Authors
Catherine Taret has multiple degrees and had started a high-profile career when a deep sense of doubt set in. She gave a talk about being a late bloomer that went viral. The adventures and discoveries that ensued make up It’s Never Too Late to Bloom.
Baptiste Touverey is a journalist, novelist and translator. He was the first to translate the work of the famed 20th century Austrian novelist, playwright, and journalist Stefan Zweig into French, publishing Le voyage dans le passé and Un soupçon légitime to much criticial acclaim.
His first novel Constantinople (2018), revealed him to be the rising star of historical thrillers; his interweaving of gripping political plots with swooning love stories, his portrayal of the destinies of Nicetas, Heraclius, and the emperor Phocas commonly known as ‘The Usurper’, won over the French press, booksellers, and readers alike. The novel received extensive praise from Le Figaro and Figaro Magazine, RFI, France Inter, Nouvel Obs, and many others.
Baptiste’s new book, Le milieu du monde, is forthcoming.
Fabrice Midal has a PhD in philosophy from the University of Paris. The founder of The Western School of Meditation and author of several bestsellers, he is one of France’s leading teachers of dharma and meditation and travels around the world to give conferences.
Margareta Magnusson is, in her own words, aged between 80 and 100. Born in Sweden, she has lived all over the world. Margareta graduated from Beckman’s College of Design in Stockholm and her work as an artist has been exhibited in galleries from Hong Kong to Singapore. She is also a mother of five.
Franklin Servan-Schreiber, a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, has worked in diverse fields from cultural philanthropy in Tokyo to the Olympic committee in Lausanne and a start-up in Paris. He now lives in Switzerland, working to find a solution to oceanic plastic pollution.
Victoire Bourgois is an artist and writer who lives in NYC. She also writes adaptation of works of fiction for the radio (France Culture: Elena Ferrante, My Brilliant Friend; Susan Sontag, Journals; Frida Kahlo, Diary).
Ursula Gauthier is the author and co-author of several bestselling books, including Not the Last Goodbye with David Servan-Schreiber and Behind the Gate with Maude Julien.
Adélaïde de Clermont-Tonnerre studied at l’École normale supérieure de Fontenay-Saint-Cloud and embarked on a career in investment banking before turning to journalism. She has worked for Madame Figaro and Europe 1, and is currently editor in chief of the magazine Point de Vue. She is an avid reader, and is on the panel of judges for multiple prestigious French literary prizes (including the Prix de la Closerie des Lilas and the Prix Fitzgerald).
Her first novel, Fourrure, which was published to much acclaim by Editions Stock in 2010, won five literary prizes (including the Prix Maison de la presse, the Prix Françoise Sagan, and the Prix Premier Roman de Femme), and was also a finalist for the Prix Goncourt for début fiction.
The Last of Our Kind, her second novel published in 2016 by Editions Grasset, was also widely acclaimed. Point’s Marc Lambron writes: “Here is a kind of novel that rarely comes out of France; that is to say, hardly French at all, rather ‘pulp fiction’, with a real americana spirit and saga-esque feel.” The novel was a finalist for the Renaudot and Interaillé prizes, and was awarded the Grand Prix by l’Académie Française. In 2019, Adélaïde was awarded the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres for her work in journalism and literature. Her third novel, Our Happy Days (Grasset), was publicly and critically acclaimed.
She is currently writing a series.
Jonathan Starr is the Managing Director, Headmaster Emeritus, and Founder of Abaarso School. He previously worked as a hedge fund manager, overseeing more than $170 million worth of assets. Jonathan graduated from Emory University, with a B.A. Summa Cum Laude in Economics and was awarded Phi Beta Kappa. He currently lives in Massachusetts and Somaliland.
L’Officine Universelle Buly is run today by entrepreneur and creative director Ramdane Touhami and cosmetics researcher and specialist in the history of beauty Victoire de Taillac. A writer and editor specializing in lifestyle and beauty, Stéphanie Hussonnois-Bouhayati works closely with Victoire and Ramdane, capturing the story of L’Officine Universelle Buly in its continual development.