| Serge Doubrovsky | |
| Birth Date: | 22 May 1928 |
| Birth Place: | Paris, France |
| Death Place: | Boulogne-Billancourt, France |
| Alma Mater: | École Normale Supérieure |
| Occupation: | Author, theorist |
| Children: | Renee, Cathy |
| Relatives: | Marc Weitzmann (cousin) |
Julien Serge Doubrovsky (22 May 1928, Paris – 23 March 2017, Boulogne-Billancourt) was a French writer and 1989 Prix Médicis winner for Le Livre brisé. He is also a critical theorist, and coined the term "autofiction" in the drafts for his novel Fils (1977).[1]
Julien Doubrovsky was born on 22 May 1928 in Paris.[2] [3] His father was a tailor and his mother was a secretary.[3] His family was Jewish; in 1943, in the midst of World War II, they fled Le Vésinet and hid with a cousin.[3]
Doubrovsky graduated from the École normale supérieure, and he earned the agrégation in English in 1949.[2] [3] He subsequently earned a PhD in French Literature.[3]
Doubrovsky became a professor of French Literature at New York University in 1966.[3] He subsequently taught at Harvard University, Smith College, and Brandeis University.[2] He retired in 2010.[3]
Along with publishing seven volumes of autobiography, he was known as a critical theorist.[4] He coined the term 'autofiction', which has now entered the French dictionary.
Doubrovsky resided in the 16th arrondissement of Paris.[5] He died on 23 March 2017 in Boulogne-Billancourt .[2] [5]