Bonjour !
My name is Mathilde de Télossie, and I was born on April 27, 1993, in Bordeaux, France. I have wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. To acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to write, I began studying philosophy in 2011 and graduated in 2016 with a research master's degree. My thesis, for which I received high honors, focused on the philosopher Michel de Montaigne. In parallel with my philosophy studies, I began studying the linguistics of ancient languages in 2015 and obtained two university degrees in Latin and Greek languages three years later.
My writing is characterized by a love for surrealism, absurdity, anticipation, and symbolism. I am extremely attached to the musicality of words and take great care in the beauty of form, playing with the codes of poetry within my prose texts: metaphor, assonance, alliteration, epanorthosis, anaphora... The content, that is to say, the intentionality of the text, also has a vital importance in my approach to writing. My philosophy studies have, in this sense, profoundly marked me. In each of my texts, I aim, while remaining in a purely fictional, metaphorical, and poetic perspective, to awaken questioning in my reader, so that their reading transforms into a thought experiment.
My work as a writer allowed me to receive, in June 2022, the "Promise — Young Writer" prize from the Solunto Foundation, an international cultural foundation that annually rewards writers and artists to highlight their work. My writings have also been featured in national and international newspapers, as well as dedicated radio shows.
My first novel, Evanouie, a surrealist narrative about the power of forgetting, was published in November 2023 by Editions Passiflore. The novel was noticed by critics, particularly for its intriguing story and style, and it was voted the best release of November by Babelio. It is currently in the running for several first novel awards.
In 2024, I published a micro-story in partnership with "Kube, book box".
I am also about to publish a new short-story in the collection "Dans une goutte de mot." This collection is the result of the short story competition by Editions Passiflore, of which I am the president for the 2024 edition.
I am a literary editor for the writing magazine "La Machine à écrire," a magazine aimed at supporting people who wish to start or deepen their desire to write. I have a column titled "Workshop and Exercises" where I focus on the technical aspects of the writer's work. I offer analyses and exercises on specific points of the art of writing: studies of narrative points of view, choice of language register, rules of dialogue, proper use of punctuation, etc.
My experience as a writer led me to radio in 2022, on RIGFM, where I had the pleasure of creating my own literary show, titled "Chroniques inactuelles," aimed at deciphering, for an hour, national and international news through fictional stories or philosophical texts. The twelve episodes are still available for listening as podcasts on the radio's website. As a producer, I was responsible for the research, writing, editing, and hosting of this show.
In parallel with my work as a writer, I also have a side activity as a pastel artist. I was trained for 5 years, from 2019 to 2024, at the Philomathique of Bordeaux in academic drawing and artistic painting. For my personal practice, I chose dry pastel. I mainly work with Girault and Sennelier pastels. My pastels have been exhibited in France and abroad.
I have taught philosophy, French, Latin, and Greek in higher and secondary education for 3 years. I continue my work in teaching by offering writing workshops.
Currently, three major projects occupy most of my days. First, the writing of my second novel, a speculative fiction that oscillates between dystopia and utopia, with self-knowledge, happiness, and perfection as its main themes. It tells the story of a counter-quest. Next, the writing of an audio fiction mini-series, written in the form of short stories, playing with literary genres and language. Finally, my collection of poems with an ecological inclination, which also explores other societal or intimate themes. Feel free to contact me if you would like to know more about these projects.
Good to know :
de Télossie is an anagram. If you mix the letters, you will get the word "des étoiles" (of the stars). This pen name comes from the name of my cat, Galactica des étoiles.
It also hides the word Télos /τέλος/, which means in ancient Greek, the goal to be achieved, the fulfillment.