Annie Ernaux, the French writer, has been awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature on Thursday. The Stockholm-based Swedish Academy, which awards the prize, said they chose Ernaux as the recipient of this year’s Noble prize in literature for” the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory.”

Ernaux was born on September 1, 1940, and is currently 82 years old. She married Phillipe Briot in 1964 and they were together for 17 years till 1981. Their marriage ended after Philippe’s 1985 death. The cause of his death is not publicly known.

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In their 17 years of relationship, the couple had two sons, David and Eric. David Ernaux-Briot was born in 1968, four years after their marriage. He is a science journalist and a documentary filmmaker known for the 2022 documentary on the Ernaux family called The Super-8 Years.

In the film, David uses footage of their home life shot by father Philippe around 1972 using a Super 8 movie camera. The film offers a peak into the domestic life of the author and their two young children.

Apart from The Super-8 Years, David Ernaux-Briot has written and directed the mini-series Théâtre des machines, Corpus, Art and Sport for the platforms Universcience and CANOPE.

Not much information is available about Annie Ernaux’s younger son Eric Ernaux-Briot. 

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In her expansive literary career, Ernaux has published at least 31 books in French which have been translated widely into multiple languages. She also serves as the Senior Lecturer in French at the University of St. Andrews. 

Her net worth is expected somewhere around $1.5 million, as per sources available online. As the winner of the 2022 Nobel prize in Literature, she will receive $900,000 in prize money.