Vénus Khoury-Ghata

Venus Khoury-Ghata (1937–2026) was a French-Lebanese writer, arguably the most famous and recognizable author of Lebanese origin in French-language literature. Born in 1937 in Bichaya, Khoury-Ghata spent her childhood in the mountain village of Bisharri in northern Lebanon, the birthplace of Khalil Gibran. She grew up in Beirut and moved to Paris in 1972, where she lived until her death in January 2026.

She left behind more than twenty novels and some thirty poetry collections. She was the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the Grand Prize for Poetry from the French Academy (2009) and the Goncourt Prize for Poetry for her entire body of work (2011). She was awarded the title of Commander of the Legion of Honor (2017) and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters (2022). As a translator, she gave voice to the great contemporary Syrian poet Adonis.