis for his 11th novel, L'énigme du retour. Upon receiving the prize, he commented on its ability to open up a new readership in France, giving him visibility there. In the past Laferrière had always refused to be published in the fall, a season associated with the great literary prizes, but had been recommended to do so with L'énigme du retour by his editors. The novel follows Laferrière as he returns to his birthplace in Haiti, 33 years after he left it, upon learning of his father's death in New York City. The narrative blurs the line between prose and poetry, resembling haiku structures in some sections. On 12 December 2013, Laferrière was elected on the first round of balloting to Seat no. 2 of the Académie française, becoming the first Haitian, the first Canadian and the first Quebecer to receive that honour. He is the second black person to have been inducted, the first being Senegalese writer and statesman Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1983. On 3 June 2014, he was awarded the International Literature Award by the House of World Cultures for his novel The Return. In 2014, he was appointed officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 2015, Laferrière was awarded the Order of Canada with the grade of officer. In 2016, Laferrière won the Martin Luther King Jr. Achievement Award for his literary achievements. Laferrière lives in Montreal, Quebec.
Works
Comment faire l'amour avec un nègre sans se fatiguer, 1985
Éroshima, 1987
L'odeur du café, 1991
Le goût des jeunes filles, 1992
Cette grenade dans la main du jeune nègre est-elle une arme ou un fruit?, 1993, Prix RFO du livre
