Mathias Énard (1972, Niort, France) studied Arabic and Persian and spent a long time in the Middle East. The novel Zona won several awards, including the Prix du Livre Inter, which is awarded for the best French novel of the year. Tell them about battles, kings and elephants , published in 2010, earned him the Prix Goncourt des Lycées, while Busola won the highest French literary award, the Prix Goncourt, and the Leipzig Literary Prize for European Understanding.