Amanda Sthers

Amanda Sthers was born in Paris and now lives in Los Angeles. She has written eleven novels, which have been translated into more than fifteen languages. To highlight just of few of these works, her 2005 novel Chicken Street was named by the Italian press as the best book of the year; her 2007 novel Madeleine has sold over 200,000 copies worldwide. She wrote the only authorized biography of the French superstar Johnny Hallyday, that was also a best seller ( more than 600 000 copies) and her 2015 novel Promises (in French, Les Promesses) was named by Elle magazine as one of its picks for top ten novels of the year and selected in all the prestigious French literary prizes. As a playwright, Sthers has also received critical acclaim for her staged works. Sthers' 2006 Old Blonde Jew ( Le vieux juif blonde) was enacted at the Théâtre des Mathurins in Paris to critical acclaim for her writing and garnered the lead actresses Mélanie Thierry and Aurore Auteuil, Molière nominations. The Molière Awards are the French equivalent of a Tony Award for Broadway performances in the United States. Moreover, this play has become a mainstay of the curriculum at Harvard University's theatre courses. « Le Lien » was a big success at the prestigious Avignon Festival. Many of her seven plays have traveled outside of her native France and have been re-staged at prominent venues around the world. In 2011 she was made a Chevalier (Knight) in the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government for her significant and original contributions to the literary arts. Evolving as a screenwriter and director with the addition of films to her repertoire, Sthers debuted with her 2009 film Je vais te manquer starring Carole Bouquet, Michael Lonsdale, and Mélanie Thierry. All of these actors have won or have been nominated for the César Award, the national film award of France. Her latest film Madame starring multiple award winners Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel, and Rossy de Palma in the lead roles debuted in Sydney, Australia in August 2017 and was released in the US last March after a release throughout Europe, Asia, Russia and the South America. (it was sold in more than 50 countries). Amanda also wrote one of the most successful French TV series « Camera Café », fifteen years ago and recently a Christmas romantic comedy (Coup de foudre à Noël) which was the biggest French audience of the year on TF1. Last year, she adapted her novel "Les Terres Saintes » into « Holy Lands » an English language film which is now in post-production which stars Rosanna Arquette, James Caan, Tom Hollander, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Holy Lands will be published by Bloomsbury in January 2019.